Not recommended under 5, PG to 12 (Viol. Distress. Scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 5 | Not recommended |
Children aged 5-12 | Parental guidance |
Children over the age of 12 | Will be able to view this film with or without parental supervision. |
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 Thornberries, The |
Classification: | G |
Consumer advice lines: | None |
Length: | 85 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Eliza Thornberry and her family travel around the world in order for her parents to make unique nature documentaries. While in Africa Eliza rescues a wild warthog from a trap; the warthog turns out to be the magical shaman Mnyambo who grants Eliza the power to talk to animals. It is through this power that she communicates with the many different creatures that she sees. One night on the savannah a baby cheetah cub is taken by poachers and Eliza herself is nearly killed. Eliza sets off to find the poachers and in her search uncovers an even bigger plot to kill thousands of elephants during a rare solar eclipse. Having lost her power to speak to the animals Eliza manages to work miracles, by using her previous knowledge, her intuition and her heart in order to save the cheetah cub, her family and a thousand stampeding elephants from certain death.
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.
This film contains a fair amount of violence.
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
Most of the violent scenes in this movie, as they show violence being perpetuated on helpless animals and or young children, would be potentially frightening for children under five:
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 in this age group may also be frightened by the above-mentioned scenes.
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.
Depending on their age and maturity most children between the ages of eight to thirteen would be able to handle the material contained in this film. There are a number of scenes which parents may wish to discuss with their children in order to reassure them and to help them understand, most notably the scene in which the rhino is dying and the scene in which Tally is abducted.
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
There is nothing in this film that would be overly disturbing to an early adolescent.
This film contains no sexual references.
There is no human nudity. However bare baboon butts do make a number of appearances.
There is no use of drugs or alcohol in this film.
The film contains no coarse language. However there are a few instances of name-calling. Debbie continually refers to Eliza as “my brat sister.” On one occasion Debbie explains how Eliza “talks like a monkey and dresses like a geek.”
The overall message from this movie is that everyone has special gifts and a special destiny, that you don’t need magical powers to effect change. As Eliza demonstrated in the end, the will to make a difference can, in itself, create miracles. It is about demonstrating courage and bravery to overcome obstacles no matter how impossible they may seem. Finally it is about the struggle of the animal to exist in man’s world and the importance of compassion and understanding to help stop the injustices that they currently suffer.
Some values that parents may wish to encourage are: bravery, helpfulness, determination, tolerance of differences and compassion for animals.
Some values that parents may wish to discourage are: deceitfulness, hypocrisy, violence as a way to solve problems and greed.
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