Not recommended under 8, PG to 12 due to violence and scary scenes
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not recommended due to violence and scary scenes |
Children 8 - 12 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence and scary scenes. |
Children 13 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: | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Frightening fantasy scenes, Medium level violence |
Length: | 161 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Harry returns for his second year of schooling at Hogwarts, the school for wizards. Shortly after the term begins Harry starts hearing a mysterious voice saying “kill….kill” which only he can hear. He then finds the caretaker’s cat Mrs Norris hanging upside down apparently dead. Fortunately she is not dead just ‘petrified’. There is a cure but it will not be available until the Herbology class finishes growing Mandrakes which have restorative properties. Later, two of the students are also found petrified. On each occasion Harry hears the voice again.
It becomes apparent that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened by the heir of Slytherin. Slytherin was one of the four founders of the school but left because he wanted to make Hogwarts only available to ‘pure’ wizards and witches not ‘mudbloods’. Before he left he created this Chamber in which lives some terrible evil. The teachers are fearful that they will have to close Hogwarts and send the students home.
Hermione is the next victim and Harry and Ron are left to solve the problem themselves. Harry overhears the teachers talking about a girl student who has been taken into the chamber and who happens to be Ron’s younger sister Ginny. Harry and Ron have to go and rescue her. They work out how to get into the Chamber and Harry finally comes face to face with the evil Basilisk, a monstrously large snake. Harry battles it out with the Basilisk and with the aid of Fawkes, Dumbledore’s pet phoenix and the Sorting Hat, Harry eventually wins. Ginny is saved and all turns out well.
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.
The supernatural
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 some violence in the film, including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
There are many images and visual effects that children under five may find 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 goup are also likely to find many of the above-mentioned scenes disturbing
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 may also find some of the above-mentioned scenes disturbing
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.
Most children in this age group are unlikely to be disturbed by anything in this film
None of concern in the film, but plenty of associated merchandise being marketed to children
None of concern
None of concern
None of concern
None of concern
The take home message from the movie is that good triumphs over evil; in this instance although the evil power is very strong, the good still wins through cooperation and collaboration.
Values parents may wish to encourage include:
friendship
cooperation and collaboration
Values parents may wish to discourage include:
hating one’s enemies
disobeying rules
stereotyping fat people as bullies
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
Children and Media Australia (CMA) is a registered business name of the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM).
CMA provides reviews, research and advocacy to help children thrive in a digital world.
ACCM is national, not-for-profit and reliant on community support. You can help.
ABN: 16 005 214 531