Kids
Nine Lives-Kids’ Movie Review
Tom Brand (Kevin Spacey) built a successful business empire from scratch, though he spends more time at work than with the family. He has a beautiful wife, Lara (Jennifer Garner) who struggles with her absent husband as he’s not home much; an adult son, David (Robbie Amell), who works for the family business and wants to make his dad proud; and an 11- year old daughter, Rebecca (Malina Weissman), who absolutely idolizes her father. Tom’s life dramatically changes on his daughter’s 11th birthday when Rebecca asks for a cat. Tom went to a mysterious pet store to buy her a soft cuddly cat. After leaving the store he gets in an accident and wakes up in the body of the cat he had just purchased. Tom is now living at home as his daughter’s pet cat. As a cat he eventually realizes the more important role he has as a husband and father, and observes all he’s missed out on. Tom desperately wants to be a human once again and spend more time with his family, but first he must figure out what he has to do before he can be transformed from the pet cat to the man of the house.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 popcorn buckets out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 1, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 7+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The message highlighted throughout the film is the importance of being around for your family and involved in their lives.
- There is a lot of potty humor throughout the film especially with the cat urinating on a rug and in a woman’s purse.
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
- We see two characters fall from a high rise.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- We hear “d–n.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- A woman is shown drinking martinis and Scotch throughout the film.
- The cat version of Tom gets into the alcohol as well and ends up drinking a little too much.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall this is a fun entertaining film for the whole family.
Ice Age: Collision Course-Kids’ Movie Review
Love is in the air as Manny the mammoth prepares for his daughter’s wedding while Sid the sloth is desperately trying to find true love. However, things get complicated when the acorn obsessed rodent, Scrat, ends up in a UFO and creates a series of cosmic events that threatens the Ice Age World. Now the beloved mammals; Sid, Manny, Diego and friends must leave their home and encounter a whole new adventure. Ice Age: Collision Course is the fifth movie in the Ice Age series.
Rating: 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 11, 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:
Sexual Content: Mild
- Sid the sloth and Brooke have a romantic relationship.
- A character mentions, “naked bingo.”
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
- There is some slapstick violence. Space rocks create explosions and fire.
- Characters get shocked and electrocuted.
- Scrat gets hit, bonked and smashed throughout the film.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Name calling, a character says, “stupid.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall this is a fun, entertaining animated film for the whole family.
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.