Not recommended under 10; parental guidance 10 – 12; Suitable for 12 year olds and over (sci-fi action violence; supernatural and magical themes; scary scenes).
This topic contains:
Children under 10 | Not recommended |
Children 10 - 12 | Parental guidance recommended |
Children 12 and over | Suitable 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: | Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Contains mild supernatural threat and scary scenes. |
Length: | 82 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Nowhere Boys, the ABC sci-fi/fantasy/drama TV series aimed at ‘tweens’ and teens, follows the adventures of four teen boys: Felix (Dougie Boldwin), Andy (Joel Lok), Sam (Rahart Adams) and Jake (Matt Testro), who find themselves stranded in a parallel universe. In the film Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows, the four boys have been back in their own reality for over a year having battled demons and discovered the use of magic. The boys have drifted apart however, and are on the verge of going their separate ways when Felix discovers a secret book of magic, the Book of Shadows, concealed under floorboards in a hidden room. In their bid to go their separate ways, the four boys employ magic from the Book of Shadows to help them. However, in the process, they unwittingly unleash the forces of Chaos in the form of a teen girl named Tegan (Angourie Rice), who has a giant sized chip on her shoulder and a thirst for revenge. Tegan uses her powers to entangle and endanger family and friends in chaos and disaster, her powers threaten the very existence of the multiverse. In order to defeat chaos and restore order the four boys are forced into a final showdown with Tegan with the fate of the multiverse hanging in the balance.
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.
Magic; Fantasy; the Supernatural; Demons; Friendship; Revenge;
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.
The film contains some low-level action violence and peril related to supernatural and magical events; no blood and gore nor injuries are depicted. 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 several 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.
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.
The film contains some very mild/low level sexual references. Examples include:
The film contains no nudity it but does contain infrequent very low-level sexual activity. Examples include:
The film contains no depiction of substance use.
The film contains some occasional name calling and putdowns. Examples include:
Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows is a sci-fi, fantasy, action adventure film targeted at tweens, teens and fans of the ABC TV series Nowhere Boys. While the cast may appeal to fans of the series, the lead characters are only mildly convincing as magic wielding superheroes capable of saving the universe. In terms of action and violence Nowhere Boys is on a par with the TV series Power Rangers while special effects are basic. While Nowhere Boy: The Book of Shadows is more suited to the TV screen than the big screen it will still appeal to and entertain younger teens, but will fall well short of the mark for older teens.
The main messages from this movie include:
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
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Content is age appropriate for children this age
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Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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