Not suitable under 8; parental guidance to 9 (violence, themes, scary scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not suitable due to violence, themes and scary scenes. |
Children aged 8–9 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence, themes and scary scenes. |
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: | Wild Robot, The |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes and animated violence |
Length: | 102 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
A personal assistant unit known as ‘Roz’ (voice of Lupita Nyong’o) is set off course during a storm and crashes onto a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. This desolate place is inhabited by dangerous predators and fearful animals who prey on each other to survive. Roz tries to help the animals she encounters and thereby fulfil her purpose but the mistrusting animals call her a monster, attacking, fearing and shunning her. Undeterred, Roz learns to adapt to her environment, she teaches herself how to communicate with every species on the island and she does all she can to assist those around her. Attempting to escape an angry grizzly causes Roz to crash down a cliff side and land in a gosling nest. Her impact accidentally kills the mother and crushes the unhatched eggs. In the debris, Roz finds a single egg, still intact, and makes it her mission to keep the egg safe. This proves easier said than done as Fink (voice of Pedro Pascal), a friendless fox, is determined to eat the egg himself. Roz and Fink strike a deal and when little Brightbill (voice of Kit Connor) hatches, they wind up becoming co-parents to keep the gosling safe and help him learn to swim and fly. As the time for the geese to migrate draws closer, Roz goes to great lengths to ensure that Brightbill is as prepared as he can be but a misunderstanding threatens their relationship and Brightbill flies away with the geese. Feeling that her task has been successfully completed, Roz sends a signal to her manufacturer so that they can retrieve her. However, their presence on the island is not what it should be and despite all the sacrifices Roz has made as a mother, she will have to make one more in order to protect those she loves – demonstrating that in order to survive, sometimes you must become more than you were ever programmed 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.
Abandonment; Adoption; Bullying; Racism; Predators and Prey; Technological advancement at the expense of humanity; Sacrifice; Ostracism.
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 is some coarse language in this movie, including:
The Wild Robot is a futuristic, animated adventure based on the book by Peter Brown. The film features beautiful cinematography and special effects, along with valuable life lessons about learning, adapting and the importance of family. The film is not suitable for younger viewers but is likely to be enjoyed by audiences over the age of 8.
The main messages from this movie are that kindness is a survival skill; that there is no force on earth more powerful than love; that there is great strength in unity; and that sometimes in order to survive you must learn from your surroundings, override your training and choose to become more than you were ever programmed to be.
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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