Wondering if Darby and the Dead is ok for kids? Reminiscent of 90s teens movies with a supernatural twist, Darby and the Dead is a delightful watch. However, there are things to be mindful of, especially for the tween crowd. Here’s what parents need to know in this Darby and the Dead Parents Guide.
Darby and the Dead Parents Guide: Is it Kid Friendly?
After suffering a near-death experience as a young girl, Darby Harper (Riele Downs) gains the ability to see dead people. As a result, she becomes introverted and shut off from her high school peers and prefers to spend time counseling lonely spirits on Friday night who have unfinished business on earth. She helps them pass to the other side.
But all that changes when Capri (Auli’i Cravalho), the Queen Bee of the school and Darby’s ex BFF, unexpectedly dies in a freak hair straightening accident, resulting in the obvious cancellation of her upcoming “Sweet 17.”
Capri, however, pleads with and threatens Darby from the other side to intervene and convince Capri’s friends to proceed with the party as planned. In order to appease the wrath of the undead diva, Darby must emerge with a makeover and somehow make herself popular which along the way allows her to find new joy back in the land of the living.
Darby and the Dead Age Rating: Is it Ok for Kids?
Darby and the Dead is rated PG-13 for some language, suggestive material, and teen partying.
Language in Darby and the Dead
There is quite a bit of language including at least 5 uses of a**, 10 uses of sh*t or bullsh*t, some uses of bi*ch, and uses of damn, hell and words of Deity including g-ddammit and Jesus Christ.
Darby and the Dead Mature Content: Is it Kid Friendly?
Mature content in Darby and the Dead includes a lot of teen partying where underage characters drink alcohol and references to drugs.
A character dies by electrocution.
There are conversations about sex as well as some sexual words used like tits. Another discussion involves emojis and their meaning like eggplant as a penis, peach as a butt, etc. There’s a reference to a character getting a boob job and another being transgender.
Characters kiss.
Some topics like death and grief can get emotional and may be a trigger for some viewers.
Is Darby and the Dead Appropriate for Kids Under 13?
If you took out the partying and language, then most everything in Darby and the Dead would be kid friendly. However, that coupled with the sexual conversations may be too much for tweens. I’m sure they’ve heard and seen worse in middle school, however, parents just be aware of the content.
Both Cravalho and Downs are stars and they have good comedic chemistry together for the teen crowd. Some kids may want to watch because the recognize Cravalho as the voice of Moana and Downs as Charlotte from Henry Danger.
While some of the scenes are superficial and typical high school drama, it’s when Darby and the Dead digs a little deeper that it gets really good. Important themes of friendship and forgiveness prevail, and it’s worth a watch on Hulu.
