Not suitable under 6; parental guidance to 8 (violence, themes, scary scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 6 | Not suitable due to violence, themes and scary scenes. |
Children aged 6–8 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence, themes and scary scenes. |
Children aged 9 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: | Little Mermaid, The (2023) |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild fantasy themes and violence, some scenes may scare young children |
Length: | 135 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Intrigued by all things human, Ariel (Halle Bailey) can’t help but push the boundaries in her quest to discover more about the mysterious creatures that live on land. Much to her father King Triton’s (Javier Bardem) displeasure, and the irritation of his trusty advisor, Sebastian (voice of Daveed Diggs), who is tasked with looking out for her, Ariel ventures to the surface to investigate a series of strange lights. Here she encounters a ship and first sets eyes on Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). When the ship is dashed on rocks and catches fire, Eric is flung, unconscious, into the water and Ariel saves him, dragging him up from the deep and safely returning him to the sandy shores of his land. Despite her father’s fury and protective ultimatums, Ariel is unable to get Eric off her mind. In desperation, she seeks out Ursula the Sea Witch (Melissa McCarthy) and reluctantly agrees to give up her voice for the chance to become human. Ariel is given three days in which to get Eric to give her true love’s kiss, otherwise she will return to the sea and belong completely to Ursula. Unbeknownst to Ariel, Ursula has made her forget that she is meant to get Eric to kiss her and so it falls to her friends, Flounder (voice of Jacob Tremblay) and Skuttle (voice of Awkwafina), as well as the ever-present Sebastian, to try to help her beat the clock, find her voice and break a spell that threatens to destroy her happiness and bind her to the Sea Witch 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.
Teenage boundary testing; Prejudice and misunderstanding between species; Magic; Deceitfulness and Cruelty to sea creatures.
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.
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.
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 Little Mermaid is a live-action remake of Disney’s 1989 classic animation of the same name. The film features new songs, along with old favourites, a very diverse cast (that sometimes feels as though it is forced) and excellent vocals from Halle Bailey. This is a family film for all but younger children who are likely to be upset by the violence and some of the scary scenes.
The main messages from this movie are to follow your heart; to be open to new realities and not blinded by the beliefs or superstitions of others; and, perhaps most importantly, that no one should have ‘to give up their voice in order to be heard’.
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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