PG under 8 (Violence, Scary scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence and scary scenes |
Children 8 and over | OK for this age group |
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: | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel |
Classification: | G |
Consumer advice lines: | None |
Length: | 88 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The “squeakquel” to Alvin and the Chipmunks picks up where the first story left off. The Chipmunks are performing at a charity concert when Alvin’s show-stealing antics backfire and land their guardian Dave (Jason Lee) in serious condition in a London hospital. The Chipmunks are sent back home to Aunt Jackie (Kathryn Joosten) while Dave stays to recuperate. Unfortunately Aunt Jackie has an accident at the airport and is taken away in an ambulance leaving her game-obsessed grandson Toby (Zachary Levi) to look after them.
At Dave’s insistence the boys are sent to school and have some trouble fitting in. Alvin (voice of Justin Long) and Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) begin to fight because of peer pressure and different priorities pulling them in opposite directions, and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) struggles to understand why his family is falling apart. Meanwhile Uncle Ian (David Cross), who lost everything, is dreaming of a way to get back at the Chipmunks when he stumbles across sisters Brittany (Christina Applegate), Jeanette (Anna Faris) and Eleanor (Amy Poehler) who become the Chipettes, a female version of the Chipmunks. In a bid to get himself back to the top Ian organizes a contest between the two groups. As the girls’ popularity soars Ian’s true colours begin to show and his attempts at revenge are foiled when the two groups decide to work together instead of against each other.
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.
Children having to act as adults; peer pressure; using others for personal gain
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 and accidental harm in this movie including:
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:
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.
Most children in this age group are
unlikely to be disturbed by anything in this film
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.
Nothing of concern
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.
Nothing of concern
None of concern
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is an animated comedy, featuring computer animated graphics and toe-tapping musical numbers. As a family film it is likely to appeal to fans of the previous movie as well as to older generations who remember the original Chipmunks.
The main messages from this movie are to be true to yourself and your family and not to let other people’s opinions or actions influence who you are or who you are capable of becoming.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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