Not suitable under 8; parental guidance to 11 (language, themes, sexual references, scary scene)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not suitable due to themes, coarse language, sexual references and a scary scene. |
Children aged 8–11 | Parental guidance recommended due to themes, coarse language, sexual references and a scary scene. |
Children over the age of 11 | 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: | Dream Horse |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes and coarse language |
Length: | 113 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Empty nester Jan (Toni Colette), who works as a ‘checkout chick’ by day and a bartender by night, is tired of living a mundane life in a small, down-and-out, Welsh village. Jan dreams of something different and comes up with the plan of breeding a racehorse. Using the £300 she has saved, Jan buys a brood mare and convinces her husband Brian and twenty townsfolk, including tax accountant and former syndicate member Howard (Damian Lewis), to join together to create a syndicate to pay for a stud free and later for a trainer. When the foal, Dream Alliance, is born it seems he has less than one percent chance of ever racing but Jan sees something in him and takes him to the best trainer in the county (Nicholas Farrell). Initially dismissing Dream and his humble beginnings, through Jan’s persistence, the trainer soon notices a spunk and spirit and agrees to train Dream on a trial basis. Before long Dream is not only racing but winning. When a terrible accident threatens to derail everything they have worked for, the syndicate must ask itself what is truly important. Jan’s faith in Dream allows him to live and while they are told he may never race again, it is Dream’s resilience that inspires a nation.
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.
Gambling; Alcoholism; Elitism; Teen pregnancy.
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.
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
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.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:
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 following products are displayed or used in this movie:
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:
Dream Horse is a feel-good drama based on a true story. Not suitable for younger audiences, this film is best suited to older children and adults and is likely to be enjoyed by those who love horses or stories about defying the odds.
The main messages from this movie are to follow your dreams; to do what you were born to do; to have hope; and to always give second chances.
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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ABN: 16 005 214 531