The Croods

Rated PG

IMDB Quote: After their cave is destroyed, a caveman family must trek through an unfamiliar fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy.



Content


Violence: 2 There are some scenes where there are Piranha fish. Also they are cavemen so there will be kicking and punching and what not


Blood and Gore: 1 very little. You do however see some whale walker bones


Drug and Alcohol Use: 1 None and no noticeable references


Sex and Sensual Materials: 3 In a few scenes the Crood daughter is shot at such an angle that it could be considered sensual. However, as this movie is aimed at younger children its unlikely that this will be a noticeable issue. Use discretion however.


Language: 1 None and very little in terms of referencing language. It was a nice surprise for a dreamworks film.


Frightening Scenes: 2 Some of the scenes with the Piranha fish and some of the scenes toward the end can be seen as sad/frightening. However, it is nothing too over the top

 

The Croods 

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you crossed a piranha with a bird? Or how about if you gave a whale legs? All of these questions and more can be answered by The Croods.

 From the creators of the Shrek series and How to Train your dragon comes The Croods. Don't be fooled by the name however, because the Croods are everything but crude. Despite the similarities in the animation to Shrek the movie has much more of a younger children air about it, with some thrown in adult humor. Not the kind that is typical of Dreamworks, however, but more humor that older generations can relate to (such as new inventions by the character played by Nicholas Cage).

While the movie is great for all ages it does have a down side. A major theme throughout the entire movie is a phrase that Crood father continuously repeats: "Never don't be afraid." Or if double negatives confuse you, "Always be afraid."

This movie is set in a prehistoric era where the last of the cavemen are dying out and a new "breed" of human's are beginning to emerge. The Croods largely due to the fact that they never leave their cave seem to be the last cavemen in existence and they are constantly battling with the environment just to eat everyday. Then the teen-aged rebellious daughter decides that one day she is not going to listen to her father's warnings and sneak out in the middle of the night in order to find out what the light is that she see's. After being nearly eaten alive (for about the tenth time this point in the movie) she meets a young stranger who warns her and her family of an impending doom.

Along with Belt and several other helpful characters that are met along the way, The Croods provides humor, and challenges for the entire family.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Rated PG

IMDB Quote: "Harry ignores warnings not to return to Hogwarts, only to find the school plagued by a series of mysterious attacks and a strange voice haunting him."

Content:

Violence: 4 There are several scenes of threats of violence and acted violence between individuals

Blood and Gore: 3 Messages are written in blood on the walls, there are also "petrified" or frozen bodies found (they are not dead just frozen by magic)

Drug and Alcohol Use: 1 There is no blatant drug or alcohol use. It may be implied in some instances that alcohol is being drank but it is not obvious

Sex and Sensual Material: 1 There is no blatant sexual or sensual material. There is reference to one of the main character's mothers "fancying" a man other than her husband. Other than that there is literally nothing to worry about in this category for this film

Language: 1 There are a few words for those viewers in the UK but for the viewers in the US there is next to nothing in terms of language. 

Frightening Scenes: 6 There are several intense scenes throughout this film, some of which are mentioned in the review. It is strongly recommended that parents view this film prior to allowing children view it.

Review Warning Contains Spoilers:

Spiders and Wizards and House Elves Oh My! In this second installment of Harry Potter, our hero travels back to Hogwarts for his second year at the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But before he can Win Guadium Leviosa things begin to go very wrong. First, he gets no letters from his friends, He can’t get on the train platform because of  some magic barrier and then Mrs. Norris the grounds keeper’s cat winds up petrified with a strange message written in blood beside her on the wall about the chamber of secrets and it being opened. Students around the school begin to drop like flies, and at every scene, there are spiders leaving in hoards. And lastly, the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher is utterly useless with just about everything he attempts to do

Hillarity and drama ensues in this film. We have cars that fly, witches that do their chores with magic and screaming mandrake plants. And if that’s not enough, there are huge spiders. Now we all know that when we say huge spiders that can be a relative term. The spider Aragog from this film puts the great Sheba from Lord of the Rings to shame and not only is it huge… but it talks! Within moments, you’re no longer watching Harry Potter but some twisted rendition of Eight Legged Freaks.

Some of the humor in this film with likely make you moan like Myrtle and make you wish that you hadn’t put this in your player in the first place. While other scenes are so intense that you are unsure of whether or not this film is actually supposed to be aimed at young children, as the rating would suggest. You find out if you weren’t paying attention in the last film that even wizards get detention, there are nonsense puns like Mrs. Sprout who grows plants in her greenhouse and lastly you find out that even among witches and wizards there is a level of racism and hatred.

Critique

Let’s be honest, its hard to find movies these days without some subtle political message imbedded within the context of the film. I never thought however, that Harry Potter would be used as a surrogate for teaching children that racism is bad. Why? Well it could have to do with both the UK’s and the United State’s history of burning witches at the stake. It could also be due to the fact that when you think of witches and wizards you don’t really think of racism. In some instances you may think of Hanzel and Grettle who are almost eaten by a witch, or Snow White who falls prey to her evil stepmother. But witches and wizards typically are not seen as racist… they’re just seen as evil. So when Chris Columbus along with J.K. Rowling insert this subtle racist behavior along with racial slurs against those who don’t have magic its slightly disturbing when you realize that they are talking about all of us.

This chapter of Harry’s life takes the previous installment and turns it darker by unimaginable means. If the parents of the previous film thought that it was too dark for their children to watch then I definitely recommend staying away from this one. I would not call this a standard family film. In fact to say that those under the age of 13 should not watch this I would call an understatement.

While the last film presented the happy and fun aspects that could be witchcraft this film plunges the viewer into a world of darkness and suspense as around every corner there is another who means to harm the hero and his friends.

Recommendation:

Under normal circumstances I leave my recommendations with some leeway for the parents to use their own discretion. However, this time I strongly recommend that this film not be showed to any individuals under the age of 13. While the film seems largely fun and games there are themes within the film that parents must be wary of especially if they have young children. While the film does teach the importance of accepting others (which as Christians we should do) it still has this undertone of hatred among individuals that I would not be comfortable exposing young children to.  It also has a large amount of darkness surrounding Harry Potter and his encounter with another of Voldermort’s games. I cannot emphasize enough that parents must approach this film with a different level of wisdom than they approached the previous film.

If you are unwilling to take my word for it, as always, I recommend screening this film before showing your children. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

 

Rated PG

IMDB Description: "Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Content:

Violence: 3 There is very little violence in this film, and the amount that is in the film is usually done with an amount of humor. However, there are a few scenes that are slightly violent


Profanity: 3 If you're an American viewer there is really very little language in this film at all. Maybe one word that comes from one of the students. However, if you're an English viewer there are several more words used that are curse words. Parents should keep an eye out anyway to be sure that their children are not copying the used words in this film in case they are offensive.

Frightening Scenes: 5 Throughout the movie there are several scenes that could be seen as frightening or intense. I do not recommend that children under 13 see this film.


Blood and Gore: 2 There is no real blood or gore in this film. Only some science fiction type blood as well as a ghost who briefly pulls his head off to explain why his nickname is nearly headless nick


Sexuality/Sensuality: 1 There is nothing in this film that parents should be wary of, at least in this category.

Drug/Alcohol Use: 2 One of the main characters is offered his usual at a bar. He declines, there are however other patrons around that are implied to be drinking.



Review:
In the first edition to this Series Harry Potter finds out that, he is a wizard and that his parents were killed not in a car crash as he had always been told, but by he who shall not be named, the evil wizard Voldermort. He then finds himself whisked off to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and Wizardry by the giant Hagrid. From there waiting around every bend is a new surprise for Harry as his fame goes before him as the boy who lived. There are twists and turns around every corner with an incredible twist at the end that no one will be expecting.



For a science-fiction/Fantasy film this movie is pretty standard. There are wizards and they use magic. Overall, this film has witty comments, slap stick humor and intense scenes filled with awesome special effects that the entire family could potentially enjoy.

 The Big Question:

So what is the big fuss over the film? Well, the focus on the film is completely based upon the use of witchcraft and wizardry. However, the “witchcraft” in the film is not real witchcraft. The spells that are used in the film you cannot find within the pages of any real practicing witches book. No, the spells are simply Latin words strung together to sound like spells. So should Christians watch this film? I suppose that depends completely on one’s own personal conviction. There are elements of the film that Christians should definitely be wary of. One of those being that the film is completely based around the use of witchcraft and wizardry. However, I think there is something deeper that Christians need to be wary of and that is the different messages that the film is giving. One overriding theme in the movie but is subtly hidden by the genre is that witchcraft and wizardry is fun and opens up new doors of possibilities. While this message is ok from an imagination stand-point things begin to get a little hairy from a realistic Biblical teaching stand-point. The Bible clearly states that witchcraft is one of the acts of the sinful nature. Throughout the Bible, there are very clear boundary lines given and witches in the Bible are killed regularly by command of God. Verses in Timothy tell the reader to avoid every kind of evil.

So what is my recommendation? First, I do not recommend this film for any young children that do not yet possess the ability to separate what is real and what is fictional Witchcraft in the context of our world is a very real thing and something that Christians must be wary of. Secondly, if you or your child are simply unable to separate the fictional elements of this film or any other film from what reality is I do not recommend this film. Third and finally, if you have strong convictions against movies such as the Chronicles of Narnia, or Lord of the Rings because of their magic usage I do not recommend this film. However, if you are looking for a family film for a slightly older age group that has elements of fantasy and imagination this may be the film for you. My recommendation is that this film not be shown to anyone under the age of 13. And as always if you have reservations I recommend screening the film prior to showing it to your kids so you can decide for yourself if you believe your children are of the appropriate age to watch this.