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Parents' Guide to

Wish Upon a Unicorn

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Fantasy about saving mythical creature; peril, mild language

Movie PG 2020 93 minutes
Wish Upon a Unicorn Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 6+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Buck L.
Buck L. Parent of 4 and 7-year-old
September 9, 2023
age 6+

Silly and Pretty Harmless

It’s a silly kids movie about little girls who become “fish out of water” in a new town after losing their mom. The attendant threat of a bad guy threatening a unicorn is about the scariest thing, unless you count two senior citizens who get caught kissing under a blanket.
TheSheldowens
TheSheldowens Parent of 9, 13 and 14-year-old
February 21, 2023
age 7+

Think tween girl Hallmark movie, instead of Flannel Guy she gets a Unicorn.

This is a Hallmark quality Kid’s movie. The dialogue and acting is pretty B-rated and there are a few questionable parts with mild sexual innuendo. (Grandma flirts with her boyfriend, two tweens kiss, a woman wears scanty clothes) Overall, it was fine. My 9 year old daughter who is sensitive to intense stuff liked it. Definitely not a rewatch but fine couch fodder.
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In WISH UPON A UNICORN, Emma (Summer Fontana) and her little sister Mia (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) have recently lost their mother. To make things worse, Dad (Jonathan Lajoie) has lost his Chicago job. They've moved to the country home where Mom grew up to live with Grandma Rose (Chloe Webb). Rose's goofy and joyful earth mother presence sets the tone for WISH UPON A UNICORN, in which the woods are the magical refuge of magical creatures, and those who believe can see what's really going on. Mia quickly spots a unicorn colt, names him Rocco, and discovers the good luck he brings. When Emma starts to believe, she can see him too, and the pair bring Rocco to school to fight a bully and generally improve the school experience. When local man Willie (Kevin J. O'Connor) gets wind of Rocco's presence, he ramps up his evil campaign to kidnap the animal, intending to ingest its blood and gain eternal youth and life. Can the girls and their grandma save Rocco?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (1 ):

This movie is sweet and perfectly tailored to suit its target audience: kids looking for something good and decent to believe in. Dialogue is often smart and amusing. Mia notes that no one at school notices the unicorn because they are all staring at screens. "I weep for this generation," she quips.

If Wish Upon a Unicorn feels a bit loose with logic, no one enjoying this will mind. Chloe Webb is charming as Grandma Rose. When she falls ill and heads for the hospital, talking about being ready for death, it feels a bit unlikely that she can just pull out her tubes and leap into her overalls to help the girls rescue the unicorn. But Webb's good-humored energy makes it believable. They outsmart the unicorn-napper Willie and get the colt back to its uni-mom, at which point everyone seems relieved with this outcome, but it's unclear how this will keep Rocco safe from future danger. Never mind. Just go with the good vibes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how important it is to support family members and their individual goals. Why do you think Mia keeps stressing that even if her skeptical sister and father don't believe in unicorns, that they ought to try to believe in her and her wishes and dreams?

  • Grandma Rose says in Wish Upon a Unicorn that she's ready to go when her parts wear out without taking any extraordinary measures. What do you think about that attitude toward death?

  • Do you think it's comforting to believe in mythical creatures with magical powers? Do you think there's value in believing in things that are seemingly impossible? Why or why not?

Movie Details

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