Not suitable under 6: parental guidance to 7 (mild themes and animated violence)
This topic contains:
Children under 6 | Not suitable due to mild themes and mild animated violence |
Children aged 6–7 | Parental guidance recommended due to mild themes and animated violence |
Children aged 8 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: | Secret Life of Pets 2, The |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild Themes and Animated Violence |
Length: | 86 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Following the events of The Secret Life of Pets 1, Max the dog (voiced by Patton Oswalt) faces big changes in his life when his owner gets married, brings a new dog Duke (voiced by Eric Stonestreet) into their home, and eventually a baby, Liam (voiced by Henry Lynch). After the family gets settled into the rhythm of their new life, they take a holiday trip to the countryside. As the neurotic Max fends off perceived farmyard threats to protect Liam, he must contend with the gruff farm dog Rooster (voiced by Harrison Ford), who challenges him to face his fears. Meanwhile, the other pets, Gidget (voiced by Jenny Slate), Daisy (voiced by Tiffany Haddish), Chloe (voiced by Lake Bell), Norman (voiced by Chris Renaud), Mel (voiced by Bobby Moynihan), Buddy (voiced by Hannibal Buress) and Captain Snowball (voiced by Kevin Hart) set off on an adventure of their own – Springing free a captive tiger cub who has been forced to perform by the evil Sergei the Circus Master (voiced by Nick Kroll).
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.
Courage; Adventure; Change
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.
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 sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a good-natured children’s comedy sequel to The Secret Life of Pets 1, that in addition to being beautifully animated, keeps the jokes rolling throughout the film. Likely to appeal to a family audience, however, due to mild themes and animated violence this movie is not suitable for children under 6 and parental guidance is recommended for children aged 6-7 .
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
Children and Media Australia (CMA) is a registered business name of the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM).
CMA provides reviews, research and advocacy to help children thrive in a digital world.
ACCM is national, not-for-profit and reliant on community support. You can help.
ABN: 16 005 214 531