Movie · Music, Comedy · 2022 · PG-13

Spirited: parents' guide

13+our pick

Best for ages 13 and up. Rated PG-13 for language, some suggestive material and thematic elements.

A big, splashy musical that retells A Christmas Carol from the ghosts' side, aimed mostly at adults and best for teens. Will Ferrell's Ghost of Christmas Present tries to reform a ruthless PR man, played by Ryan Reynolds, who coaches his young niece to post an embarrassing video of a classmate. Expect frequent swearing with cut-off f-words, steady sexual innuendo, a drunk, neglectful mother in flashbacks, and heavy themes: a vision of the future implies the targeted boy takes his own life, a mother's deathbed is shown, a despairing character steps in front of a bus, and a major character dies. Age 13 reflects the language and the suicide themes.

What's in it

Violence

Moderate

Mostly comic: slaps, falls, street brawls and collapsing walls, and a man is hit by a bus and tossed through the air. Late on, a despairing character steps in front of a bus, and the collision that follows kills a major character. Nothing is gory.

Language

Moderate

Around six s-words, f-words that start but get cut off, plus ass, bitch, bastard, wanker and whore, God's name misused nearly 20 times, and several middle-finger gestures.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Lots of innuendo and a joke that seems to reference masturbation. A ghost's flirtation with the lead implies an offscreen fling, couples kiss, and a man is seen showering without explicit nudity.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Moderate

The lead's mother is shown drunk several times and neglecting her children in flashbacks. There are beer jokes, a joke about offering a child a cocktail, and a song lyric about running out of molly.

Scary or intense scenes

Moderate

Marley and the Grim Reaper bring a few jump moments, but the heavy content is emotional: a montage of bullying posts that includes 'KYS' (kill yourself), mourners after a boy's implied suicide, a mother's deathbed, and a major character's death.

Sensitive topics

  • Suicide
  • Bullying
  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a child

Worth talking about

Clint pushes his niece to post an embarrassing clip of a classmate to win an election. Talk about how one post can follow someone, and what to do if you see a peer being targeted online.

Where to stream →

On our lists

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Checked October 24th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, bbfc.co.uk, Wikipedia, highonfilms.com. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.