Content lists tell parents what happened. They rarely say what it meant. This is a look at how a story treats power that does not come from God, using three films LionLens has reviewed recently — because the same element can be handled well in one story and carelessly in another.
Minions & Monsters (2026)
LionLens rates this notable for occult and spiritual.
A narrated section describes a master who is “like a devil,” and says, “his book… There were some evil spells in it.” The moment is played with comic fantasy energy rather than serious spiritual practice, but it still normalizes dark supernatural imagery in a family setting. Parents may want to discuss why Christians do not treat spiritual darkness as harmless power and why hope is found in Jesus Christ, not in dark forces.
“unleashed monsters onto the world”
Read the full review of Minions & Monsters
Pokémon 4Ever (2001)
LionLens rates this notable for occult and spiritual.
The movie speaks of “the spirit that protects the forest” and warns that if someone hears “the voice of the forest,” that spirit could “carry you off to a different time.” This is fantasy material, but it presents nature in spiritualized terms rather than as God’s creation. Parents may want to discuss the difference between wonder at creation and trust in spiritual forces within nature.
Read the full review of Pokémon 4Ever
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010)
LionLens rates this some for occult and spiritual.
Occult material does not stand out in a classic magic-spell sense, but the film does use mystical language about truth being felt inwardly: “through our gizzards… the voices of the ages whisper to us and tell us what’s right.” That may be worth discussing so children can distinguish intuition and tradition from God’s truth.
Read the full review of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
What To Do With The Difference
Set the three side by side and the useful question stops being “how much was there?” and becomes “what did the story want us to feel about it?” A film can show something difficult and still treat it as difficult. Another can show far less and quietly make it look admirable.
That is the question worth teaching children to ask for themselves, long before they stop watching films with you.