Parent reviews for Spirited

DO NOT WATCH Spirited w your kids. I read reviews and I thought it would be ok as in similar to a superhero movie. It was not. Although my kids know and hear cuss words, this was BAD and excessive. Lots of sex innuendos and a middle school boy commits SUICIDE bc of cyber bullying in Christmas of the future. This is better suited for a middle school audience not a tween and younger siblings. I selected “too much violence” for this reason alone. Geared for teens and adults. Disappointed in the reviews bc they did not mention suicide as a topic. We would’ve waited to watch until after kids went to bed. One positive thing is the theme of redemption throughout the movie and the music was amazing. I could definitely see this being a Broadway play and it would be great, just leave the kids at home. We had high hopes for Will Farrell and Ryan Reynolds but were left underwhelmed and disappointed.

**Warning - Spoiler Alerts I absolutely adore the premise and overarching message of redemption, making a choice every day to be a little better than the day before, having integrity, and even practicing social media etiquette. There are lots of themes here to spark meaningful discussions with kids, and all can be managed in an age-appropriate way (more on that to follow). I didn’t realize it was a musical before I watched it, but that made it even more captivating. The music and dancing are fantastic! In that regard, it reminded me a lot of the powerful performances in The Greatest Showman. I LOVE the spirit of this movie! That said, I will say there are a LOT of innuendos and instances of bad language. The innuendos would likely go over young kids’ heads, but the language really is a lot. Someone else posted that there were only a handful of swear words, but I counted at least 25, including such words as h**l, d**n, s**t, d**k (sometimes expanded to “Dickens,” with a pause in the middle), bas***d, b***h, and a**. Also, some words such as “sexy,” “piss,” and “s—k it,” which may be offensive to some. The characters use the phrase “good morning” to replace “f—- y—-,” but the explanation there only mentions the initial for the f-word, and not the entire word. One character makes a couple of inappropriate gestures with his hands. It was all too much for my own taste; I prefer not to have to hear or see this level of offensive behavior. If you have kids younger than 13, as I do, I recommend seeing it at home on AppleTV so you can mute and skip, and then preview it yourself before watching it with your kids. Don’t see it in the theater. Take notes with time stamps notated, so you’ll know when to mute and when to skip - you’re the best judge of what your kids should be watching. In this way, I was able to bring it to about a PG level so my 9yo could watch with the family. Honestly, this is how I prefer to watch it anyway, so I continue to do the mutes and skips even if I’m watching alone. I did make a note to pause the movie before it discusses cyberbullying and suicide, so I could talk about it with my kids in an age-appropriate way that made sense to them. To me, this is what PG (Parental Guidance) should be anyway - a time to discuss the themes and ensure that your child’s comprehension was accurate and adequate, and to give guidance on tougher topics. It’s important to note that the minor child’s suicide depicted in the movie was not shown onscreen or really discussed overtly; rather, it was implied. Additionally, context is important - this was something seen in a vision of Christmas Yet to Come, meaning it hadn’t actually happened, but was one possibility if circumstances remained unchanged. This sparked some main characters to make the necessary changes so they could avoid that outcome. While it may still be triggering for some, I think most kids need to have some understanding about these topics, what to do if they encounter cyberbullying, and how to get help, as well as how to ensure they are never responsible for posting hurtful or damaging things online. All very valuable lessons. There is a jarring scene at the end when a character sacrifices himself for another by pushing him out of the way of a bus, taking the full impact on himself instead. This could be considered a suicide that actually did happen, but it’s portrayed as a sacrifice for someone the character really cared about. The discomfort of the scene is replaced by joy and hope, and eventually resolves with humor and a great message. All in all, I love this movie, but I wish they would have left the language and some of the references out. It’s a great film with the edits I devised for my family, and I will continue to watch it that way. I highly recommend watching it with your own edits - it’s easily in my top five Christmas movies list!

The top reviews said it best: child suicide and way too much unnecessary swearing and inappropriate sex unnecessary to the plot. I’m so disappointed we watched this with our daughter. Really wish we had checked common sense media first… or even looked at the rating! I saw the trailer and made poor assumptions.

Families who enjoy watching sexual situations and crass language with their kids will like this movie. It's trash. So much cussing including "shit" and "bitch." And it's frequent. Absolutely, positively NOT a family movie. Anything good about the movie was washed out by the garage.

I’m not a huge fan of musicals, but I loved this movie. The music was great, and it struck a good balance between humor and message. Think of it as a cross between Scrooged and the Santa Clause. Inappropriate for young children, due to the frequent use of language, and multiple references to the ghost of Christmas Past having sex with Ryan Reynolds’ character. As Will Ferrel’s character says, “It was off to a humpy start”

Wanted to share our experience after seeing so many negative reviews. We actually really enjoyed this movie! Very surprising, interesting twists, unexpected turns, GREAT high energy musical numbers, lots of laughs, and wonderful chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrel! I understand, some of the language and context is geared towards adults.. but as long as there is good open dialogue within your family, everything should be fine. It would be such a shame to miss out on this powerful message of redemption and love! We were moved to tears! So heart-warming and lovely! A great wholesome ending as well! I wouldn't watch with younger children, but teens would enjoy it and it's also important to remember that in the context of movies, not every single aspect is meant to be taken so seriously. Jokes are jokes! The positive aspects of this film far outweigh the adult content. And although our son is still a preteen, we believe the strong moral compass we've instilled have given him the ability to discern these situations. We discuss everything and he is aware that adult humor is not to be taken lightly, he is not easily influenced at all with having such a strong grounding at home. This movie even allowed us another opportunity to touch on the significance of our social media presence and consequences of our actions. It was definitely an eye opener for our son. He is not yet active on any platforms at his age, and this really made him see how important it is for us to be responsible with our usage and voice. Families are all very different, we enjoyed watching this with extended family, grandparents and uncles and aunts and we had a blast! Hope more people enjoy this beautiful, fun, and fast paced holiday classic!!

I pre-screened this without children after reading other parent reviews. I will be watching it with my middle-school+ children. This is not a family movie in the sense of small-child appropriate. However, as a parent of tweens/teens, a Christmas movie with big dance musical numbers and some crude humor is welcome. This is a little rougher than “A Christmas Story” but not as raunchy as other holiday-theme movies aimed at teens. There is an allusion to a sexual relationship but much would go over the heads of younger kids. The storyline involving potential suicide is not treated lightly - it is shown by Ghost of What is Yet to Come as what can come from poor choices central character supports but then is moved to change. One plot twist will be difficult for sensitive teens as a main character perishes. However, I think the plot point is well-integrated and resolved before the end of the film. Creative take will appeal to families with older children.

Feel-good Christmas movie. We were initially scared off by some of the other reviews, but they are blown out of proportion.

Can i give it 10 stars? 20? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So first- it’s a musical if that’s not ur cup of tea then don’t bother. Though I will say the movie does a good job of being self aware about the fact that everyone is singing and makes fun of itself a bit so you might enjoy it anyways. My husband and I absolutely loved this and cannot believe it doesn’t have more buzz. I just saw it in theaters and I’m gonna buy it on Apple TV so I can own it. This is my new holiday movie to watch every year. It is a stunning take on a Christmas carol and it’s fresh new and exciting. Had us on the edge of our seats. Playing through a range of emotions from tears to laughter. Overall though the best part of this movie was that it was simply a GOOD TIME. We had fun! It felt like a night out with friends. We left the theater remembering why we liked going out to the movies post COVID. We felt revitalized and we definitely have inside jokes we’ll be making for awhile. 10/10 recommend 5 stars and if you don’t think so… then .. good afternoon.

For the most part this is a funny twist on the Christmas Carol plot. The acting is good, the music is unnecessary but fine. There is some adult-ish language but that isnt something that bothers me in moderation. What DID bother me was the very sudden and very upsetting death by suicide of a young teen character. The whole bullying/cancelation was emotional enough to make the point the movie was going for. The suicide really seemed like a step too far, especially when the rest of the movie was so light and cheerful. We just werent expecting something so dark and heavy three-quarters through this movie. Nothing had set the tone for that. My 11 year old was very upset by it, to the point it made her feel physically ill, and I regret watching this movie with her. That was a scene that should really have been excluded.