Transfiguring Adoption’s Overview:

The target audience appears to be children ages 13 and up. This is in part due to how long the film is but also due to some intense action sequences, violence, and at least one instance of foul language. This movie would be best for pretty much any family with children of this age who enjoy superhero movies.

While this movie does not necessarily address foster care or adoption, caregivers can note themes about change, truth, and growth throughout the film that can be valuable to a growing teen who is still learning who they are and what their identity (and legacy) will become, much like Diana’s struggle to grow as a hero.

** Spoilers Could Be Ahead **

How Is This Relevant To Adoption & Foster Care?

While this movie is not specifically about foster care or adoption, Diana Prince certainly faces some intense grief and loss that children from the child welfare system may relate to. Diana’s anguish as she expresses having to sacrifice so much for others in her goodbye to Steve Trevor hit my heart so much. How many of our kids would jump at the chance for one wish? One desire to be reunited with a loved one or to feel powerful and in control of their own life? For this reason there are several discussion points that can help you work through tough subjects surrounding grief, loss, and transition with your teenager and help them feel just a little bit less alone as they walk through those very difficult emotions.

Discussion Points:

• The Grief of Change
  Children who have endured trauma and have entered the child welfare system know the relationship well between grief and change. They may not have the vocabulary for this but the themes are the same… When things change, there is loss. Where there is loss, there is a time of grief for what was or what could have been. A child’s grief is hard for a caregiver. We foster and adopt because we love kids and don’t want them to suffer! But healing cannot happen unless we quietly accept a child’s pain and help them walk through it as a team.
• Truth with a Capital T
  Have you ever noticed your child lies? Like, a lot? I’m talking about the time you said the sky was blue and your child defiantly insisted it was not. Or the time you watched them take a snack from the pantry only for them to insist it was their sister. And then there’s that time where they insisted their parents did not hurt them through their tears. Children who have endured trauma struggle with the truth. Because, in the past, truth caused pain. And when you have endured the pain of being torn from the familiar and comforting that is something to be intensely avoided. Caregivers can take Diana’s avoidance of the inevitable loss of Steve Trevor and Barbara’s resistance to relinquish power and charisma as examples of how difficult it can be for children to face Truth.
• Growth in Identity and Legacy
  Like Diana when she first reunited with Steve Trevor, children do not want to think beyond the present. The past was scary enough, who wants to look at the abyss of the future? Between fear and childhood development disruptions it is very difficult for children who have endured trauma to envision the future, let alone plan and sacrifice for it. However, for Diana to regain her Amazonian strength and continue her path as a hero she needed to allow herself to face the truth, grieve, and move forward for a better future for herself and for those she vowed to protect. Just as heart-wrenching of a decision was to let go of Steve, imagine your child letting go of nearly everything they have ever known and the magnitude of these moments becomes much clearer. Children who have endured trauma certainly need to be guided through loss and grief but also be given hope for a future. Since our children cannot see these possibilities for themselves it is up to us as caregivers to help our child dream and think about the person they are today and will be tomorrow.

Cautionary Points:

• Action Sequences with Unrealistic Stunts
  Granted, the Amazons are pretty much on par with gods and it’s made clear they are superhuman, but that may not stop your child from reenacting Diana’s daring Olympic feats or ridiculously cool armored-vehicle dogfight. Or fighting with Cheetah in the water. So please take note if your child struggles to distinguish reality from fantasy that this film should be approached with caution.
• Violence
  Much of the film features Diana trying very hard not to cause lasting harm to others (even bad guys) but the same cannot be said for the villains. There is a significant amount of fantasy violence and realistic violence using weapons like guns. There are also sequences of fighting in water that could lead to drowning and a character being electrocuted. This may be triggering for children who have witnessed or endured violent situations with adults. This is due to their brains being set constantly on high alert and having trouble differentiating between actual danger and the high-stress fight scenes feeling like danger. Proceed with caution if your child has a history of witnessing or enduring violence from adults.
•  Language
  There is one instance of the word “shit” being used in a funny exchange between Diana and Steve. This of course may be a concern if your child struggles with parroting movie lines that get a response but also may not be wanted in your home for a younger child at all.
• War-Torn Scenes World-Wide
  For a child who had endured catastrophic damage to their home, this one may be a film to sit out on. Towards the end of the film Maxwell Lord appears to win in causing world-wide calamity and destruction with bomb sirens, scenes of cities across the world in shambles, and people desperately trying to get away to safety. These chaotic scenes may be triggering to children who have endured catastrophic events such as bombings and mass violence so proceed with caution if your child has endured such things.

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NOTE: Inclusion on these lists does not necessarily mean endorsement. Furthermore, with all our resources, we highly recommend you preview them first to determine if there are any trauma triggers that your child may not be ready to handle. Transfiguring Adoption does not intend for its reviewers nor its reviews to be professional, medical or legal advice. These reviews and discussion guides are intended to help parents to better be able to connect and understand their children who come from traumatic backgrounds.