Ghostbusters: Afterlife Hits The Sweet Spot For Older Kids & Parents

If your kids love action and like to pretend they can fight supernatural forces, you might want to add Ghostbusters: Afterlife to your family’s list for movie night. While the new flick might not be appropriate for all kids, it’s sort of tailor-made for that sweet sport of the early double digit years. Fun and exciting and just grown-up enough. Indeed, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a great movie for parents and older kids to watch together.

What Is Ghostbusters: Afterlife About?

In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, single mom Callie (Carrie Coon) bring her two kids, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), to “pick through the rubble” of her deceased father’s life at his old home in a small town. Callie’s father was Egon Spengler, one of the original Ghostbusters (played in the ‘80s franchise by the late Harold Ramis). Trevor and Phoebe start to realize that there is something supernatural happening in this small town, and have to channel their family history of ghost-busting if they want to save themselves.

Other stars in the movie include Paul Rudd, who plays Mr. Grooberson, a local science teacher who helps the kids figure out who their ghost-busting grandfather was to the rest of the world.

The Kids Are The Heroes In Ghostbusters: Afterlife

One of the greatest things about the newest installment of the Ghostbusters franchise is that the kids are the heroes. While adults in town are sort of befuddled by all of the supernatural happenings, the kids step in to figure it all out. What kid doesn’t want to see adults being secondary characters in the movie while the kids step up as heroes? Phoebe in particular is a whiz, solving problems using science and her whits and generally becoming the leader of the pack, in a perfect nod to encouraging more girls to go into STEM educational paths.

The Movie Includes Plenty Of Easter Eggs For Parents

Another great element of Ghostbusters: Afterlife are all the nostalgic Easter eggs for parents who loved the franchise the first time around. I won’t spoil them for you, but suffice it to say there’s plenty in this movie to keep parents just as entertained as their kids.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Is Rated PG-13

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is rated PG-13 for some supernatural action sequences and suggestive references. There are some jump scares in the movie and complicated plot elements that will make it a bit too much for younger kids, but just scary enough to be thrilling for kids 10 and up, as Common Sense Media recommends. There are also a few swear words in the movie, sexual references, and some frightening ghost scenes, Common Sense Media notes, but overall the site notes that it’s “more family-friendly than the original.”

Ghostbusters: Afterlife opened in theaters on Nov. 19.