Not suitable under 8; parental guidance to 10 (language)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not suitable due to language. |
Children aged 8–10 | Parental guidance recommended due to language. |
Children aged 11 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: | RUNT |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild coarse language |
Length: | 93 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The outback Australian town of Upson Downs has fallen on hard times. It hasn’t rained in over a year and the miserly Earl Robert-Barren (Jack Thompson) has put a dam on his property, consequently drying up the river, creating drought and forcing his neighbours to sell their farms. The inventive Shearer family is doing all they can to keep their home but they seem to be fighting a losing battle. The widowed Grandma Dolly lives in a tiny, ramshackle trailer to one side of the property. Her daughter-in-law Susie (Celeste Barber) and son Brian Shearer (Jai Courtney) have had to take out a loan to pay the overdraft on their family farm. Their son Max (Jack LaTorre) is determined to capture his daredevil stunts on film in the hope that he will become famous and he is causing his parents no end of stress. Their daughter Annie (Lily LaTorre) loves to fix things but, try as she might, this problem may just be beyond her abilities. She and Runt, the stray she adopted, enter a dog show at the local fair and take first place, much to the horror of defending champion and nefarious show-off, Fergus Fink (Matt Day). Annie and Runt go on to win the National Competition and are subsequently invited to participate in the illustrious Krumpets Dog Show in London. Annie pins all her hopes on winning the prize money in order to save her family’s farm but despite their best efforts things don’t quite go according to plan and Annie learns some valuable lessons about disappointment, pursing dreams, and the power of community.
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.
Financial hardship; Injustice; Sacrifice; Reckless behaviours; Sabotage.
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.
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.
The following products are displayed or used in this movie:
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
RUNT is a heart-warming Australian drama based on the beloved children’s book by Craig Silvey. The family film contains powerful messages about sacrifice and determination, and beautiful examples of an impoverished community coming together to cheer on a child and a stray dog that no one wanted. Due to the language, RUNT is best suited to audiences over the age of 8.
The main messages from this movie are that it doesn’t matter where you come from, it only matters who you are; and that you must believe in yourself, in the goodness of others and in the power of community. The film also shows the importance of not giving up and teaches the value of never, ever underestimating the abilities of an underdog.
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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ABN: 16 005 214 531