Let’s talk about Carrie Coon for a second. Usually, in these big franchise movies, the "Mom" role is thankless. She’s either the worried bystander or the one yelling about homework while the plot happens elsewhere.

In Afterlife, Coon plays Callie as a woman who is legitimately frustrated. She’s broke, she’s been evicted, and she’s dealing with the complicated trauma of an absent father. She’s funny, a little bit cynical, and deeply relatable to any parent who has ever felt like they’re just barely keeping the wheels on the bus.

For our kids, seeing a parent on screen who isn't a "super-hero" or a "perfect domestic goddess" is actually really healthy. It opens the door for conversations about how parents are people too—with their own histories and disappointments.

Ask our chatbot for more movies with realistic parent-child dynamics

While Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) handles the "teenager fixing a car" trope, the real star is Phoebe. She is a socially awkward, joke-telling, science-obsessed 12-year-old who doesn't "fit in" at her new school.

For parents of neurodivergent kids or girls interested in STEM, Phoebe is a massive win. She doesn’t change her personality to be liked; she uses her intellect to solve problems. In a digital world where kids are often bombarded with influencers whose only "skill" is being aesthetic on TikTok, Phoebe Spengler is the antidote. She’s curious, methodical, and brave.

If your kid finishes the movie and suddenly wants to build a proton pack, you might want to point them toward:

The PG-13 rating is fairly earned here. While it’s a "family movie," it’s still a ghost movie.

The "Terror Dogs" (classic fans remember these) return, and they are much more realistic and threatening than the stop-motion puppets of the 80s. There’s a scene in a grocery store with "Mini-Pufts" (tiny marshmallow men) that starts cute and ends with them melting and mutilating each other in a blender. It’s played for laughs, but it might be "brain rot" adjacent or just plain creepy for the little ones.

This is the target audience. The "scares" are mostly jump-scares or tense chases. It’s the kind of "scary" that makes kids feel older and tougher for getting through it without being truly traumatizing.

Teens will appreciate the humor (Paul Rudd is the "cool teacher" we all wish we had) and the higher stakes. Plus, if they’ve played Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, they’ll love seeing the gear in action.

Check out our guide on managing jump scares for sensitive kids

If your kids fall down the Ghostbusters rabbit hole after watching this, be prepared for them to ask for the following:

Look, this movie is a love letter to the late Harold Ramis. It’s sentimental. Sometimes it’s too sentimental. The ending relies heavily on "fan service" (bringing back the original cast) which might leave your kids asking, "Who are those old guys?" while you’re busy wiping a tear away.

But from a digital wellness and parenting perspective, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is high-quality media. It rewards attention, celebrates intelligence, and portrays a family that—despite their flaws and the fact that they are literally being hunted by ancient Sumerian deities—actually likes each other.

The film does a great job of modernizing the franchise. We have a female lead who is a science genius, a Black co-lead in Trevor’s love interest, Lucky, and a diverse cast that feels natural to a small Oklahoma town rather than forced. It’s a 2021 movie that feels like it belongs in 2021, even while it’s wearing a 1984 jumpsuit.

If you watch this with your kids, here are three "Screenwise-approved" questions to ask afterward:

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a "Yes" for me. It’s a great example of how to update a classic for a new generation without losing the soul of what made it work in the first place. Carrie Coon and Mckenna Grace carry the emotional weight, making it more than just a movie about catching ghosts—it’s a movie about catching up with the people we love.

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