Not recommended under 8, parental guidance 8-10 due to violent and scary scenes.
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not recommended due to violent and scary scenes |
Children aged 8 to 10 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence and scary scenes |
Children aged 10 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: | Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild animated violence |
Length: | 94 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is an animated superhero film based on the 1960s Batman TV series. The movie follows crime-fighters Batman and Robin as they battle against a group of nefarious villains in an effort to protect Gotham city. The Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman make their presence known on live television one day, and the Police Commissioner requests that Batman and Robin bring them to justice.
The film follows the heroes and villains as they play cat-and-mouse, leave clues and follow each other’s trails. In the midst of the chaos, Catwoman attempts to poison Batman with a potion that will bring out an evil nature within him. Although it initially does not appear to have any effect, Batman gradually begins to seek out power, control and supremacy over Gotham, appointing replicas of himself to every significant public position. Robin eventually teams up with Catwoman in an attempt to bring Batman back from the dark side, so that they can take on the other supervillains and stop them before it’s too late.
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.
Crime and justice; morality; good versus evil; romance and friendship
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 fairly frequent animated violence within the film, including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
Children in this age group are likely to find the scenes above and some of the characters scary
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.
Children in this age group may also find some scenes and characters scary
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 for this age group
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
Nothing of concern in the film but plenty of superhero merchandise marketed to young children
There are mild sexual references within the film, including:
Batman and Catwoman kiss
There are mild references to substances, including:
There is very mild coarse language, including:
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is a return to the comic version of Batman seen in the 1960s and a contrast to the very dark superhero movies of more recent times. The film explores the nature of good and evil, and highlights the importance of democracy, law, and following the rules that keep society functioning. The story emphasises the importance of taking ‘bold risks’ for the greater good of society and the strength of friendship in overcoming challenging obstacles.
Although not as dark and scary as recent versions of the Batman story, this film still has violent and scary scenes which could disturb young children, so is not recommended for children under 8. Parental guidance is recommended for 8 to 10 year olds.
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
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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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