Deep Blue

image for Deep Blue

Short takes

Not suitable under 6, parental guidance to 12 (Violence and distressing scenes)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Deep Blue
  • a review of Deep Blue completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 1 February 2005.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 6 Not suitable due to scenes showing animals killing other animals for food. Also may lack interest for this age group.
Children aged 6-12 Children in this age group may find some scenes distressing. Also may lack interest for children under 8.
Children aged 13 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: Deep Blue
Classification: PG
Consumer advice lines: Predatory animal violence
Length: 91 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Deep Blue takes the viewer on a journey through and above the ocean, following schools of dolphins, flocks of albatross, a colony of sea lions and Emperor Penguins and many other creatures. A submersible vehicle travels to the bottom of the ocean revealing the most extraordinary creatures and very interesting features of the ocean floor. In one scene, sharks are shown hunting in a pack and go into a feeding frenzy when they find a large fish who has been hiding. The sea lion colony is delightful and shows the pups playing in the shallow waters but a killer whale comes close into shore and captures one to eat.

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 are some violent scenes in this movie depicting animals killing for food:

  • A killer whale captures a young sea lion and it is shown repeatedly throwing the sea lion into the air.
  • The sharks attack a fish in a feeding frenzy.
  • A polar bear attacks a whale
  • Killer whales stalk a mother grey whale and its calf and eventually manage to separate the calf from its mother. They then drown the calf and kill it; blood is shown pouring out, and what is left of the calf is shown.

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.

The above mentioned scenes are likely to scare children in this age group. Also some of the creatures in the ocean are quite grotesque and scary looking.

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.

The above mentioned scenes are likely to scare children in this age group. Also some of the creatures in the ocean are quite grotesque and scary looking.

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.

Children in this age group might find some of the scenes distressing.

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.

Children in this age group are unlikely to be scared by this movie.

Product placement

None noted.

Sexual references

None of concern.

Nudity and sexual activity

None of concern.

Use of substances

None of concern.

Coarse language

None of concern.

In a nutshell

As this movie is a documentary, there is no message or values presented.