Not recommended for children under 8, due to low level violence and mild thematic material
This topic contains:
Children under 5 | Not recommended due to low level violence and mild impact thematic material |
Children aged 5–8 | Not recommended due to low level violence and mild impact thematic material |
Children aged 8–13 | OK with parental guidance |
Children over the age of 13 | 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: | Odd Life of Timothy Green, The |
Classification: | G |
Consumer advice lines: | Very mild impact thematic material and violence |
Length: | 104 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The Odd Life of Timothy Green is an enchanting Disney film that tells the story of a young couple, Cindy and Jim Green (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton), who dream of having a baby but can't. The movie opens with them telling an adoption panel why they would make good parents. Cindy and Jim do this by relating a tale of an amazing experience they had spending time with a young boy called Timothy (CJ Adams), who entered their lives unexpectedly one stormy night. Their story is told via a series of flashbacks and begins several months earlier when Cindy and Jim learn from their doctor that they won’t be able to conceive a child. In a bid to say goodbye to their dreams of having a child and move on, they write down on small pieces of paper all of the wonderful qualities they would wish their child to possess if they could have one. Cindy and Jim then place the pieces of paper in a wooden box and bury it in their garden. The night after, during a rainstorm, they discover a mud covered young boy called Timothy in their house, who claims he is their son. Cindy and Jim soon discover that he is both a wonderful and yet ‘odd’ young boy. He has green leaves growing on his lower legs and possesses all of the qualities they had wished for in a child of their own. Timothy not only changes the lives of Cindy and Jim, teaching them what they need to know about being parents, but changes the lives of everyone he comes into contact with.
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.
This film contains thematic elements relating to: • Infertility; conception; adoption; parenting
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 occasional incidence of low-level violence and one incidence of school related bullying. 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 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.
In addition to the above mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:
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.
None of concern
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 mild coarse language and name calling in this movie, including:
The main messages from this movie are:
The Odd Life of Timothy Green is an enchanting Disney film that tells the story of a young couple who dream of having a baby of their own, but can't. Instead, they end up spending time with an ‘odd’ yet wonderful young boy called Timothy (CJ Adams) who enters their lives unexpectedly. This is an emotional and dramatic film that both older children and adults will enjoy. However due to low level violence (including some bullying) and mild impact thematic material this film is not recommended for children under 8 years old.
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.
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children the concept of:
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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ABN: 16 005 214 531