Parents' Guide to

Ice Princess

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Sweet, inspiring story tween girls will love.

Movie G 2005 92 minutes
Ice Princess Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 7 parent reviews

CommonSenseChristian
CommonSenseChristian Adult
May 3, 2015
age 8+

Great Mother-Daughter Date Movie With a Few Slick Spots

Casey Carlisle is an eighteen-year-old "mathlete" with a latent passion for skating. Challenged to complete a "personal science project" to win a physics scholarship, she unites her physics talent with her appreciation for figure skating and reaps unexpected results. The more she discovers her skating abilities, the more she is challenged both physically and emotionally, which provides great character growth. She makes true friends of some skater schoolmates who previously saw her only as a geek, and maintains her identity and self-worth in the world of a sport that tries to tear it down. Casey's newfound desire to skate puts a rift between her and her mom, but Casey does her best to treat Mom with love and respect throughout, and the rift is eventually repaired. A sweet romance between Casey and her skating coach's son round out this lovely story. The biggest caveat comes in the form of Tina Harwood, owner of the local skating club and Casey's eventual coach. She's manipulative and scheming; one of her underhanded ploys gets Casey's feet severely injured. Tina never apologizes for any of this, nor does Casey expect her to--it's seen as normal behavior for the sport. Speaking of which, most parents put a lot of undue pressure on their children to win competitions. One dad even says his daughter is only worth his working two jobs if she wins. That's an extremely negative message parents would do well to discuss. It's also worth noting that throughout the story, Casey is presented with skating as an either-or option--she can either be a skater *or* an intelligent woman whose career has a "shelf life." Casey is a good role model because of her kindness, intelligence, and fortitude, but parents need to make clear to their daughters that they can be all those things without giving up what they love. Other minor caveats include what may or may not be drinking at a teen party (beverages served in opaque cups) and catty behavior from skaters in the interest of winning competitions.
Babies02
Babies02 Adult
February 22, 2021
age 6+

Wake me up when its over

Okay this is so boring there is nothing bad in it but I wish I could give it less stars there isn't good lessons it just boring don't recommend
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

This is a story of a girl with a dream, but it's also the story of two mothers with dreams for their daughters, both based on dreams of their own that didn't come true. Casey's mother (Joan Cusack) wants her daughter to become a brilliant scholar. She also wants Casey (Michelle Trachtenberg ), an aspiring scientist/skater, to dress in sensible (dowdy and middle-aged) clothes. She doesn't like the "twinkie little outfits" that figure skaters wear and admits that "no matter how old the rest of us get, we will still always hate the prom queen." Coach Tina (Kim Cattrall) was once a figure skating champion who made a mistake that cost her a chance at an Olympic gold medal. She wants her daughter Gen (Hayden Panettiere) to get the gold medal she could not have. And when Gen tells her that she wants more than skating in her life, she doesn't listen. Both mothers have to learn that their daughters are entitled to their own dreams. The daughters have to learn that, too.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (17 ):

When you first hear the premise of this movie, you may think there won't be any surprises -- but there are, and they're all nice ones. The first surprise is the characters, who rise above the usual bland, interchangeable stick figures for movies of this kind. Michelle Trachtenberg brings a nice shy spirit to Casey, the, and she has able support from the always-engaging Joan Cusack as her mother and the nicely flinty Kim Cattrall as the coach. But the nicest surprise is that after a spate of "mean girl" movies, this one gives us a character who competes with Casey who is honest, loyal, and supportive.

The story had an assist from The Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot, which may be why it feels like it should be called "Ice Princess Diaries." But the formula is nicely played out, with sincerity and sweetness enough to inspire the young viewers to come up with some dreams of their own.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the most important advice that Casey gets from Gen. Why does Casey decide to trust Tina? How does Casey decide what is most important to her? What does she learn from her mother and what does she learn from Tina? They could also discuss the mothering styles of Joan and Tina. How are they alike, how are they different, and what do they have in common with your family?

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