Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 6+
Pixar's stunning adventure is an upper for everyone.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this is the second Pixar movie (after The Incredibles) to receive a PG rating, mostly due to a few potentially frightening scenes involving a band of trained talking dogs trying to get rid of the protagonists, some moments where characters almost fall from a floating house, and some guns firing. That said, it's Disney/Pixar, so the violence is mild. And there's no offensive language, consumerism, or sexuality.
- Families can talk about the movie's central relationship between Carl and Russell. What does the movie have to say about multi-generational friendships?
- What does a young boy teach an elderly man, and vice versa?
- Kids: What kind of adventures do you dream of having?
The good stuff
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Positive messages: Carl and Russell become friends and teach each other about responsibility, caring for nature, and the movie's main theme about "the spirit of adventure."
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Positive role models: Strong role models for multi-generational friendship and a successful
marriage. Young Ellie befriends an otherwise lonely young Carl; they
become best friends and later a married couple. He takes care of her
after she grows ill, and he embarks on a journey to fulfill a lifelong
dream of theirs.
What to watch for
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Violence and scariness: There's some mild peril from thunderstorms hitting the house, and a sad sequence that shows Ellie sick in the hospital and then Carl in a funeral home, surrounded by flowers. Both a real gun and a tranquilizer gun are fired at various characters. A house gets set on fire. Younger kids might be scared by some 3-D images that jump at them from the screen, as well as Muntz' dogs, which sometimes appear seemingly out of nowhere, growling and angry. Muntz tries to get rid of Carl and Russell, even if it means trying to kill them. One character falls to his death.
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Sexy stuff: Not an issue
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Language: Not an issue
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Consumerism: This movie is part of the Disney-Pixar dynasty, with merchandise and other marketing tie-ins associated with the film.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Two adults drink out of champagne flutes.