Not recommended under 8, PG to 13 (Scary stuff. Themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Due to some scary content and mature themes, this movie is not recommended for children under the age of eight. |
Children aged 8-13 | Some children between the ages of eight and thirteen may still need parental guidance to view this film. |
Children over the age of 13 | Most children over the age of thirteen could see this film with or without parental guidance. |
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: | Because of Winn-Dixie |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mature themes |
Length: | 106 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The inhabitants of the small, impoverished town of Naomi have lost their joy for life and their sense of community spirit. Things look pretty bleak to Opal (AnnaSophia Robb), the vibrant and lonely Preacher’s daughter who, with her father, (Dave Matthews) has just moved to town. While her father attempts to come to terms with the fact that his wife has left him, and that he must preach his sermons at the back of a convenience store, Opal wants nothing more that to have some friends, but no one seems to want to be her friend.
She meets Winn-Dixie, a homeless dog with an almost human personality and an uncanny knack for charming people. Soon Opal is making lots of unusual friends such as the town librarian (Eva Marie Saint) and the local “witch” Gloria Dump (Cecily Tyson). Haunted by a desire to know something about a mother she can’t remember, Opal learns a lot about letting go and giving people a second chance. With the help of Winn-Dixie she teaches the town the value of friendship and helps bring the community together one member at a time.
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.
Loss of a parent, isolation
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.
The film contains a small amount of violence:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
There were a few scenes that could possibly frighten young viewers:
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 be disturbed by the scenes mentioned above.
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.
The above mentioned scenes could concern some children between the ages of eight to thirteen.
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 that children over 13 will be frightened by any scenes in this film.
The product Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is referred to and shown many times. It is Opal’s belief that it was this product that helped bring her and Winn-Dixie together.
None of concern.
None of concern.
While there was no use of substances, there were a number of references made to them:
There was some mild coarse language and name calling, including:
The movie’s message is that life can be simultaneously sad and sweet and that everyone needs friends no matter who they are. The movie could provide parents with the opportunity to discuss with their children the importance of friends, including how to choose them, how to make them and how to keep them.
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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