Puss in Boots
Short takes
Not recommended under 6, Parental guidance 6-9 (Violence; Scary scenes)
Age
4
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This topic contains:
- overall comments and recommendations
- details of classification and consumer advice lines for Puss in Boots
- a review of Puss in Boots completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 13 December 2006.
Overall comments and recommendations
Children under 6 |
Not recommended due to violence and scary scenes |
Children aged 6-12 |
Parental guidance recommended due to violence and scary scenes |
Children over the age of 13 |
OK for this age group |
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.
Name of movie: |
Puss in Boots |
Classification: |
PG |
Consumer advice lines: |
Mild violence |
Length |
90 minutes |
ACCM review
This review of the movie contains the following information:
A synopsis of the story
Puss in Boots is a prequel to the Shrek series of films and
not the classic ‘Puss in Boots’ tale. Years before meeting Shrek and Donkey, Puss
(voice of Antonio Banderas) is in a position of having to clear his name of charges
that make him a wanted fugitive. He is trying to find magic beans that will
enable him to get to the giant’s castle so that he can take the goose that lays
golden eggs.
While trying to steal magic beans from the infamous
criminals Jack and Jill (voices of Billy
Bob Thornton & Amy Sedavis), Puss meets another ‘cat burglar’, Kitty
Softpaws (voice of Salma Hayek), who leads Puss to his former friend, Humpty
Dumpty (voice of Zach Galifianakis). It was Humpty who caused Puss to be
branded as a criminal and memories of this betrayal make Puss reluctant to
trust him, but he eventually agrees to team up. Together, Puss, Kitty and
Humpty set off to steal the magic beans, go to the giant's castle, seize the
golden goose, and finally clear Puss' name.
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.
Revenge; betrayal; orphans and orphanages
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.
Puss in Boots contains cartoon styled action violence and
scenes depicting intense peril throughout. The film contains no blood and gore,
but does depict the death of a main character. Examples include:
- Puss engages in sword fights with humans. In a tavern rough
looking men taunt Puss and one man pulls the bar stool out from under him. In
response, Puss throws knife at the head of one man, narrowly missing him. When
another man approaches with a knife in a threatening manner, Puss holds his
sword to the man’s throat pinning him to a wall. On several occasions we see
Puss engaging in sword fights with soldiers (no one is injured).
- In one scene we see Puss “dance-fighting” with a hooded cat.
We hear Puss say “put up your dukes”, and see the two cats growling and hissing
at each other while trying to box each other. Following some crude cat-like
antics, Puss picks up a guitar and hits the hooded cat across the head at which
point Softpaws takes off her mask and chastises Puss for hitting her across the
head; Puss protests loudly that he didn’t know that she was a woman.
- Puss and Softpaws run across a rooftop to escape soldiers
who are hurling spears. The spears stick into the roof, narrowly missing the
pair.
- Jack and Jill are very large thugs, who will stomp on anyone
who gets in their way. They ride an
armoured wagon fitted with multiple cannons that fire from the sides. In one
fight Jack head-butts Puss nearly knocking Puss unconscious and Jill holds Puss
upside down over a ravine; Puss escapes. On several occasions Jill fires an
oversized handgun at people, animals and objects. At the end of the film we see
Jack and Jill lying in hospital beds encased in plaster casts as if every bone
in their bodies has been broken but do not see how they were injured.
- In a flashback scene, Humpty is bullied and knocked down by
some boys in an orphanage. The young Puss comes to Humpty’s rescue, knocking
down two of the bullies and then throwing a wooden spoon at them as they run
away, knocking them down again. Girls throw rubbish at Humpty.
- In one scene a rampaging bull is about to run down an old
woman when Puss jumps on to the back of the bull’s head, grabs the bull by the
horns and forces it to the ground, saving the old woman’s life.
- A giant mother goose, who is searching for her stolen
gosling, crashes her way through a village destroying houses and nearly stamping
on terrified villagers. The giant goose chases Puss, Softpaws and Humpty, who
are in a wagon, on to a stone bridge that collapses and falls into the ravine
hundreds of feet below. After the collapse the giant goose is left pinned
beneath a large section of stone bridge while Puss, Softpaws and Humpty are
suspended in mid air hanging onto a rope. To allow the others to be saved,
Humpty lets go of the rope and plummets to his death.
Material that may scare or disturb children
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:
- After Humpty, Puss and Softpaws plant the magic beans, a
blue, swirling cloud comes down from the sky and touches the ground. A giant
beanstalk erupts out of the ground and shoots up into the air, capturing the
trio in its leaves and hurling them high up into the sky and through the
clouds.
- While in the giant’s castle, Puss, Humpty and Softpaws are
chased by an unseen creature referred to as the “Great Terror”. We hear the
sounds of a large creature crashing through undergrowth hear the sounds of
growling and see a giant red eye peering through a hole.
- While escaping the Great Terror, Puss and Softpaws tie a
string to the cork of a giant champagne bottle and then pop the cork. The two
cats ride the cork while Humpty slides down the rope. Softpaws falls into a
river and Puss jumps in to save her. They are swept into a whirlpool and then
ejected via a fountain of water out of the castle, using giant leaves as parachutes.
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.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the
above-mentioned violent and disturbing scenes and by the issues relating to the
film’s two lead characters being orphans.
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.
Younger children in this age group may also be disturbed by some
scenes in this film.
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
There is no actual product placement in the film but, as
with the Shrek films, there is a large amount of associated merchandise
available.
Sexual references
Puss in Boots contains some sexual references and innuendo.
For example:
- When Puss leaves a female cat he has spent a night with he
tells her that he will never forget her, but then calls her by the wrong name.
- On two occasions we hear Jack telling Jill that he wants to
have a baby with her and refers to her biological clock. Jill rejects Jack’s
request, telling him to practice on their wild piglets.
- Puss refers to himself as ‘a lover not a fighter’. Puss also
is referred to as “Mr. Frisky”, "Two Times” and “Furry Lover”.
- In one scene Humpty removes his clothes (off screen) and
changes into a golden egg suit. Softpaws looks at Humpty and then makes the
comment “Humpty you’re not wearing underwear” to which Humpty replies, “I’m not
embarrassed”.
- Just before Humpty is hit in the groin with a giant golden
egg he shouts out “Gonads”
Nudity and sexual activity
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie,
including:
- In the opening scenes of the film we see two discarded wine
glasses (some milk left in the bottom of the glasses) and fish bones lying on
the floor with a fluffy female cat lying on a pillow suggesting a romantic
night, and we see Puss putting his sword belt on and leaving via the window as
the female cat gives a deep sigh.
- In one scene a man removes his shirt to show Puss the
tattoos on his torso. The man then begins to unbutton his pants to show Puss his
golden eggs tattoo but is stopped before he pulls down his pants.
- When Puss enters a nightclub he winks and blow kisses at
female cats, causing some to faint.
-
Puss and Softpaws dance with each other in a
somewhat sensual style, flirting as they dance; purring and leaning in close
with Softpaws wrapping her tail around Puss’s neck. They kiss behind the cover
of a large hat.
Use of substances
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
- In a scene depicting a bar we see men sitting at tables with
glasses and bottle of alcohol in front of them, and we a man drinking alcohol
from a bottle several times.
- On a couple of occasions we are told that Puss drinks only
pure milk and see Puss lapping milk from a shot glass.
- When prison guards search Puss they find a bottle of catnip
in his boot and there is an inference that the bottle may contain marijuana.
Coarse language
Puss in Boots contains some low-level coarse language and
putdowns. Examples include:
- Crazy woman, Holy frijoles, oh my god, gold pooper, smelly
thing, little stinky, rotten egg, shut up.
- Dance moves are referred to as the “litter box and the butt
scrape”.
In a nutshell
Puss in Boots is an entertaining animated action adventure
that targets a wide ranging audience from seven years and up. Younger children
may be scared by the violence and scenes of the heroes in peril.
The main message from this movie is that friendship and love
can turn even the worst of bad intentions around.
- Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with
their children include:
- being willing to atone for one’s misdeeds
- selflessness and bravery:
Parents may also wish to discuss the way in which Humpty treats
his friend Puss and the far reaching real life consequences that result from lying
and manipulating others for personal gain.