Not recommended under 13, (Violence, disturbing themes, scary scenes) PG to 15 (Disturbing themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 13 | Not recommended due to violence, scary and disturbing scenes and themes and coarse language. |
Children 13-14 | Parental guidance recommended due to disturbing themes. |
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. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, The |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Menacing themes, violence and coarse language. |
Length: | 122 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Centuries before this story begins Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) won a bet with the Devil (Tom Waits) and, as a reward, was given immortality. This suited him just fine until he fell in love with a beautiful young woman. In order to win her heart he made another wager with the Devil and was given youth in exchange for any child that might be born to the couple. The Devil stipulated that from the age of sixteen that child would belong to him.
When, at the age of sixty, the love of his life dies giving birth to a
daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), Dr. Parnassus realizes the extent of what he
has done. As the eve of her 16th birthday draws nearer he finds himself making
another desperate wager with the devil in order to gain her freedom.
With the help of his travelling “Imaginarium”, his faithful companion Percy
(Verne Troyer) and Anton (Andrew Garfield) a young actor in love with
Valentina, Dr Parnassus sets about the task of saving souls, trying to claim
five before the devil does. The group are helped along the way by Tony, a
corrupt philanthropist whom they save after the Russian mafia tries to hang him
(Tony is played predominately by Heath Ledger, but also in a series of
transformations within the Imaginarium by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin
Farrell).
A desperate race of good versus evil ensues as Dr Parnassus and his friends try to win against all odds while unsuspecting volunteers are given a glimpse of the alternate realities that lie within the Imaginarium.
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.
Making wagers with the Devil; gambling with a child’s life; alcoholism
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 this movie including:
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 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 some of the scenes described above and the theme of making wagers with the Devil, particularly when they threaten the life of a child.
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 be disturbed by some of the scenes described above and the theme of making wagers with the Devil, particularly when they threaten the life of a child.
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 the theme of threatening the life of a child by making a wager with the Devil.
None of concern
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:
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus is a fantasy adventure film with numerous plot twists and special effects, leaving the viewer with much to think about long after the end credits have rolled. Disturbing scenes and themes make it unsuitable for younger viewers.
The main message from this movie is that we all make our own choices and choose our own destinies.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with older children include:
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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