Pokemon the movie: Genesect and the legend awakened

image for Pokemon the movie: Genesect and the legend awakened

Short takes

Parental guidance recommended under 8(Violence; Scary characters)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Pokemon the movie: Genesect and the legend awakened
  • a review of Pokemon the movie: Genesect and the legend awakened completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 21 November 2013.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 8 Parental guidance recommended due to violence and scary characters

About the movie

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: Pokemon the movie: Genesect and the legend awakened
Classification: G
Consumer advice lines: Very mild violence
Length: 77 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Set in a large habitat known as Pokemon Hill, this film tells the story of Ash, Pikachu and their friends as they try and prevent a mythical race from destroying the city. The Genesects have been extinct for 300 million years, but were restored from fossils and had weapons attached to their bodies by humans. For members of the Genesect race, the modern world seems completely alien, and every other living creature is an enemy. Seeking out a new home, the Genesect build a nest that threatens the entire city’s power supply.

 As Ash and his friends try to stop the Genesect, the legendary Pokemon, Mewtwo comes to their aid, eventually battling the Red Genesect in an effort to get him to back down (as the other Genesects already have, wanting to coexist peacefully on earth). Although he appears to not listen to reason, Mewtwo eventually convinces him that coexistence is possible, and that their planet may be home to the Genesect also.

Themesinfo

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.

Good versus evil; coexistence of different races

Use of violenceinfo

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 limited animated violence in the film, including:

  • Mewtwo and the Red Genesect battle almost to the death at the end of the film, wounding each other multiple times.
  • The Genesects shoot fire bolts at the other Pokemon as they run from the flames and try to find cover

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

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:

  • Red Genesect is a scary character, threatening to destroy everyone else on the planet  

Aged five to eightinfo

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.

Younger children in this age group may also be scared by some of the scenes in this film

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

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.

Nothing of concern

Thirteen and overinfo

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 of concern

Product placement

The Pokemon game itself

Sexual references

Nothing of concern

Nudity and sexual activity

Nothing of concern

Use of substances

Nothing of concern

Coarse language

Nothing of concern

In a nutshell

Genesect and the legend awakened is a film about friendship and adventure, first and foremost. It highlights the importance of finding a place to call home, as well as the difficulties that may ensue from such a journey. The determination of Ash and his friends to help the Genesect is unflinching, even in the face of the mythical species being violent towards them – Ash makes a promise to help the lost creatures, and he does everything in his power to do so. In turn, this inspires Mewtwo to open herself to the possibility of friendship with humans too. The violence and scary characters in the film may be disturbing for under fives and some slightly older children.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Do not make promises you won’t be able to keep.
  • Always lend a helping hand wherever possible, to both friends and strangers alike.
  • The importance of belonging and finding a home.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • The acceptance of people, irrespective of differences.
  • Social isolation, and the damage and harm it can cause.