Kids

Coco-Kids’ Movie Review

Miguel (voice of Anthony Gonzalez), a young Mexican boy, loves music. He desperately wants to follow his dream of becoming a musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. However, Miguel’s family despises music and even bans it from their house. Miguel is supposed to follow in the family business crafting fine shoes. When Miguel takes his music interest a little too far he suffers a serious consequence and is transported to the colorful and vibrant, Land of the Dead. There, Miguel teams up with an interesting skeleton and embarks on an exciting journey. Coco is a wonderful Disney/Pixar film that explores the traditions of the Day of the Dead.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: February 27, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: Mild

We see a man painting a nude female skeleton.
We see a man kissing a woman.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

A character is crushed by a giant bell.
In the Land of the Dead the skeletons body parts come apart; such as heads, jawbones, eyeball, etc.
We see a popular character who dissolves to dust and fades away. This is a disturbing scene that may upset kids.
A large flying animal growls and may scare kids.
There is some slapstick violence with a lot of chase scenes.
Someone is tossed in a deep well; another character falls from a great height.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

We hear “stupid,” “dumb,” and “jerks.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

We see characters celebrating with alcoholic drinks.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

I interviewed a 10 year old girl who loved the movie. She enjoyed the characters and the music. I also interviewed her 4 year old brother who said he loved it. They didn’t get scared, and the film held their attention.

Overall this is an entertaining film for the whole family. Depending on the child, I recommend this for kids ages 5 and up.

The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature

The animals are nuttier than ever in The Nut Job 2. This film continues the story of a group of park animals who must find a new food source when their beloved nut shop burns down. When they find a beautiful new park with green grass and trees they think life is great. However, things get complicated when the mayor wants to destroy the park and build an amusement park for a profit making venture. The rodents think their lives are over, though Surly the squirrel (voice of Will Arnett) steps up and puts together a plan to destroy the amusement park. The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature is the sequel to 2014’s The Nut Job.

Rating: 4. 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 7, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 6+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

The film highlights the importance of team work and family.
There’s a lot of bodily function humor.

Sexual Content: Mild

Two dogs fall in love and eventually have puppies.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

The construction site of an amusement park is destroyed resulting in fires and explosions.
The human characters tend to be the villains: a father and daughter are both sadistic in the way they treat animals. Animals’ lives are threatened by construction workers.
In a flashback, two animals nearly die in a hurricane.
There’s a lot of slapstick silly violence. Surly jumps out of moving vehicles, he’s beaten by a mouse, and he’s electrocuted.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

We hear name calling such as: “moron,” and “dumb.” We hear “What the …?”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

A character was shot with a tranquilizing dart and appears drunk.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature is a kid friendly movie. Parents need to be aware of the moderate slapstick violence and bodily function humor.

The Emoji Movie-Kids Movie Review

A text can show a lot of emotions, especially with the right emoji. Happy, sad, frustrated, confused; emoji’s express the way a person feels. The Emoji Movie is a story about a world inside our smartphones. Each emoji is supposed to have one job or a certain expression. When the Meh symbol is pressed, Gene Meh, a young emoji, messes up and shows more than one expression. Now mayhem ensues in the world of emoji’s, and the adorable symbols try to handle the chaos while hoping they don’t get deleted.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 buckets out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 24, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 6+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: Mild

There’s flirting between the emoji characters and human characters.
A character’s phone plays the song “Bubblebutt.”

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

Robots chase emoji’s and blasts them with lasers.
One of the robots is very scary and intimidating. At one point it seems as though all the emoji’s will be deleted.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

A character starts to say, “Oh “sh–, ” but doesn’t finish the word. We hear name calling, to name a few; “loser,” “freak,” “weirdo,” “stupid,” and “butt.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

There’s a beer emoji.
A character mentions, “Hack Daniels.”

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall The Emoji Movie is a fun, colorful and very kid-friendly movie. Adult’s may like it too.

Cars 3-Kids’ Movie Review

Most talented professional athletes have their moments in the spotlight with their fast moves and skillful plays, and then a new generation comes along to take it away. Whether it’s Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant there comes a time when they should end their careers. In Cars 3 the legendary Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) is surprised when new racers like the arrogant Jackson Storm zooms right past him in a race. Depressed and devastated, #95 is not quite ready to quit. With the help of an eager young race technician and inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet, Lightning McQueen tries to get back in the game. This is the third film in Pixar’s popular Cars franchise.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 7, 2017
MPAA Rating: G
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

There are some life lessons regarding age and growing older. The film stresses the importance of trying new things no matter how old you are. A character says, “don’t fear failure. Try new things.”

Sexual Content: None

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

We see a couple of intense car crashes where the main characters are demolished to scraps of metal. However, later we see the vehicles in one piece.

Crude or Profane Language: None

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

Some of the racers meet in a bar and drink oil.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Cars 3 is wonderful action packed film for kids of all ages. Parents will like it too.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie-Kids’ Movie Review

George Beard (voice of Kevin Hart) and Harold Hutchins (voice of Thomas Middleditch) are two fourth grade boys who are best friends and neighbors. They love to have a good time, especially when pulling school pranks. On their spare time, when they should be doing homework, the duo work on the comic books they co-created about a superhero named Captain Underpants; a character who has superpowers. Things get difficult for the boys when Principal Krupp wants to separate them due to their school prank- loving antics. Fear of separation, the boys decide to hypnotize their principal into believing that he’s Captain Underpants. Now chaos ensues as Principal Krupp becomes the superhero Captain Underpants. Based on the popular book series Captain Underpants.

Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: September 12, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 6+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: None

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

There’s a lot of slapstick silly violence. The villain (Professor Poopypants) attacks the school with a huge robotic monster. He also creates a huge animated toilet that’s filled with toxic waste. Captain Underpants is thrown into the toilet and swallows some of the muck.
The professor gets hit by passing vehicles. He creates scientific mechanisms that cause a lot of damage.
The professor shoots rays at kids in the school, clearing their thoughts.
Buildings are destroyed.
We see a vision of the future which involves robots zapping people with lasers.
Principal Krupp/Captain Underpants creates a lot of chaos as well. Dressed as Captain Underpants, he jumps off high building thinking he can fly, but he can’t. He gets hit by moving cars, bounces around town on a giant ape balloon, and throws an old lady into a tree after her cat.
Principal Krupp yells a lot and is constantly angry at the students

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

Potty words such as; “fart,” “poopy,” “diarrhea,” and “butt.”
There’s also name calling; “weirdo,” “stupid,” and “dumb.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: None

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Elementary school aged kids love the humor of the film.

Overall Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is a fun entertaining film for kids. Parents need to be aware of excessive potty humor throughout the film.