movingmom:
What ages is this movie for? I have a 2,6 and 8 year old. Personally I would love to see it (and take them too!)
JMJ + OBT
I don’t have kids of my own, and I haven’t discussed this film with parents who have seen it, but I think I can still pick out the
gotchas which you will want to take into consideration.
There is one scene where a penguin is grabbed underwater (to be eaten) by a seal. There is
no gore shown whatsoever; but the close-ups of the seal with its toothy-mouth snapping open and closed (before the bite), and then the scene where the seal bites and swims off with the penguin, might be scary for a small child.
There is a scene where a vulture-duck-bird-thing goes after a baby penguin. Just as it is about to deliver the
death-blow with its beak, the camera and narrator cut away to a different scene/topic. This scene might be scary for a very small child.
On a number of occasions, the film depicts the plight of a baby penguin that is going to die (of starvation or exposure to the elements) because something happened to one or both of its parents. Small children might be upset that the other penguin-parents won’t share with or shelter the orphaned babies.
On a number of occasions (besides the “seal” and “vulture” scenes), it is clear that an adult penguin is dying or has died (there is no gore whatsoever in those scenes). This may upset small children.
*** AND THEN *** there is the
big one: there is a short copulation scene. It is filmed, narrated, and set to music in a rather tasteful manner; moreover, penguins
do not have large genitalia that flop around on screen, or anything like that. But the scene is
there in the film, no getting around it.
The more general “mating scene” that surrounds that actual copulation scene shouldn’t pose any problem – small children and adults will more than likely find it very cute. And in fact, the copulation scene may go
whoosh over the heads of small children – it’s your call.
Have fun!
