Not suitable under 8; parental guidance to 9 (violence, themes, some scary scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not suitable due to violence, scary scenes, and themes. |
Children aged 8–9 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence, scary scenes, and themes. |
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: | Wonka |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes and violence, some scenes may scare young children |
Length: | 116 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) has spent the last seven years travelling to the most remote and unique places on earth to obtain the very best ingredients and recipes to make the world’s most wonderful chocolate. He arrives at the Gallerie Gourmet, with the dream of setting up a shop alongside legendary chocolatiers Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Ficklegruber (Matthew Baynton), but Willy’s inherent trust and optimism are no match for this greedy city, and he soon finds himself penniless and enslaved by the evil laundress Mrs Scrubbit (Olivia Colman). With nothing more than his chocolate-making ingredients, the memories of his mother and the help of his newfound friends/co-enslaved laundry workers – young orphan Noodle (Calah Lane), former accountant Mr Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter), comedian Larry Chucklesworth (Rich Fulcher), telephone operator Lottie Bell (Rakhee Thakrar) and Piper Benz – Willy devises a plan that will allow them all to pay off their debts, bring joy to the citizens of the city, and help them each to pursue their dreams. The only problem is that Slugworth, and his chocolate cartel, will stop at nothing to prevent Willy from succeeding. With his shop in ruins, his dream in tatters and his hope for success fading fast, Willy makes a deal with Slugworth and in the process makes an incredible discovery that will turn all their fortunes around – provided he can survive long enough to find an alternative ledger and expose Slugworth for the villain he is.
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; Corruption; Greed; Abuse of power: Purposefully addicting consumers to certain products; Corporate sabotage; Death of a loved one and a child separated from parents.
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.
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 use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
Wonka is an origin story going back to tell the tale of how Willy became Wonka. The film is well cast and, while the plot is predictable, it features musical interludes and some creative special effects. This is not a film for younger children but is one that is likely to be enjoyed by families with older kids, and by those who like to root for the underdog and watch them accomplish their dreams in a most fantastical way.
The main messages from this movie are that every good thing in the world began as somebody’s dream; that it is not the chocolate that matters but rather the people you share it with; and that if you persist and follow your passion, you have the power to change the world.
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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