Not suitable under 5; parental guidance to 7 (violence, themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 5 | Not suitable due to violence and themes. |
Children aged 5–7 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence and themes. |
Children over the age of 7 | 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: | Mulan (1998) |
Classification: | G |
Consumer advice lines: | The content is very mild in impact |
Length: | 93 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
When the Huns attack China one male from each family must enlist in the Emperor’s army in order to stop an impending invasion. Bearing the scars of an earlier war, the honourable Mr. Fa hobbles forward to collect his summons. His only child, a daughter named Mulan, begs the imperial officer to spare her father but inadvertently brings shame upon the household by speaking her mind in the presence of men. Society demands that she be meek, forbearing and silent but Mulan is none of these things. Cutting her hair and wearing her father’s battle armour she sets off to enlist in his place. When her family learns what she has done they are terrified as her discovery will mean instant death. The ancestors send Mushu (Voice of Eddie Murphy) a small dragon to look out for her in the hopes he will bring her home safely. Meanwhile, Mulan finds herself in the midst of an unruly group of men led by the young captain Shang. Encountering difficulties with every aspect of her training and on the verge of being sent home, it is only when Mulan begins to look outside the box and find creative ways to do things that she discovers an inner strength which takes her from the back of the pack and transforms her into one of the finest soldiers China had ever seen. Mulan singlehandedly defeats a vast army of Huns but after becoming wounded in battle is exposed as female and loses all credibility as a result. Refusing to give up or give in, she follows the army toward the Imperial City hoping to warn them about an impending attack but no one believes her until the Emperor himself is kidnapped. Once again all hope seems lost until Mulan devises a plan that helps the Emperor, defeats the Huns and saves all of China.
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.
War, gender discrimination, male chauvinism.
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 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:
Mulan (1998) is an animated adventure based loosely on the historical legend of a young Chinese girl who pretended to be a boy and won a great victory for China. While the plot is embellished the story itself is inspirational and provides many powerful examples of courage and resourcefulness. Showcasing the power of the female spirit, Mulan is a wonderful family film with lessons for us all.
The main messages from this movie are that the rarest and most beautiful flowers are the ones that bloom in adversity; that wars are not necessarily won by strength or by the size of an army but rather by the courage and ingenuity of the soldiers themselves; and that just one resourceful girl can save a nation and become a legend.
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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