Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Positive messages, story, music all aimed at youngest fans.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The J Team
What's the Story?
JoJo's (JoJo Siwa) beloved dance coach, Val (Laura Soltis), has decided to sell her dance school at the start of THE J TEAM. The new coach, Poppy (Tisha Campbell), is a harsh, uncaring taskmaster who insists that JoJo lose her glittery touches and fall in line with the rest of the girls. JoJo tries, but she's unable to contain her free spirit. When Poppy kicks her off the team, she starts her own dance troupe with a ragtag team of athletes she meets at the park. Her best friends, Ruby M. (Kerrynton Jones) and Ruby D. (Kiara T. Romero), feel pressure to stay on Poppy's team, a decision that ultimately causes rifts in their friendship. Will the girls work things out? Will JoJo's team be able to compete against Poppy's?
Is It Any Good?
There are only positive messages in this film, and they will speak to child star JoJo's legion of social media followers. The teen actors put their hearts into the song and dance numbers of The J Team (though their lip synching leaves something to be desired), and who can critique the messages put forward here about being true to yourself and kind to others?
But this movie looks and feels like a stretched-out episode of a Nickelodeon show, complete with artificial settings and superficial characters and conflict. A bright spot is Campbell, who gives a campy performance with silly taunts like, "You are like human glitter!" and "You were out there looking like human jazz hands with a glitter manicure!"
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about JoJo Siwa's career as an online child star and singer-dancer-actress in The J Team. Would you like to have a career like hers? Why, or why not?
How does this film differ from or connect to other JoJo content you've watched? What other stars do you follow who have become famous on social media?
Was JoJo right to forgive the Rubies? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : July 15, 2022
- Cast : JoJo Siwa , Tisha Campbell , Laura Soltis
- Director : Michael Lembeck
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Gay Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : Nickelodeon
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Friendship , Arts ( Music and Sing-Along )
- Character Strengths : Perseverance
- Run time : 84 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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