Not suitable under 7; parental guidance to 9 (themes and scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 7 | Not suitable due to themes and scenes that might disturb young children. |
Children aged 7–9 | Parental guidance recommended due to themes and scenes that might disturb young children. |
Children aged 10 and over | 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: | Red Turtle, The |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes |
Length: | 81 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The Red Turtle is an animated French/Japanese film containing no dialogue. The movie tells the story of a shipwrecked sailor who is washed up on a lonely tropical island. Although seemingly devoid of humans, the island contains a variety of animals such as turtles, birds and crabs. Hoping to escape, the man uses materials from the island to build himself a raft, but his plan is repeatedly foiled by a giant red turtle. Although initially frustrated, the sailor begins to gradually bond with the creature.
The man also eventually meets a woman, and the two begin a family together. Living on the island, the family go through a series of tribulations which threaten to destroy the life they have built together.
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.
Acceptance; adventure and exploration; relationships and family; trust.
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 the film, 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.
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 Red Turtle is a simple but beautiful film that subtly encourages viewers to identify with the nameless, shipwrecked man. Having no dialogue, the film appears to avoid imposing specific meaning, but invites audiences to watch the story unfold and come to their own conclusions. However, the messages of the film seem to be that material possessions are not necessary for living a fulfilled life and that although a person’s life may have taken a different direction from what they initially anticipated or desired, there can still be incredible value if we accept change and uncertainty. There is plenty here for parents to discuss with children.
Because of the film’s themes, and scenes that might disturb younger children, it is not recommended for children under 8 and best suited to viewers over ten. Parental guidance is recommended for the 7 to 9 age group.
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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