Abominable

image for Abominable

Short takes

Not suitable under 6 and parental guidance to 8 (animated violence, scary scenes and themes)

Age
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
classification logo

This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Abominable
  • a review of Abominable completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 24 September 2019.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 6 Not suitable due to animated violence, scary scenes and themes.
Children aged 6-8 Parental guidance recommended due to scary scenes, violence and themes.
Children aged 9 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Abominable
Classification: G
Consumer advice lines: Some scenes may scare very young children.
Length: 97 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Yi (voice of Chloe Bennett) and her father had always planned to travel around China together so when he unexpectedly dies Yi busies herself by working every job she can to save money and take that trip to honour her father’s memory. She is too busy to grieve and too busy for her mother (voice of Michelle Wong) and grandmother (voice of Tsai Chin) who worry for her. Meanwhile, Mr Burnish (Eddie Izzard) of Burnish Industries has spent a lifetime trying to prove the existence of the illusive Himalayan Yeti. Burnish and his employees, headed by the evil Dr. Zara (voice of Sarah Paulson), find a Yeti but it escapes days before the public reveal. Yi discovers the injured Yeti hiding on her rooftop and soon realises he is in trouble. Naming him “Everest” and vowing to help him find his way home, Yi sets off with her reluctant cousins Peng (voice of Albert Tsai) and Jin (voice of Tenzing Norgay Trainor) on an epic journey across China to help Everest (voice of Joseph Izzo) find his family. Along the way they all learn some powerful lessons about love and life and the incredible difference just one person can make.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Death of a parent, family alienation by failure to deal with grief, cruelty to endangered species and animal distress.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie including:

  • Men from Burnish Industries repeatedly try to shoot tranquilizer darts at Everest.
  • Yi, Peng and Jin are hit by giant blueberries that shoot off bushes and explode on impact like juicy bombs.
  • Everest punches Peng.
  • Burnish Industries staff fly drones that try to shoot down Everest, Yi and Peng who are clinging onto a giant dandelion puff as they float through a mountainous region.
  • Jin is repeatedly poked in the chest with a pole.
  • Mr. Burnish repeatedly smacks rare and endangered snakes on the head.
  • Men are trampled by yaks.
  • Burnish Industries staff chase Everest and the kids in an armoured car that crashes and flips over.
  • Dr. Zara crashes her car into Everest pinning him against the side of a mountain. This triggers an avalanche that pushes the car off the mountain. Yi thinks Everest was killed until he appears behind her.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • Early in the film Everest is found trying to escape from a locked compound. There are numerous security staff brandishing electric zapping poles, trying to corner him and thwart his escape. Everest is growling and scared. It is dark and there are flashing lights. He narrows his eyes in a menacing way (that image alone may scare very young children) and the camera zooms in on this. There is an electrical charge and Everest manages to escape. He is nearly hit by a car and looks completely terrified as he navigates his way down a crowded street. He is hit by a truck and injures his arm, which hangs limp and bleeding, before he manages to find a place to hide from the people who are pursuing him. The scene is intense and is likely to disturb younger viewers.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • Dr. Zara makes the security men shoot darts at Everest. He is hit multiple times while clinging to the top of a bridge. He quickly loses consciousness and falls to the ground where he is captured and imprisoned. She has already made her plan clear that she is going to sell Everest where he may be chopped up and sold off, piece by piece. The image of him lying chained and unconscious may upset some young children.
  • Dr. Zara throws Yi off the bridge into a swirling, snow covered chasm while the boys watch in horror. They are screaming for Yi from the back of the car, unable to help or assist. Jin overheard Dr. Zara saying that she planned to kill them all. Later it is revealed that Yi didn’t die. She grabs a rope and manages, after some time, to pull herself back onto the bridge.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:

  • Nothing further of concern.

Thirteen and overinfo

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

It is unlikely this movie will frighten children over the age of thirteen.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • Aside from one scene in which the vain and image-focused Jin talks about how many ‘likes’ he has on social media platforms, no products were noted in the movie. However, parents should be aware that some cinemas sell promotional merchandise such as popcorn and drink containers featuring characters and images from the movie.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • There are a couple of references about Jin’s numerous girlfriends and Peng does an ‘arm around his back, kissing pose’, pretending to be Jin making out with one of the girlfriends.

Nudity and sexual activity

  • None noted.

Use of substances

  • None noted.

Coarse language

  • None noted.

In a nutshell

Abominable is an action packed, animated, adventure with powerful messages about life, loss and finding home. The film is suitable for families, however, some scenes may scare or disturb very young children.

The main messages from this movie are to help others, to follow your dreams, to love your family and to realise that when you set your mind to something anything is possible.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Persistence
  • Creativity
  • Determination
  • Courage
  • Kindness and compassion for others.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • Using animals for human pleasure or gain without a thought for what is best for the animals.
  • Looking at species that have been decimated or who are extinct and why this has happened.
  • Lying to your parents or leaving home without telling anyone where you are going.
  • Refusing to grieve the loss of a loved one, shutting out other family members and the affect this can have on all concerned.