Kung Fu Panda saved my bacon

As a parent, you may spend more time than you’d like watching children’s movies. But there’s wisdom and inspiration to be found there if you look hard enough.

Read the rest of the article in Melbourne’s Herald-Sun – Weekend magazine 23 July 2011.

It’s handy to know that the Australian Council on Children & the Media (ACCM) provides ‘Know before you go’ movie reviews. Their reviews go beyond the Australian Government classifications system, assessing the impacts on different age groups of any issues such as frightening scenes, violence, sexual references, nudity, coarse language and use of drugs and alcohol.

Here is their roundup of the latest crop of movies marketed for children:

• Cars 2 (PG) Not recommended under 7, PG 7-10 (violent and scary scenes, coarse language)
• Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs Evil (G) Not recommended under 7, PG to 10 (violence; scary scenes)
• Kung Fu Panda 2 (PG) Not recommended under 5, PG to 8 (violence; scary scenes)
• Mr Popper’s Penguins (G) Lacks interest under 5, OK over 5.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On stranger tides (M) Not suitable under 12, PG to 15 (themes; violence; scary scenes)
• Super 8 (M) Not suitable under 13, Not recommended 13-15 (violence; disturbing scenes and themes; Coarse language; Drug references)

What do you think – too harsh, too soft? Where do you draw the line with kids and movies?