Overview
A young girl faces the chaos of a world unraveling around her, seeking her place in it.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- mythic
- lyrical
- raw
- reflective movie night
- independent cinema evening
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an emotionally powerful, visually inventive work whose imaginative filmmaking and Quvenzhané Wallis’s performance transcend its modest production scale.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Hushpuppy interprets the Bathtub, her father’s illness, rising waters, and the aurochs through an intensely imaginative six-year-old perspective.
The Bathtub is threatened by flooding, rising temperatures, melting ice caps, and pressure to leave the Delta community.
Hurricane aftermath, illness, and poverty coexist with prehistoric aurochs and Hushpuppy’s cosmic, lyrical narration.
Wink’s declining health and the collapse of the familiar world push Hushpuppy to survive and search for her absent mother.
Films like Beasts of the Southern Wild, and why
Pan's Labyrinth
shared magical realism, child-centered perspective, ecological peril, and emotionally charged fantasy
The Tree of Life
shared lyrical coming-of-age storytelling, impoverished rural setting, and heightened natural imagery
The Florida Project
shared intimate family drama, environmental catastrophe, and young protagonist confronting loss
Where the Wild Things Are
shared poetic fantasy, community survival, and a vulnerable child navigating an unstable world
Movie Details
- Director
- Benh Zeitlin
- Release Date
- 2012-06-29
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (1181)
Cast
- Quvenzhané Wallis
- Dwight Henry
- Levy Easterly
- Gina Montana
- Lowell Landes
- Pamela Harper
- Amber Henry
- Jonshel Alexander
- Nicholas Clark
- Joseph Brown
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Beasts of the Southern Wild about?
- A fiercely imaginative girl confronts ecological catastrophe, paternal loss, and the search for her absent mother in a mythic Louisiana Delta community.
- What is Beasts of the Southern Wild like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Beasts of the Southern Wild as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Beasts of the Southern Wild violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Beasts of the Southern Wild as mild.
- What did critics think of Beasts of the Southern Wild?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an emotionally powerful, visually inventive work whose imaginative filmmaking and Quvenzhané Wallis’s performance transcend its modest production scale.
- Which films are like Beasts of the Southern Wild?
- Films with a similar feel include Pan's Labyrinth, The Tree of Life, The Florida Project, and Where the Wild Things Are.
- How long is Beasts of the Southern Wild?
- Beasts of the Southern Wild runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch Beasts of the Southern Wild?
- In United States, Beasts of the Southern Wild streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel.
