Name: Ivy + Bean: The Ghost That Had to Go
Genre: Family, Comedy
Released: 2022-09-02T00:00:00+00:00
Cast: Keslee Blalock, Madison Skye Validum, Lidya Jewett, Nia Vardalos, Garfield Wilson

The cold, white mist swirling around the school bathroom drain sets an eerie tone that’s as playful as it is spooky, and director Elissa Down knows exactly how to balance the two. Ivy + Bean: The Ghost That Had To Go isn’t reinventing the family-comedy wheel, but it doesn’t need to—it’s content being a charming, slightly subversive take on childhood fears and friendship.

Based on the second book in Annie Barrows’ beloved series, the film follows best friends Ivy (Keslee Blalock), a imaginative rule-breaker, and Bean (Madison Skye Validum), her more cautious but equally clever counterpart. When Ivy claims to see a ghost in the school bathroom, the girls team up to investigate—and, eventually, exorcise—what’s haunting their hallways. The script, adapted by Elissa Down herself, keeps the source material’s wit intact while expanding on its spooky elements with some genuinely fun visuals: clanking pipes, flickering lights, and a ghostly figure with glowing eyes that’s more mischievous than menacing.

The film’s strength lies in its performances. Blalock and Validum have palpable chemistry, their dynamic grounded in the kind of natural back-and-forth that feels authentic to kids their age. They’re ably supported by Lidya Jewett as Nancy, Ivy’s skeptical classmate, and Nia Vardalos as Mrs. Trantz, the no-nonsense teacher who becomes an unlikely ally. The humor, too, lands effectively—whether it’s Bean’s deadpan reactions to Ivy’s wild theories or the girls’ over-the-top spell-casting antics.

Where the film stumbles is in its pacing. Some scenes drag unnecessarily, particularly when the girls are rounding up their classmates for the exorcism. The subplot involving Ivy’s struggle with cartwheels—meant to highlight her fear of failure—feels underdeveloped and tacked on, disrupting the momentum just as the ghostly mystery is heating up.

Still, Ivy + Bean: The Ghost That Had To Go succeeds where it matters most: in capturing the spirit of its source material while offering something fresh for younger audiences.