Parental guidance recommended to 8 (sad and emotionally distressing scenes). May lack interest for young children.
This topic contains:
Children under 9 | Parental guidance recommended due to sad and emotionally distressing scenes in the context of Koko's passing. May lack interest for very young children. |
Children over the age of 8 | Ok for this age group though some scenes may be emotionally distressing. |
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: | Koko: A Red Dog Story |
Classification: | G |
Consumer advice lines: | Very mild themes and coarse language |
Length: | 78 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Koko: A Red Dog Story is a documentary about the Australian Kelpie, Koko, who was the main canine actor in the 2011 Australian film, Red Dog. Red Dog was based on Louis de Bernières' best-selling book about the true story of an Australian cattle dog who was well known for his travels through Western Australia in the search of his missing master in the 1970s. Koko: A Red Dog Story consists of original and personal footage, TV clippings, animated scenes and interviews with people who knew Koko, including his first owner and breeder Carol Hobday, Red Dog film director Kriv Stenders, producer Nelson Woss, and lead actor Josh Lucas, as well as re-enacted scenes starring Felix Williamson (depicting Woss), Toby Truslove (depicting Stenders), and Sarah Woods (depicting Carol Hobday). Narrated by Jason Isaacs, the audience follows Koko from when he was a little puppy; his brief but successful career as a show dog; how he came to be cast for the movie Red Dog; the filming and subsequent fame; and also his passing and ongoing legacy.
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 special bond between people and dogs; challenges of training and filming with animals; love and friendship; what we can learn from animals.
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.
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.
There are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some mild and infrequent coarse language in this movie, including:
Koko: A Red Dog Story is an entertaining, often funny, and heart-warming tribute to a dog who came to fame and touched people's hearts across Australia and beyond. This film will likely appeal to dog lovers and people who know the original story or related literature or films. This film is suitable for a general family audience but may lack interest for very young children. The emotional scenes may be upsetting for anyone who grasps the concept of losing a loved companion, therefore parental guidance for children up to 8 years old is recommended. Despite the sad scenes, the film ends on a positive notion, cherishing Koko's life and his ongoing legacy.
The main messages from this movie are that animals, just like humans, have their very own personality and character, and that the bond between people and dogs can be a very strong an special one.
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 the importance of
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
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