Parents' Guide to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Movie PG-13 2008 98 minutes
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Common Sense Media Review

Brian Costello By Brian Costello , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Fun coming-of-age time travel anime has friendship, crushes.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 11+

Based on 1 parent review

age 12+

Based on 9 kid reviews

What's the Story?

In THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME, Makoto Konno (voiced by Riisa Naka in the original version and Emily Hirst in the English dub) is a seemingly typical teenager. But she discovers she can leap through time and alter the course of events in her life and the lives of those around her in ways both large and small. As she begins to understand the effects this "time leaping" has on her friends, Makoto must learn to be honest with her feelings as she struggles to make things right.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1 ):
Kids say ( 9 ):

This animated film is a dazzling and engaging take on both the coming-of-age story and the time travel story. Rather than using time travel to change the course of big historical events, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time uses her ability to try to alter the little moments between her and her best friends, boys Chiaki (Takuya Ishida/Andrew Francis) and Kosuke (Mitsutaka Itakura/Alex Zahara). But she quickly learns that these travels can cause bigger problems than she originally anticipated, and the film takes some unexpected plot twists that will keep viewers guessing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Girl Who Leapt Through Time's message about taking responsibility for your actions. How do the decisions we make affect ourselves and those around us? How does this play out in the movie?

  • Do you relate to how this movie portrays high schoolers' everyday life? What similarities and differences do you see between your school and Makoto's school?

  • Sometimes friends call each other names in a playful way, and other times, name-calling crosses the line into hurtful behavior. How do you determine those boundaries with your friends or your classmates?

  • How do characters demonstrate courage and self-control in the movie? Why are these important character strengths?

Movie Details

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