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Paddington 2- Kids’ Movie Review

“Be kind and polite and the world will be right.” That’s a quote from Paddington’s Aunt Lucy. He loves his aunt and frequently quotes her. Paddington wants to find the perfect gift for his aunt’s 100th birthday. He eventually sees a pop-up book about London in his friend’s antique shop. However, the book is very expensive so Paddington does odd jobs until he can afford it. Unfortunately, a mysterious thief steals the book right before Paddington goes to buy it. Sadly, Paddington is wrongly accused of the robbery and is sentenced to prison. Now the adventure begins as the adorable, fun loving bear becomes a prisoner and charms all the inmates. Paddington 2 continues the story of Paddington bear who lives happily with his adopted family in London.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: April 24, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

There are some great messages for young kids. Paddington’s Aunt Lucy says, “Look for the best in people and you’ll find it.” Paddington lives by his aunt’s rules, even in prison.
Paddington always wants to do the right thing. He typically thinks of others before himself.

Sexual Content: None

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

During a robbery Paddington chases a thief through a store and down the streets.
Paddington is surrounded by many scary looking inmates when he’s in prison. Initially they are intimidating and mean to the poor bear, but they eventually befriend him.
A villain has a sword and fights with a main character.
Paddinton falls in a river and nearly drowns.
There’s a very sad scene when Paddinton’s adopted parents don’t visit him on visiting day in prison. We see Paddington in bed crying as he thinks they no longer love him.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

Name calling such as “coward,” and “weirdo.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

Champagne is served on a train ride.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall, this is a wonderful movie for the whole family.

Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – Kids’ Movie Review

As you may know, Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is set in a galaxy far far away. The film begins immediately after the events of the Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. It continues the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley), and her discovery of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and the story of the war between General Leia Organa’s Resistance and the First Order. This is an entertaining film for the Star Wars fans!

Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: March 27, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

The importance of friendship, teamwork and doing the right thing is portrayed throughout the film.

Sexual Content: Mild

A character briefly kisses another character.
Rey sees a man shirtless and she gets flustered.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

There are numerous battles, explosions and a lot of sci-fi violence with thousands of deaths.
We see a character who is sliced in half, however there isn’t any blood.
Many weapons are used such as lightsabers, bombs and fighter planes.
The villains in the film may scare kids.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

We hear “d–n,” “h—,” “a–,” and “b–tard.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

Character’s are shown drinking liquor at a casino.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

I interviewed three kids ages 11 (boy), 12 (girl), and 15 (girl). They loved the film and said they weren’t scared at all. They are big Star Wars fans!

Overall this is an entertaining film, especially for the Star Wars fans. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film.

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.

Justice League-Kids Movie Reivew

The world is mourning a beloved superhero’s death…Superman! While Batman is in Gotham City (Ben Affleck) he tries to keep things in line but it’s hard without friend. Crime is up and the people of Gotham are feeling down. Things get even worse as Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) informs Batman that Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), an evil supervillian, has returned and wants to destroy the world. So Batman and Wonder Woman recruit a group of allies to form a team known as Justice League. Now this superhero team tries to save the world from the evil villain. Justice League is based on DC Comics’ superhero adventures.

Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: March 13, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: Mild

We see couples kissing.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

There is a lot of super-hero violence such as explosions and destruction.
There are a lot of battles. Character’s are shown fighting with swords, guns, hammers and fist fights.
A giant monster destroys buildings, throws superheroes around, and kills people.
A resurrected Superman is extremely angry and fights with Batman.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

We hear “sh-t,” ‘a–,” b–ch,” “d–n,” and “h—.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

We see a character drinking whiskey.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall this is an entertaining film, especially for superhero fans. Having said that, parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film.

Daddy’s Home 2-Kids’ Movie Review

The holidays are a wonderful time of year though the family dynamics can get complicated at times. Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell) is happily married and he has two stepchildren. He loves his wife’s kids and wants to be the best father to them. He’s even made an effort to get along with Dusty Mayron (Mark Wahlberg), their biological father. In fact, things are so good between the two dads they decide to have their families spend Christmas together. Now things get interesting and the family dynamics gets even more complex. Daddy’s Home 2 is the sequel to the 2015 comedy Daddy’s Home.

Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: February 20, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: Moderate

One of the Grandpa’s is a womanizer. He has sexual encounters with several different women that he picks up at bars and restaurants, though we don’t see anything. References are made that he took home two women for sex at the same time.
A young boy is teased about his crush on a girl. Later he’s shown briefly kissing several different girls.
A dad gives a boy a sex talk saying “boys have a dingle, girls have a hoo-hoo.”
The two Grandpa’s advice a young boy on how to approach a girl he likes. One of the grandpa’s has a nice approach telling him to become friends first. The other grandpa says “smack her behind.”
Kids joke about French kissing.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild

There’s a lot of silly slapstick violence. Character’s fall, a chainsaw flies through the air, an elderly man is lost and is found laying face down in the snow.
One of the grandpa’s is hit in the face with a tetherball at school, then kicked in the face by a child on a swing, knocking him down.
A young girl shoots a turkey with a rifle and accidentally shoots her grandpa.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

We hear “b–ch,” “s–t,” “d—,” “a–.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

Two young girls sneak rum-spiked eggnog. They get drunk and one falls off a roof. It appears that there are no consequences for their drinking.
Adult characters are shown drinking alcoholic beverages.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall this is a fun and entertaining film. Having said that parents need to be aware of the sexual references made throughout the film.