Not suitable under 8; parental guidance to 13 (violence, scary scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Due to its violence and scary scenes, this movie is not recommended for children under the age of eight. |
Children aged 8-13 | Parental guidance is recommended for children between the ages of eight and thirteen. |
Children over the age of 13 | Children over the age of thirteen should be able to see this movie 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: | Chicken Little |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes, some scary scenes |
Length: | 81 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
When Chicken Little (Zach Braff) raises an emergency call that the sky is falling, panic erupts all over town. When questioned, what Chicken Little believed was a piece of the sky can’t be found. He is labelled as “crazy”, ostracised by the community and, to a certain extent, his own family. Eventually he wins back the approval of society, and his father (Gary Marshall), but just when life is looking sweet … a piece of the sky falls on him again.
The piece of sky turns out to be a piece of an alien spaceship, and when he and his friends Abby (Joan Cusack), Runt (Steve Zahn) and Fish (Dan Molina) investigate, Fish accidentally winds up back on board the spaceship. When his friends attempt to rescue him, they become the prey of two enraged aliens who believe the group have abducted their child. When their attempts at hunting down Chicken Little and his friends fail, an all out alien invasion of planet earth is launched and it is up to an unlikely hero to save the day.
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.
None of concern.
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 frequent use of violence. Being a cartoon, both the violence and the (occasional) consequences are often very unrealistic. Violent scenes include:
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 scary scenes in this movie, 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.
Children in this age group may be scared or 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.
Some children in this age bracket could be concerned by some of the above mentioned scenes.
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 in this age group will be frightened by any scenes in this film.
None of concern.
There is one sexual reference in the movie, when Abbey and Runt sing the karaoke version of “If you want to be my lover…”
None of concern.
None of concern.
While the film contains no coarse language, there is a fair amount of name-calling, for example Abbey is repeatedly referred to as ‘Ugly’ and Chicken Little as ‘Loser’.
The movie’s main message is to believe in yourself and to hold onto the truth no matter how crazy or unrealistic it may seem. The movie could provide parents with the opportunity to discuss the importance of communication and trust in relationships, and the possible consequences when one or both are lacking.
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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