Windcatcher

image for Windcatcher

Short takes

Not suitable under 9; parental guidance to 10 (themes, language, scary scenes)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Windcatcher
  • a review of Windcatcher completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 21 May 2024.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 9 Not suitable due to themes, language and scary scenes.
Children aged 9–10 Parental guidance recommended due to themes and language.
Children aged 11 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

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: Windcatcher
Classification: PG
Consumer advice lines: Mild supernatural themes and occasional coarse language. Some scenes may scare young children.
Length: 80 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Due to the death of his parents, Percy Boy Collins (Lennox Monaghan) lives with his elderly grandfather Pop (Kelton Pell), along with his Aunty Cressida (Jessica Mauboy) and his mentally unstable Aunty Prue (Lisa Maza). Money is very tight and Percy Boy desperately needs a new pair of shoes but they can barely afford their bills, let alone new footwear. Percy Boy is saving every cent he earns to go towards a new pair of running shoes, which he is hoping will help him win the school carnival. Percy befriends a new classmate called Keithy (Max Turner), when everyone else makes fun of him, and Keithy promises to be one of the best friends Percy Boy has ever had. When Percy loses a race to one of the biggest school bullies, he and Keithy enlist the help of Daisy (Coco Greenstone), a young, motivated girl with exceptional organisation skills, to coach him with his running. Together, they do all they can to help Percy Boy raise funds for new shoes and improve his speed, whilst also helping Percy Boy navigate some very difficult situations including the death of his beloved grandfather. When the day of the school carnival finally arrives, a natural disaster threatens to derail all their plans and the kids quickly learn that there are some things infinitely more important than races and running shoes.

Themesinfo

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.

Bullying; Divorce; Death of parents; Family breakdown; Bushfires; Mental illness; Discrimination; Bereavement and Poverty.

Use of violenceinfo

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:

  • Daisy shoves a boy.
  • Students shove and push each other.
  • A group of boys shoves another student’s head down a toilet when he doesn’t have money to give them.
  • A character says: “I could punch everyone clean in the mouth”.
  • Percy Boy and Keithy watch a Kung Fu film on TV, which depicts characters fighting.
  • School bullies gang up on Percy Boy and attack him in a locker room.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

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:

  • There are some strange-looking ghosts that appear to Percy Boy and his grandfather. Some look creepy, while others just seem lost. Regardless, Percy Boy is clearly terrified, and their appearance, accompanied by flickering lights and Percy’s reaction, is likely to upset some young children.

Aged five to eightinfo

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:

  • Percy Boy has a recurring dream that he is running towards the place where his parents are trapped in a bushfire. They are screaming and calling his name as he tries to reach them, while sparks fly at him, flames crackle and no matter how fast Percy Boy runs they always disappear faster than he can reach them. Percy apologises to his parents and clearly blames himself for their deaths. He later confides to a friend that he went to go get help but he was too slow.
  • After Percy steals a pair of shoes and runs off, Keithy has an asthma attack, as he can’t keep up with him. An ambulance is called and he is taken to the hospital, struggling to breathe.
  • Percy Boy, Keithy and Daisy are caught in a bushfire when they go to rescue Aunty Prue. They have to take shelter in an old mine shaft as the flames close in. Percy Boy holds a door in place over the opening as fire rages around them and his grandfather’s ghost helps them from the other side.
  • Percy Boy’s grandfather dies in his chair and, in an emotional scene, Percy is the one to find him sitting there.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

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.

  • Nothing further noted.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • Vegemite is clearly used, mentioned and displayed.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • A male character gives a wolf whistle at the female fire chief. Later, when she is presenting a bushfire awareness plan in the school, the man’s younger brother gives the same wolf whistle in the classroom.

Nudity and sexual activity

  • None noted.

Use of substances

  • None noted.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Fatty
  • Dummy
  • Idiot (s)
  • Choker
  • Slow poke
  • Shut up!
  • You’re useless
  • You stink
  • Bloody
  • Sook
  • Crappy
  • Stupid
  • Percy Girl
  • Daisy Boy
  • There is also some crude humour, mostly revolving around farts and a comment on “number twos”.

In a nutshell

Windcatcher is an Australian drama that tackles a bunch of serious themes in a sensitive way. It is a family film about the power of friendship and overcoming obstacles and will be best enjoyed by families with children over 10, and with parental guidance for ages 9 to 10.

The main messages from this movie are to continue moving forward, no matter what obstacles life throws in your way; to learn from your experiences; and to always keep your heart open.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Friendship
  • Teamwork
  • Compassion
  • Empathy
  • Courage
  • Understanding
  • Perseverance.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • Stealing what does not belong to you.
  • Bullying others.
  • Blaming yourself for things that you cannot control.