Not suitable under 8; parental guidance to 10 (violence, scary scenes, themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 5 | Not suitable due to violence and scary scenes. |
Children aged 5–8 | Not suitable due to violence, scary scenes and glamorisation of weapons. |
Children aged 8–10 | Ok for this age group but parental guidance is recommended due to glamorisation of weapons, violence and themes of espionage. |
Children over the age of 10 | 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: | Swallows and Amazons |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild Themes and Violence. |
Length: | 97 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Swallows and Amazons is a 2016 film adaptation of Arthur Ransome’s classic children’s novel of the same name, first published in 1930. It tells the story of four siblings (aged approximately 7 to 16 years old) who are holidaying with their mother in the Lake District in England. They convince their mother that they are mature and responsible enough to take their little sailing boat out onto the lake and to a nearby island for a kids-only camping adventure. They soon discover that they are not alone on the island and there is another gang of siblings, the Blackett sisters. War is declared! The plot thickens when the children inadvertently become embroiled in the affairs of some Russian spies who have come to the island to hunt down Jim Turner, the Blackett sister’s uncle, who is hiding out on a boat. An exciting adventure full of drama and hijinks begins!
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.
Independence and Responsibility; Adventure; Spies; Pirates; Sailing; Sibling rivalry; Conflict.
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 a fair amount of verbal threats, use of weapons and some destruction of property. Examples include:
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.
There are some mild romantic references in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some very mild name calling in this movie, including:
Swallows and Amazons is a family friendly period action/adventure film, set against the lush green backdrop of the English Lake District and is likely to appeal to most ages. Although it is based on the 1930s novel, parents should be aware that it has been pumped up with an espionage plot and some gun action, presumably to make it more exciting. This does mean that it is not as suited to younger audiences, particularly without parental guidance.
The main messages from this movie are that conflict is not always the best solution and that people are not always as they seem.
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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