Not suitable under 13, PG 13-15 due to themes, violence (including torture) and disturbing scenes
This topic contains:
Children under 13 | Not suitable due to supernatural themes, violence (including torture) and disturbing scenes |
Children 13-14 | Parental guidance recommended due to supernatural themes, violence (including torture) and disturbing scenes |
Children 15 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.
Name of movie: | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows P1 |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Fantasy themes and violence |
Length: | 146 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
This film is the first of two based on the seventh book in the Harry Potter series.
Harry (Daniel Radcliff) is now at the end of his time at Hogwarts. The dark lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has become very powerful and sees Harry as his greatest enemy and the greatest threat to his existence. Voldemort is determined to survive no matter what the cost. When he was young he split his soul into seven parts, each of them being called a Horcrux. He has hidden these all over the world and Harry is determined to find each one and destroy them.
Harry leaves Hogwarts to be taken to a safe house but is attacked on the way. He manages to reach the safe house but is followed there and has to disappear quickly. Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) go with him and together they begin a quest to destroy Voldemort’s power forever.
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; death of loved ones; cruelty; taking on a dangerous quest
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.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 contains sometimes intense action violence throughout and the depiction of some blood and gore. Examples 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 many 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.
Children in this age group are also very likely to be disturbed by many scenes in this film
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 violent and disturbing scenes described above may also frighten children in this age group
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.
Younger children in this age group may also be disturbed by above-mentioned scenes.
None of concern in the movie, although associated merchandise is being marketed to children
In one scene, Voldemort tells how one of the teachers at Hogwarts would have “us” (magical people) “mating with muggles “(non-magical people).
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
The film contains a scattering of mild coarse language and name calling. Examples include:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a fantasy action film. It is darker, and contains more intense action violence and drama than previous Harry Potter films, and seems to be made for an older adolescent and adult audience. At 146 minutes it is also very long. It is definitely not suitable for children and younger teens.
The main message from this movie is that fighting evil and standing up for your principles can come at the cost of great personal sacrifice and suffering.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
Parents may also wish to discuss parallels between Voldemort and real people from history, and how power in the wrong hands becomes evil, resulting in harm to innocent people.
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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