I Watched Flow With My Family, And... That Was A Mistake

Spoiler Warning: There are major Flow spoilers below. If you've yet to watch the 2024 animated film, please exercise caution.

For as long as my kids have been old enough to watch movies, my family has had the annual tradition of watching all the animated films nominated for Oscars. When the 2025 Academy Award nominees were announced, I was stoked to see Flow, which some consider one of the best animated movies of 2024, on that list. Having wanted to check it out for some time, I thought my kids would be all for a movie about an adorable cat trying to survive a flood.

But I was wrong…

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and can see why it’s been nominated for two Oscars, it was a different experience for my kids. Come with me as I break down why I think showing Flow to my kids (especially my youngest) was kind of a mistake.

Flow Seemed Like It Was Going To Be Something My Kids Would Love

When I first saw the Flow trailer last year, I thought to myself that this would be the perfect thing to watch with the kids on a family movie night. I mean, my kids love animated movies, are obsessed with our two cats, and they’re all about adventure stories. Going by the two-minute trailer, it looked like the movie would have all of that and more. There appeared to be no shortage of wonder, excitement, journeys, and mystery throughout the movie.

Though Flow does have all of that (and more), I don’t think my kids were ready for everything else the movie threw their way. I fully agree with one of my colleagues who said it was one of their favorite 2024 movies, but it was a completely different story for my kiddos. Did they hate it? No, not at all. But, is it something they want to watch again? In time…

They Loved The Animation, But The Story Was Too Much For Them

Here’s a crazy fact about Flow that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. According to Hollymotion, the Oscar-nominate movie (Best Animated Feature Film, Best International Film) was made entirely in Blender, a free and open-source animation program that anyone and everyone can use. While the visuals aren’t always as sophisticated as other nominees like The Wild Robot or Inside Out 2, Gints Zilbalodis’ acclaimed animated film is powerful, unique, and marvelous.

I wasn’t alone in my love of the animation, as my kids kept commenting on the way the dark grey cat at the center of the film looked and acted, and they had even more praise for the capybara and other animals that joined the lost feline on its search for dry land. But, while they loved the look of the film, the story was too much for them – both in terms of frightening moments and a plot they had trouble understanding. They would bounce from being scared to confused and back to scared in the stretch of a few minutes, and there were times when I had to stop the movie to explain this or that to them before proceeding.

I Loved The Movie's Lack Of Dialogue, My Kids Not So Much

This isn’t one of those movies where you have to worry about subtitles, as the animated film doesn’t have a single line of dialogue. A bold choice, but it really works in the movie’s favor, especially when it comes to setting the tone and mood of the film. As much as I love talking animals in movies, having the cat, various dogs, lemurs, birds, and other characters struggle to find ways to communicate added a nice touch, and set it apart from similar movies.

However, my kids weren’t as big of fans when it came to the whole no-dialogue aspect. There were multiple times throughout where they were confused about what was happening, which resulted in me frequently pressing pause to explain things to them, either because they didn’t pick up on something or were just losing interest. We made it through okay in the end, but it was distracting having to start and stop over and over.

The Peril In Flow Was Too Much For My Kids At Times

One of my colleagues recently wrote about The Wild Robot being low-key terrifying, and I can honestly say that Flow also falls into that category. While there were times of wonder, excitement, and pure beauty as the cat embarked upon an epic journey to escape a mysterious flood, my daughter, in particular, was having a hard time with the peril of it all.

At one point very early on when the cat and dogs were being carried away in a river of water and debris, my daughter began to cry because she thought the animals were going to die. It was another time when we had to pause and say this was just an animated movie and none of the animals were real or in any kind of real danger. My joke about The Adventures of Milo & Otis didn’t help the situation at all, but our cat jumping on her lap shortly after did lighten the mood.

Flow Touches On Some Heavy Tones, And I Don't Think My Kids Are Ready For It Just Yet

Before going into Flow, I thought my kids were going to be more than ready to handle the heavy tones, topics, and situations on display throughout. However, I don’t think they’re quite ready for any of it just yet.

As I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t shy away from the dark and dangerous; in fact, it steers the boat directly toward it. That makes for a more fulfilling story for adults or older children, it was a different story for my three kids, especially my youngest. This isn’t to say it's a bad animated movie and has no right to be nominated for an Oscar or receive praise at any of the upcoming awards shows, but it’s just not the right film for my kids at this point in time. Am I bummed? Yeah, sort of. But I am excited to revisit it with them in the future.

All in all, Flow was a terrific animated film that deserves any and all praise that comes its way. And who knows, my kids could be the exception and yours could enjoy as much as I did.