Dances with Wolves – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Dances with Wolves

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie1990

68%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Kevin Costner spends three hours making friends with the Sioux and a wolf in a gorgeous, slow-burn epic that definitely doesn't move at TikTok speed.

8/10

87%

87%

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Dances with Wolves

movie

PG-13, 1990

68%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Kevin Costner spends three hours making friends with the Sioux and a wolf in a gorgeous, slow-burn epic that definitely doesn't move at TikTok speed.

87%

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8/10

87%

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Screenwise Verdict

Look, it’s a classic for a reason, but it’s a 1990s epic, which means it moves at the speed of a grazing buffalo. It’s beautiful and deeply moving, but it’s also three hours of Kevin Costner finding himself.

If you have a teenager who’s into history or social justice, it’s a goldmine. If you’re looking for a Friday night family movie with the 10-year-olds, maybe skip it unless you want to explain why the wolf died while everyone cries into their popcorn. It’s enriching, sure, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Age Fit

Best for 13+ due to the intensity of the war scenes and the complex themes of identity and loss. Younger kids will likely check out during the long stretches of dialogue or be traumatized by the animal deaths.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

The core of the movie is a deeply respectful friendship between a soldier and the Lakota Sioux, modeling empathy and cross-cultural understanding. However, the film is bookended by war trauma and a suicide attempt.

Imaginative

While it's a historical piece rather than a fantasy, the vivid recreation of the 1860s frontier and the focus on the natural world invites a sense of exploration and wonder.

Safe

Capped due to a graphic suicide attempt in the opening, intense Civil War battle gore (including an amputation scene), and the emotionally brutal deaths of a horse and a wolf.

Enriching

Massive historical value and a rare (for its time) attempt at cultural authenticity, using the Lakota language and offering a perspective-shift on the American West.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

It's a masterclass in slow-burn empathy, showing how to actually respect a culture instead of just looking at it.
The cinematography is stunning—big, sweeping landscapes that make your living room feel small.
It handles the tragedy of the American frontier with a weight and scale that modern blockbusters usually skip.
The use of the Lakota language adds a layer of authenticity that's great for kids to experience.

⚠

What to Watch For

The opening scene features a gruesome Civil War battle and a suicide attempt that might be too much for younger viewers.
There is animal death—specifically the wolf and the horse—that is emotionally brutal and a major tear-jerker.
It's three hours long. If your kid doesn't have the attention span for a slow-moving drama, this will feel like a prison sentence.

Conversation Starters

"Why did John Dunbar feel more at home with the Sioux than with his own army?"
"How does the movie show the difference between how the soldiers treated the land and how the Sioux treated it?"
"Do you think the movie would be different if it were told entirely from the perspective of the Sioux characters?"
"Why was it so important to John Dunbar to see the frontier 'before it's gone'?"

Stills