Parents' Guide to

Wizards of Waverly Place

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Magic, mischief, and lessons for young tweens.

TV Disney Channel Comedy 2007
Wizards of Waverly Place Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 52 parent reviews

Binge W.
Binge W. Parent of 10-year-old
June 24, 2018
age 8+

TV-Y7

This show is pretty good. This show includes sexual stuff like kisses and flirting between boys and girls. The violence includes mild peril and occasional wizard battles.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
Bluffette
Bluffette Adult
May 31, 2014
age 9+

Typical Disney - lots of crushes, teen romance, jokes at the parents expense.

The writing and acting on this show are better than average for Disney TV. This makes all of the offensive content somewhat palatable for an audience capable of understanding that they shouldn't necessarily emulate the behavior that gets laughs on the show.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much consumerism
1 person found this helpful.
See all 52 parent reviews

What's the Story?

To casual observers, Justin (David Henrie), Alex (Selena Gomez), and Max Russo (Jake T. Austin) are typical siblings, living in Manhattan with their parents, Jerry (David DeLuise) and Theresa (Maria Canals Barrera). In truth, the siblings are anything but ordinary: They inherited powers from their dad's side of the family and are actually wizards in training, learning the ins and outs of their magical craft. But despite Jerry's best intentions, their focus often strays from his careful instruction when they realize their powers can be used for more entertaining endeavors. As their magical powers strengthen, Justin, Alex, and Max must learn to control them -- and identify appropriate times for their use -- or run the risk of losing them altogether.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (52):
Kids say (215):

WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE is full of standard Disney TV fare: a nuclear family headed by two devoted (if often outwitted) parents, tweens and teens with woes that young viewers will easily relate to (a snobby rival who lives to embarrass a teen girl, for example), and squeaky-clean content. There's little here to worry parents of the show's target tween audience; while there's often some mild misbehaving of some sort going on, in the end, important lessons are learned and consequences are faced.

If you're looking for a worry-free series to transition your young tween into the next stage of entertainment, Wizards of Waverly Place might be right up your alley. But don't be surprised if older tweens -- who will easily see through the predictable storylines -- find the package a bit hokey.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how siblings relate to each other. Kids: Do you think the characters' relationships are realistic? If you have siblings, how are the show's characters similar to you and your brothers and sisters? How are they different?

  • Is it ever difficult to get along with siblings? Why? What do you do then?

  • Do you think you would be closer to your family if you all shared a secret like the young wizards in the show do?

TV Details

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