Not suitable under 12; parental guidance to 13 (distressing and frightening scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 12 | Not suitable due to frightening and distressing scenes. |
Children aged 12–13 | Parental guidance recommended due to frightening and distressing scenes. |
Children over the age of 13 | 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: | Pinocchio (2020) |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Mature themes and violence |
Length: | 125 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
When a poor carpenter, Geppetto (Roberto Benigni), carves a puppet boy from a magical log, he decides to name the puppet Pinocchio (Frederico Ielapi) and keep him as his son. Pinocchio proves to be a naïve, and sometimes mischievous, child who gets into trouble and faces much peril. On his way to school, Pinocchio stops by a puppet show and is kidnapped by a villainous puppeteer, Mangiafuoco (Gigi Proietti). However, after threatening to use Pinocchio for firewood, Mangiafuoco has a change of heart and lets Pinocchio go, with gold coins to give to Geppetto for his troubles. As Pinocchio begins his journey home he is stopped by two assassins in disguise, a fox (Massimo Ceccherini) and a cat (Rocco Papaleo), who trick Pinocchio into venturing into the woods, where they hang him by his neck from a tree, and steal his gold coins. Pinocchio is saved by a blue-haired fairy (Alida Baldari Calabria) who takes him to some doctors. After he returns to his journey to Geppetto, Pinocchio faces many perils including being swindled of his money, sentenced to life by a judge, shipwrecked on an island, transformed into a donkey, kidnapped by a circus, thrown into the ocean to drown in his donkey-form, and swallowed whole by a sea monster. Finally reunited, Pinocchio helps Geppetto recover from their sea journey and he is eventually transformed into a real boy.
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.
Separation from a parent; Serious illness; Cons and swindles; Children as victims and at risk of harm; Friendship and familial love.
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.
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.
Nothing further of concern.
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
Pinocchio (2020) is a live-action adaption of the classic children’s story which stays true to the original tale’s darkness and moral themes. This film is a much grimmer version than the Disney animated classic, and will likely distress younger viewers due to themes of separation from loved ones, deceitful and malicious characters, and the perilous situations Pinocchio finds himself in. Younger viewers may also find this film slightly long. This film is best suited for older viewers who are likely to appreciate this film as it provides a beautifully made, performed, and adapted classic story with innovative costuming and prosthetic effects. It may be enjoyed by viewers aged 12-13, though parental guidance is recommended for these ages.
The main messages from this movie are that it is important to tell the truth and not to lie; and that if you are kind, respectful, appropriately obedient to your elders, and work hard, you will be rewarded.
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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