Not suitable under 7; parental guidance to 10 (themes, violence, sexual innuendo)
This topic contains:
Children under 7 | Not suitable due to themes, violence and sexual innuendo. |
Children aged 7–10 | Parental guidance recommended due to themes, violence and sexual innuendo. |
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: | Thelma the Unicorn |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild animated violence and crude humour |
Length: | 98 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Thelma (voice of Brittany Howard), a frizzy haired, brown and white pony, has always had music inside of her. She loves to sing and dreams of sharing her songs with the world. When she and her band mates Otis (voice of Will Forte) and Reggie (voice of Jon Heder) are laughed off the stage by judges who tell her that she is not star material and will never make it, Thelma is devastated. When a freak accident causes her to be covered in pink paint and glitter, she is mistaken for a magical unicorn and she sings a song for her small audience that, thanks to social media, is soon shared with the world. Vic Diamond (voice of Jemaine Clement), the corrupt manager of music diva Nikki Narwhal (voice of Ally Dixon), knows that Thelma will be the next big thing and he is determined to sign her at any cost. Sabotaging her band and manipulating Thelma into losing sight of what has always been important to her, Vic forces her into a fake relationship with internet sensation Danny Stallion (voice of Fred Armisen) and, quicker than she could ever believe possible, Thelma begins to realise all of her musical dreams. She is famous, she has a hit single, and she will be the opening act at a prestigious music festival, however, more than anything else, she is miserable. She misses her friends, she misses making her own songs and music, she misses being herself, and she feels like a fraud, underserving of her fame and fortune. When the competition threatens to expose her for who she truly is, Thelma throws away her much-loved songbook and attempts to disappear forever. While the world wonders what has happened to Thelma, her true friends search high and low to try to find her, but it is a random stranger who opens her eyes and gives her the confidence to share what has been buried in her heart all along. Will the world be ready to hear her message? Will they be able to see her for who she truly is, or will they be blinded by the preconception of what a star is meant to be?
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.
Exploitation; Consumerism; Vanity: The power of what is classified as physical beauty; Branding; Loss of self-identity; Sabotaging the competition; Greed and Corporate corruption; The pull of fame and the loss of true friendship.
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.
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:
Thelma the Unicorn is an animated adventure based on the beloved children’s book by Aaron Blabey. The film features vibrant characters, multiple musical numbers and provides a little insight into some very timely concerns about consumerism, how we see the world around us, how the world may see us, and the toll this can take on everyone. At first glance, this seems to be a film for young children but, due to the content and range of themes, it is more suited to children aged 11 and older, with parental guidance for ages 7 to 10.
The main messages from this movie are to stay true to who you are, to embrace your own uniqueness and never compromise your values just because someone else thinks it is the best way. It is never the only way and it is important to remember your own worth and to let the world see you shine as only you can do.
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
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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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