Wild Child is a 2008 teen comedy film directed by Nick Moore, written by Lucy Dahl, and starring Emma Roberts, Natasha Richardson, Shirley Henderson, Alex Pettyfer and Aidan Quinn, with Georgia King, Kimberley Nixon, Juno Temple, Linzey Cocker and Sophie Wu.

Poppy Moore is a wealthy and spoiled American girl who is sent to a boarding school in England by her widowed father, where she soon learns the true meaning of life and friendship.

[2][3][4] Spoiled and rebellious Poppy Moore from Malibu, California, damages and discards her widowed father Gerry's new girlfriend Rosemary's belongings.

The furious Gerry sends Poppy to the English boarding school Abbey Mount, hoping that something will change.

Poppy unhappily learns the bedrooms are shared and meets Kate, Josie, Kiki and Jennifer, also known as "Drippy".

Kate loans her her actual cellphone to message Ruby, her friend from back home, who is secretly cheating with Poppy's boyfriend Roddy.

With no one to turn to, Poppy sneaks into the kitchen to call Ruby, who accidentally reveals her affair with Roddy and hangs up on her.

Realizing she no longer wants to leave, Poppy writes an apology letter to Freddie and accepts responsibility for the fire.

While Poppy awaits for the Honour Court to determine if she should be expelled, Freddie finds her crying, realizes the fire was an accident, and forgives her.

[9] Wild Child was released in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2008, taking fifth place at the box office with $2,196,366 from 359 cinemas with an average of $6,118.

Urban Cinefile gave Wild Child a much more favourable review, stating "The film has an energy and honesty about it: it's lively, funny and smart and the characters are appealing."

[16] In a mostly positive review for Variety, Leslie Felperin wrote that Dahl's script "puts more emphasis on character development and plot mechanics than the recent, slapstick-laden, girls’-school-set St. Trinian's, and still manages to have funnier one-liners".

Felperin also found that the film's "third-act endorsement of female friendship turns out to be surprisingly affecting, despite obvious sentimentality.

"[17] Meanwhile, Jack Wilson of The Age took a different view of the characters' development, finding that Dahl's screenplay "dwells unpleasantly on cruelty and humiliation, and finally Poppy does little more than exchange one form of snobbery for another.