Parents' Guide to Freak the Freak Out

Freak the Freak Out Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Emily Ashby By Emily Ashby , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 8+

Victorious special is full of fun for tweens.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 8+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 11+

Based on 1 parent review

age 7+

Based on 12 kid reviews

Kids say this is one of the best episodes from a popular series, highlighting its humor and positive messages about friendship and role models. Many enjoy it for its comedic elements and find it suitable for a range of ages, while some express concerns about its influence on younger viewers.

  • humor and comedy
  • positive role models
  • suitable for many ages
  • well-received episode
  • concerns about influence
Summarized with AI

What's the Story?

In FREAK THE FREAK OUT, the Hollywood Arts students are jazzed to check out the new teen hangout called Karaoke Dokie, but Tori (Victoria Justice) has to bow out of the fun to play nurse to her sister, Trina (Daniella Monet), after she has oral surgery. Jade (Elizabeth Gillies) and Cat (Ariana Grande) wow the crowd with a harmonic duet, but they take second place to an inferior team and later discover that one of the rival singers is actually the daughter of the club's owner. Crying foul, the girls challenge the owner's decision and are banned from singing there again. Meanwhile, Tori's barely grasping sanity with Trina's incessant complaining, so she, Jade, and Cat hatch a plan to get revenge on their rivals and score some Trina-sitting while they're at it.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1 ):
Kids say ( 12 ):

It's fairly obvious (to parents, at least) that this hour-long special from the Victorious crew exists for two reasons: first, to entertain, and second, to unveil two new songs in the show's repertoire. Not surprisingly, the talented cast manages to do both with ease, and even the fact that the special's plot is geared specifically toward these two new tracks is forgivable in light of its entertainment value.

As with the series itself, most of the content is benign for tweens, and they'll enjoy the characters' wacky predicaments as much as the musical aspect of the show. There's some sporadic use of slang throughout the episode (girls call each other "gank," for instance) that you might want to call attention to and discuss with your kids, and there's precious little content that even attempts to teach any lessons, but, that aside, it's a worry-free source of fun tweens.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about friendship. Is it possible to be friends with someone who's very different from you? What personality traits could you overlook in a friend? Which ones would be too much to see past?

  • Tweens: Have you ever been a victim of name calling? How is that a kind of bullying? How have technology and social networking changed how we feel about the power of words or name calling? What are the dangers of airing personal grievances on the Internet?

  • What are your dreams for the future? What special skills or talents will you need to fulfill these dreams? How will school help you get there? In what ways can you hone your crafts now?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Freak the Freak Out Poster Image

What to Watch Next

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate