Aladdin (1992)


Rated: G
Length:  90 min.
Age: 6 and up         Commonsense Media sez: 6 +

Scary Factor: villain Jafar is creepy and evil; the huge lion creature guarding the treasure is truly frightening; it devours a thief at the beginning, though this is not seen; in one scene Aladdin nearly drowns; villain’s magic in the climax at the end is pretty scary and huge – turning into an enormous snake and then an even bigger genie

Action: Aladdin is continually fleeing guards with swords – played for laughs but may be stressful; the scene when Aladdin’s in the cave is pretty heavy action-and-danger-wise (Indiana Jones-esque)

Bad Behavior: when the sultan is imprisoned Jafar’s parrot tortures him by force-feeding him crackers – this might be disturbing, or maybe just disturbing for adults!; Genie smokes a cigarette at one point

Sex: all females are scantily clad; a few kisses

Racism: many stereotypes of Middle-Eastern peoples and lifestyle; heroes sound American, while bad guys have Arabian accents

Language: very slangy; also name-calling: “stupid” “dumb” “idiot”

Interests: Arabian legends, magic, desert, folk tales, other cultures

Next: picture books of 1001 Arabian Nights, old movies like The Thief of Bagdad

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Muppet Treasure Island (1996)


Rated: G
Length:  99 min.
Age: 4 and up.           Commonsense Media sez: 6 +

Scary Factor: usual pirate fight scenes, though no blood; pirate attack on tavern a little alarming (though interjected with funny business)

Also: human character dies at beginning of heart attack, after drinking excessively (no drunken muppets though)

Interests: pirates, ships, muppets, adventure

Next: The Muppet Show TV series, or movies: The Muppet Movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol, etc.
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Treasure Island (1950)


(Disney live-action)
Rated: PG (US & video rating in Canada)
Length:  96 min.
Age: 5 and up.                 Commonsense Media sez: 7 +

Scary Factor: lots of adventure, threatening situations too numerous to count; sword battles, shooting, mutiny; Jim fights a pirate and is wounded before he shoots the pirate in the face

Also: much drinking of rum (only by adults)

Interests: pirates, action, adventure, ships, islands, treasure, British history

Next: other pirate films Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk; books Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Robinson Crusoe

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Yellow Submarine (1968)


Rated: G
Length:  90 min.
Age: 5 and up.                Commonsense Media sez: 7 +

Scary Factor: Blue Meanies and Ruler are threatening and freaky; machine guns carried by the baddies, but no one is shot; flying Glove is scary (mostly the sound of its laugh); one brief moment with Frankenstein monster is a little scary but he soon transforms into John

Also: general freakiness of visuals!

Bad Behavior: one exploding cigar smoked by an undersea monster; no booze, no drugs

Interests: rock music, the Beatles, psychedelia, art, fantasy

Next: Beatles music, movies: A Hard Day’s Night, Help!

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Sleeping Beauty (1959)


Rated: G

Length: 75 min.

Age: 4 and up.                      Commonsense Media sez: iffy for ages 4/5

Scary Factor: no real danger until the climax, when Maleficent turns into a dragon to battle the prince (scene is relatively brief)

Intense Scenes: far more suspense and chills than outright scares – Maleficent is wonderfully threatening; scene in which Aurora pricks her finger on the spindle is eerie and enthralling.

Bad Behaviour: Boozing – the two kings drink endless toasts to each other and a minstrel gets quietly sloshed under the table.

Language:  “fools! idiots! imbeciles!” barked by Maleficent at her underlings; she also mentions the powers of “hell”

Interests: fairy tales, princesses, knights, castles, dragons, magic, fairies

Next: Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Thumbelina

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Captain Blood (1935)


Black and White

Rated: TV-G (TV rating)

Length:  119 min.

Age: 6 and up (more for complex plot and slow pace at start)

Scary factor/Violence: slaves are beaten, and one is branded as punishment (not graphic – offscreen); many battle scenes, but generally bloodless; one big swordfight on beach, but not graphic or disturbing

Sex: scene in which pirates party in a brothel/bar is pretty harmless

Other Bad Behaviour: fair amount of boozing, especially among the naughtier French pirates

Interests: pirates, sailing ships, history, old movies

Next: Treasure Island, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk
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Finding Nemo (2003)


Finding Nemo

Rated: G
Length:  100 min.
Age: 4+ (but not an overly timid 4!)         Commonsense Media sez: 5 +

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Scary factor: Marlin’s wife disappears in opening scene, the (offscreen) victim of a barracuda; throughout: much peril, many close escapes, but the pace is good, nothing lasts for very long so you should be able to sail right through. In the fish tank Nemo has the threat of a  ‘fish-killer’ little girl hanging over him, and takes part in escape plans in which he risks being sucked into the filtration system rotating blades. No real violence or gore. (Dory is accidentally smacked in the nose once and a little blood drips out, that’s it.)

Most scary: a huge shark chases Marlin and Dory, chase ends with underwater mines exploding (The shark scene occurs right after Marlin meets Dory, if you want to skip it.)

Next most scary: a creepy anglerfish chases them: see picture at the end of this review.  Anglerfish scene occurs after they chase the sinking swim mask into the darkest deep, if you want to skip it. Be sure, though, to watch to the very end of the credits, when the anglerfish gets his comeuppance.

Intense scenes: my daughter was bugged by the jellyfish scene. The jellyfish are rather passive, they don’t even seem sentient, but it is really creepy how they float in and surround the fish. Big suspense. Another one which bothered her was the scene inside the whale, when Marlin loses all hope. There isn’t anything overtly scary, but the intense emotions troubled her a little.

Interests: sea creatures, fish, boats, the ocean, fish tanks, dentistry (just kidding)

Next: a museum of natural history visit, or a visit to the zoo or aquarium; documentary movies about amazing sea creatures, movie: Ponyo

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Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007)

(straight to DVD)

Rated: unrated

Length: 56m

Age: 3 +

Scary factor: nonexistent

Interests: the Disney princess brand
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Horton Hears a Who (2008)

Rated: G

Length: 86 min.

Age: 6 and up            Commonsense Media sez: 4 +

Scary Factor: One scene of Horton trying to cross a rickety swinging bridge above a chasm had my daughter (4) climbing the walls and whimpering. Also the vulture Vlad is rather creepy – he is made goofy through his dialogue, but this will be lost on younger viewers who will just find him threatening. Mob descending on Horton at end is rather intense, caging him and tossing the speck into boiling oil! Situation milked for optimum suspense.

Violence: treated as humour: Mayor gets stapler stuck in his head… twice; one animal character is drop-kicked; much fall-down slapstick stuff

Language: very harsh and sarcastic; a lot of name-calling: ‘moron’, ‘idiot’, and ‘boob’ (repeated many times, the ultimate insult levelled by the town council against the mayor: my daughter was still giggling about it days later)

Interests: elephants, jungle, Dr. Seuss

Next: Dr. Seuss books
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Up (2009)


Rated: PG for some peril and action

Length: 96 min

Age: 6 and up        Commonsense Media sez: 6 +

Scary factor: pretty high, with those snarling dogs in attack mode; dogs in planes fly into each other and plummet to the ground; dogs attacking/biting each other; villain Muntz tries to kill heroes; guns firing; many near-falls from airborn house; Muntz falls to his death, though impact not seen

Intense scenes: opening montage showing Carl’s wife in decline and then Carl in the funeral home and in mourning

Interests: action, adventure, travel, ballooning, South America, dogs
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All writings posted here are © Kim Thompson, unless otherwise indicated. For all artwork on this site, copyright is retained by the artist.