Family
Family movie reviews
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Review
In the Goblet of Fire, Harry is entering his 4th year at Hogwarts. Hoping for a quiet year of school, Harry reunites with his friends at Hogwarts. When he arrives at school Dumbledore announces that Hogwarts will host the Triwizard Tournament, one of the most exciting and dangerous of the magical competitions. Harry Potter along with Cedric Diggory(Robert Pattinson) are selected from Hogwarts. Now Harry must deal with not only schoolwork, but the difficult tournament and also a little teen romance.
Rating: Five out of five buckets
Release Date: October 19, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
This movie is rated PG 13. The film is more violent, and has a scarier plot than the others. We see the evil Lord Voldemort fully return in this movie and kill a student which may scare kids. This film is appropriate for kids ages 10 and up, with parental guidance due to the violent images.
Happy Feet 2 Review
Have you ever seen your child being bullied? Well Mumble, The Master of Tap, saw his son Erik being bullied, because he couldn’t dance. Feeling depressed and lonely, Erik ran away, and came across The Mighty Sven, a penguin who could fly. Erik’s father, Mumble, may have been a good dancer, but he could not fly, and he certainly could not compete with Erik’s new role model, Sven. However, when a massive iceberg broke and slammed into the emperor penguins’ bay; the penguins were trapped. So then Mumble, Erik and friends had to rescue the victims. Happy Feet Two is an entertaining fun movie for kids of all ages.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: March 13, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
See a clip of my review here, plus the Breaking Dawn review!
Talking Points:
At some point in our lives we may have experienced what it’s like not to fit in. Mumble desperately wanted to let Erik know that he will eventually fit in, and make his contribution to the world. This could spark a good parent-child conversation.
The movie is filled with great messages for youngsters to hear. In one scene Erik sang a song about how his father had inspired him to keep striving to make a difference, even if things seemed impossible. Another great parent/child conversation.
The music was fun and entertaining in the film. Kids in the theater were dancing in their seats; they had happy feet too!
I never saw the first Happy Feet movie, and I really enjoyed this movie, though it was about a half an hour too long. I noticed the kids in the theater were getting antsy too.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Two male characters had affection for each other. This could spark a conversation with your kids.
- One character said, “I’d never have an egg with you.”
Violent Content: Mild
- Penguins formed an ice ramp to try and fly out of the hole they were trapped in; it didn’t work, but they kept trying, though they fell to the ground each time.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- They said, “fluff” instead of the f-word…”fluff off.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Overall Happy Feet Two is an entertaining, heartwarming film with a message of the importance of love, acceptance, and determination. Appropriate for any age!
Gulliver’s Travels Review
Gulliver’s Travels is an adaptation of Jonathan Swift’s novel Gulliver’s Travels. This is the story about Gulliver (Jack Black), who works in the mailroom at a New York newspaper, though he desperately wants to be a travel writer for the newspaper. He finally gets his big break when he’s sent out on an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle. Hit by an unexpected storm, Gulliver is shipwrecked on the shore of a tiny island called Lilliput, and he is surrounded by the tiny inhabitants of this 18th century style kingdom. He and his new friends have many adventures as Gulliver risks his life to save Lilliput from their enemies.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: April 19, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
In this kid friendly movie, children will be entertained by Jack Black’s character as a big, harry beast, (that’s how the Lilliputian’s described him). He is a likable character, who you feel sorry for, and want to succeed.
Even though Gulliver was not initially liked by the Lilliputians, he ended up being an inspiration to them. He introduced them to music video games, and he taught his best friend Horatio some modern day courting techniques, which was quite humorous.
Sexual Content: Mild
This was a PG movie, which I think was rated correctly. There were some passionate kisses, but nothing inappropriate. There was one scene where the princess asks her fiance why he loves her, and points to her chest. Something parents may want to know.
Violent Content: Moderate
- There were a few battles, in one scene Gulliver was hit by cannonballs on his stomach, after the battle his chest was covered with red welts, it was disgusting.
- In another scene, Gulliver was fighting with a general, who built a giant robot to defeat Gulliver. Gulliver took a lot of abuse from this robot.
Profanity: Mild
- There was some profanity, nothing too bad.
When the movie was finished I interviewed a 6 year old boy and his dad. The boy liked the movie, and the dad said he thought it was okay, but a good kid movie. That’s how I felt, the movie was just okay. However, kids seemed to enjoy it, there was nothing too inappropriate, a movie boys and girls may like. Appropriate for kids ages five and up.
Furry Vengeance Review
“Furry Vengeance” is the story about a real-estate developer named Dan (Brendan Fraser). He moves his family from Chicago to Oregon to oversee the building of a major housing development. However, this new project threatens the homes of the local animals, so these animals, led by a raccoon, seek revenge; and that’s when all the trouble begins for Dan.
Rating: Two out of five buckets
Release Date: August 17, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
The characters are very likable. Brooke Shields character plays Dan’s loving and supportive wife. Dan is a good husband and dad, he wants everyone in the family to be happy with their move to Oregon. He tries to please his wife, son and his demanding boss.
This an appropriately rated PG movie, it’s a family friendly movie with nothing too inappropriate.
The movie is supposed to be a comedy, but I felt sorry for Dan, and didn’t find it very funny. He’s a good guy who works hard to provide a nice life for his family, but in return he receives a lot of abuse from the local animals. He’s tossed back and forth in a porta-potty by a huge bear; he’s continually being bitten and pummeled by a raccoon, he gets locked in his car with spraying skunks, and he’s also stung by a swarm of bees. The physical and slapstick humor got old.
I know that there was supposed to be a lesson for the viewers of preserving and protecting nature, but Dan get’s abused so much by the end you feel bad for him, not for the animals. I love what a reviewer from Entertainment Weekly said, “I’m not convinced that repeated assaults to the groin, bee stings to the eyes, raccoon pee in the mouth, or skunk stink sprayed head to toe is the way to teach ecological balance.”
Even though I didn’t care so much for the movie, it was a family friendly movie, and the kids in the theater seemed to like it. I interviewed three boys ages 6 to 8, they all enjoyed it, though my 10 year old son thought it was okay. I’m going to give it 2 buckets out of 5. I think it’s appropriate for kids ages five and up.
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Review
Ahh young love. Ted(voice of Zac Efron), a 12 year-old boy, asked Audrey, (voice of Taylor Swift), the girl of his dreams, what she would do if a boy showed her a real tree; Audrey replied, “I’d marry him.” That was it for Ted, he was on a mission to find out why the trees in their world were all chopped down, and he was determined to find a tree to show Audrey. He went to visit Once-ler, a strange creature who was involved with the tree debacle. While chatting with Once-ler, Ted learned the intriguing story of the Lorax,(voice of Danny DeVito), a charming creature who fought to save the trees. So now it was up to Ted to fulfill his goal, and get the girl. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, is a fun, entertaining movie for kids of all ages.
Rating: 5 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: August 7, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
Talking Points:
The Lorax has caused some controversy because of the environmental message instilled throughout the film. Some commentators thought the message was over the top, trying to “indoctrinate our children.” Some adults may feel the same way, however kids will most likely enjoy this film. It was an entertaining movie, with some catchy tunes and fun characters. The theater was packed with young kids, who were all very attentive, while laughing at the humorous parts.
When Once-ler gave Ted the last tree seed, he said, “It’s not what it is. It’s about what it can become.” We all grow and learn in life, especially our children. A good lesson for kids.
It was annoying to see Once-ler’s family mocking and criticizing him; saying he would never succeed. When he became successful they were supportive, however when he failed, they left him.
Once-ler broke a promise to the Lorax, which ultimately hurt him. This could spark some good parent/child conversations.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Animated characters wore bikinis.
- Ted had a dream that he kissed Audrey, it was a sweet innocent scene.
Violent Content: Mild
- There was some slapstick, silly animated violence.
- Ted was threatened and chased by Mr. O’Hare, a business tycoon, who sold bottled city air. He may scare young kids.
- When Ted approached Once-ler’s house, he had to avoid an array of old machinery, loaded with dangerous blades.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
Overall The Lorax is a cute entertaining film for young kids. It’s appropriate for kids of any age, though parents need to be aware of the mild, slapstick violence.