DVD Favorites
Pete’s Dragon-Kids’ Movie Review
“What’s a dragon?” asks Pete. Pete is a 10-year-old orphan boy who lives in the woods with his best friend Elliot. Though Elliot truly is a dragon, to Pete he’s a companion and a giant who takes care of him. When a woman named Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) discovers Pete in the woods, she brings him home, hoping to help the young boy. Her father, Meacham (Robert Redford), was known in the community to tell children mysterious dragon stories. After hearing Pete’s story, Grace and her father were curious to see if there really was a dragon in the woods, so they were guided by Pete and a young girl named Natalie into the forest to find the dragon…Pete’s dragon. Pete’s Dragon is a remake of the 1977 Disney film, Pete’s Dragon.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 29, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 7+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- Pete’s Dragon is a wonderful film for the whole family. The film highlights the importance of love and family. Parents need to be aware of the mature subject matter of death.
- Though there is a dragon in the film, he is cute and cuddly and most likely will not scare kids.
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- Pete’s parents die in a car accident and Pete is the only survivor. This may scare young kids.
- Pete leaps off cliffs and jumps from the roofs of moving vehicles.
- Two characters fall from high branches of a tree.
- Ropes are thrown around the dragon’s neck as he’s hit with tranquilizer darts.
- There’s a car chase with several cars falling from a large bridge
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- The theater was packed with kids of all ages. I interviewed two 7 year-old boy and 6 year-old girl who loved it and said, “Pete was cool.”
Overall Pete’s Dragon is a heartfelt and entertaining film for the whole family.
Ghostbusters-Kids’ Movie Review
It’s 2016 and we can still call the Ghostbusters!! However, this time they’re a group of females. Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), a paranormal researcher; Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), a physicist; Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon ), an engineer; and Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), a lifelong New Yorker, all team up when strange apparitions suddenly appear in Manhattan. The four women get to work in the big city where they hire a handsome yet ditsy assistant Kevin (Chris Hemsworth). Together they create powerful weapons with hopes to destroy the ghosts and save Times Square! Based on the 1984 original film, Ghostbusters.
Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 11, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The film has an all-star, hilarious cast with comedians Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. There are also a few cameos with actors from the original cast
- Parents need to be aware of the potty humor woven throughout the film. This includes jokes about gas and other bodily functions.
Sexual Content: Mild
- The Ghostbusters hire a very attractive male assistant. One of the female Ghostbusters has a big crush on him.
- Their assistant designs a logo for the female Ghostbusters and it highlights the ghosts breasts.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- The glowing ghosts swoosh around New York City, destroy things and terrorize people.
- Characters are thrown around. One victim is tossed out a window.
- The Ghostbusters create powerful weapons to trap the ghosts. However, the devices are dangerous – they blow up vehicles and buildings.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- “Sh-t,” “b–ches” “d–n, “h—,” and “a–” are said throughout the film.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see the Ghostbusters drinking beer at a bar.
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
- I interviewed a 10 year-old boy and his thirteen year-old sister. They thought the film was funny and very entertaining.
Overall this is a fun entertaining film. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence and moderate profane language throughout the film.
The Secret Life of Pets-Kids’ Movie Review
Max’s favorite part of the day is when his owner Katie comes home at night. Max is an adorable Terrier who loves nothing more than hanging out with his master. He has a great life in their high rise apartment, sometimes he even has the other apartment dwelling animals over. There’s Chloe, his feline friend who will eat anything out of the fridge, and the bulldog Mel who barks at the squirrels all day. Unfortunately, Max’s comfortable life changes the day Katie brings home a large rescue dog named Duke. Max no longer has the place to himself and needs to show Duke who’s the alpha male. The adventure begins as the two dogs end up in the streets of New York, desperately wanting to return to their beloved owner Katie. The Secret Life of Pets is a wonderful film for the whole family.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: December 6, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- Initially Max is very jealous of Duke and wants him out of their apartment. The dogs eventually learn to work things out and they develop a wonderful friendship.
- There is some potty humor throughout the film. For example… dogs sniff each others backsides while greeting one another, when the dogs sniff the sewer one of them says it smells like “poo poo with a dash of caca.”
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- There are some rough and tumble moments among the animals. Duke, the big rescue dog, initially pushes and bullies Max.
- There are several chase scenes, the animals even hijack an Animal Control van and a bus, they drive around very recklessly as mayhem ensues.
- Gidget, a Pomeranian dog who has a crush on Max, beats up several animals as she tries to protect Max.
- A viper is crushed and dies from a large brick.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Name calling such as “dummy.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
- I interviewed a 6 year-old girl and her 4 year old brother. They loved the film and did not think it was scary. Her favorite character is Gidget and his is Max.
Overall this is a fun entertaining film for the whole family. Parents need to be aware of the rough and tumble fight scenes and mild potty humor throughout the film.
The BFG-Kids’ Movie Review
Sophie is a ten-year-old girl living in an orphanage in London. Her life dramatically changes the night she’s kidnapped by Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance). Initially she’s terrified of the scary beast and is determined to escape, however as time goes on their friendship grows. The odd couple develops a bond as the giant shows Sophie a magical pond where he catches dreams and then releases them into the minds of the sleeping London residents. Meanwhile, the bad, cannibalistic giants snatch and eat the children of London, and when they smell Sophie’s presence in Giant’s Country, they want to eat her too. Now Sophie is on a mission to get rid of the bad giants forever! The BFG is based on Roald Dahl’s children’s classic novel…The BFG.
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 29, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group:
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The film starts out with a parent’s worst nightmare…a child getting kidnapped. However, as the movie progresses, we see that the giant is a warmhearted man who simply wants to protect and care for the young girl. Being said, kids that scare easily may be frightened by the bad giants as they kidnap and eat children.
- The movie is long, and it is also slow in parts.
Sexual Content: Mild
- The audience sees “Liz naked at my wedding,” written on a label of one of BFG’s dream jars.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- A giant kidnapping a little girl definitely has the tone of a scary movie. When BFG initially kidnaps Sophie, he reaches through a window and grabs her. Eventually they have a wonderful relationship and become the best of friends.
- BFG gives Sophie a nightmare which involves a bad giant catching her and attempting to eat her.
- The mean giants go through BFG’s home looking to eat Sophie.
- BFG gets bullied by the big, mean giants.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see a group of drunk men stumbling home from the pub.
- BFG loves a green champagne-like drink with bubbles that flow downward. It’s noted that the beverage has an effect on those who drink it – people pass gas and lift off their seat and in the air. Kids in the theater were laughing.
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
- I interviewed a seven year old girl in the theater who loved the movie. She was aware of the premise of the film and didn’t think it was scary. Her parents liked it as well.
Overall, The BFG is an entertaining sci-fi, fantasy film. Depending on the child, I feel this is appropriate for kids ages 7 and up. The film may be scary for those who are sensitive.
Finding Dory-Kids’ Movie Review
What would Dory do? That’s what Dory’s friends say when they’re in a difficult situation because they admire Dory’s perseverance and courage to never give up. Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is a blue tang fish who suffers from memory loss. However there is one thing that Dory remembers…how she became separated from her parents as a child. Now the adventure begins as Dory, Nemo and Marline embark on a journey to find Dory’s beloved parents. Finding Dory is the sequel to the 2003 film Finding Nemo.
Rating: 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 15, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- This is a story about hope, friendship and love.
- There’s some action and adventure though a very simple and heartfelt film.
- The importance of family is highlighted throughout the film. In flashbacks we see the interaction of Dory with her parents. Her parents’ love and guidance is wonderfully portrayed.
- Dory has short term memory loss. When she gets lost from her parents she never gives up hope and recalls their encouraging words to never give up. In difficult situations Dory’s friends say, What would Dory do?” because they admire how she handles adversity.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Dory begins to discuss how babies are born though gets interrupted.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
- We see a truck swerve in traffic and then crashes.
- A large squid attacks Marlin, Nemo and Dory then a large crate crashes on its head.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- I interviewed kids between the ages of 5 and 10. They loved the film, and were attentive and entertained throughout the movie.
Overall, Finding Dory is a wonderful animated film for the whole family.