So I have used IMDB (internet movie database) up til now... so you can read parental advisory content about movies and shows. I rented gnomeo and juliet and a parent said (members add/edit the advisory content after going through some bs validation process) there were VERY suggestive sexual comments when they talk about the gnome hat being big and Juliet says a squirrel dropped its nuts. I don't know how many have seen the movie, I didn't let my daughter watch it because I was afraid it was "bad". I watched it and wanted to LAUGH! To me, there was no dern way to take that context sexually unless your mind is just deep inside the gutter or your just seriously analyzing. So tell me mommas, is there a better site to get parental advisory that will list what is actually in the movie? like sex, violence, etc? After that incident I'm not too thrilled with IMDB anymore. Everyone takes it differently but there was no sexual indication in the body language or word play so kinda discourages me from using that site. I'm not trying to offend anyone that uses the site, I just got peeved that someone said that and it wasn't at all (I'm usually the one over-paranoid about movie content and I don't think it was lol).
Thanks Moms. I don't much care for the guy with the thing on, but he's a gnome and is shown for 3 seconds in the movie. I still think those "sexual" innuendos are not in their for sexual innuendos, some parents just skewed them that way. You'd have to see it to know what I'm talking about. If this is a "bad" movie for kids, then Shrek is too in my view b/c shrek has actual innuendos in the 3rd one. I understand straight talk but those tiny saying like the squirrel dropped it's nuts (referring to actually dropping nuts on a power cord to turn something on) is not a sexual innuendo to me... b/c then everything could be taken that way and those people irritate me that chuckle and go "you said nuts"
My kids only see G or PG movies. period. the sex stuff doesn't bother me as much as the violence. What bothers one person may not bother another.
The best way we have ever been able to determine if a movie is okay for our children is to watch it first. Opinions are going to differ and you will be hard pressed to find a site where reviewers see things the exact same way as you.
We typically check out pluggedinonline.com, it is a part of Focus on the Family. The reviewer typically does a brief rundown of the movie followed by categories broken into Positive Elements, Spiritual Content, Sexual Content, Violent Content, Crude or Profane Language, Drug and Alcohol Content, Other Negative Elements, Conclusion
Be forewarned, if you want to be surprised by a movie this may not be the site for you. It often gives exact verbage and describes scenes quite well so it could be a *spoiler* for you. I personally like that it breaks it all down & I can gauge if the content is too much for our family. Hope you find a review site that works for you!
I'm not sure of your age but I will tell you mine. I am 35 years old and while I do indeed censor what my children watch there are some things that can be taken a different way as an adult vs a child. Children tend to "miss" things that the adults "get". For example: go back and watch the cartoons from my day....Bugs bunny, Road Runner-beep beep! Sorry had to do it! and all the other famous ones. We watched those religiously and I think that I am a fairly well-rounded citizen abiding adult. Elmer Fudd smoked cigars-parents now would absolutely die if a cartoon dipicted someone "smoking". Doesn't mean we grow up to become chain smokers and ax murders that blow people up with dynamite as they fall down a cliff. As I watch those cartoons with my own two girls now.....I pick up things that I didn't when I was a child and I will laugh while my kids just look at me funny because they have no clue.....yet those cartoons will keep them entertained for hours and the ones they show these days only keeps their interest for so long. Weird huh? I don't know of any websites really-I do censor but I am not the censor police either. I actually banned them from watching spongebob for awhile because I saw one episode of them going back and forth talking about how they were going to kick each other's butt-then I retracted because I felt like my kids knew better and they see much worse on a daily basis at school-pick your battles.........
I pay no attention to any parent advisory comments on movies. So many people are so over the top, paranoid and helicopterish these days I can't stand it! I go by MPAA ratings, trailers and certain movie critics. I also ask my son if he thinks he may like to see certain films that look good for him and he'll tell me if he thinks it looks to scary, loud, boring, etc. People also need to think of films through their child's eyes. Sexual innuendo goes right over their heads!
Google movie reviews for moms and see what comes up. I know I have seen a lot of them along side the movie trailer ads. Hopefully you can get what you need. I think most of us get the jokes and then think the kids might too. Most of the time they have no idea.
Actually our paper does pretty good job at reviewing movies and even said that Gnomeo was a good one. It rated Rango pretty low.
Our kids are older so we can pretty much let them watch any movie within reason. I try to limit gore and sexual content but they aren't into that anyway.
My 10 yo is a Star Wars junkie, or Lord of the Rings, Harry POtter, Narnia, Tron. Lately his new craze is the M*A*S*H dvd's he got for Easter.
Updated
Actually our paper does pretty good job at reviewing movies and even said that Gnomeo was a good one. It rated Rango pretty low.
Our kids are older so we can pretty much let them watch any movie within reason. I try to limit gore and sexual content but they aren't into that anyway.
My 10 yo is a Star Wars junkie, or Lord of the Rings, Harry POtter, Narnia, Tron. Lately his new craze is the M*A*S*H dvd's he got for Easter.
I have used IMDB for years and have NEVER used it for reviews or ratings of kid's movies - didn't even know that was on there. It is a filmography database. It's main purpose is not for what you have described. There are many other websites for reviews of kid's movies. However, I have always found them to be way too conservative for me for the same exact reason you have stated about IMDB. I go with personal reviews from friends and other moms.
My favorite site is CommonSenseMedia.org
It has a thorough breakdown of language, sex, violence, etc. It has their review in the "What Parents Should Know" section and then many parent reviews as well.
I love this site. I check it for movies, TV shows, games... everything.
commonsensemedia.org o kids-in-mind.com are the places i go to check out a movie. kids in mind gives you every angle as far as what some parents might consider sex, violence, and language. X number of "F" words, X number of sexual references, etc... (ie: a bare shoulder=sex). but at least you know exactly what to expect.
I use Parent Previews (http://parentpreviews.com/). It lists the number of swear words and type, lists some of the sexual references, and the type of violence shown. The site gives each move a report card based that criteria, plus parents can post their own comments about the movie. Then we as parents have a better idea if we're being protective and concerned or paranoid. : ) Below is how they rated Gnomeo & Juliet.
Overall: B-
Violence: C+
Sexual Content: B+
Language: B+
Drugs/Alcohol: A
Run Time: 84
Theater Release: 11 Feb 2011
Video Release: 24 May 2011
MPAA Rating: G
We use Common Sense Media. I also ask friends and family. You can also watch "Trailers" of the movie and that can also help. If I'm still not sure, I will watch it first. However, I still watch shows with my son. It's a great teaching opportunity when things do come up.
im a film buff. and my kids are too! so i LOVE www.kids-in-mind.com because it tells you exactly how bad it is and in what way and explains in detail what happens in each scene that has inappropriate actions in it and they rate it, so i am better able to make the decision myself before allowing my kids to see it.
my favorite.
also, gnomeo and juliet was adorable!
suggestions are what you make of them, and if youre mind is in the gutter, your kids minds will be too.
also, the more taboo something is to a youngster, the more likely they are to explore it!
i think more people need to relax and think about something before they freak out!
I haven't looked at the answers yet, so maybe someone already said: Common Sense Meida (www.commonsensemedia.org)
It has great reviews and they suggest what age a movie/game/book is OFF, IFFY, or ON, and they break it up into Violence, Sex, Alcohol, Messages, and Consumerism. So cool and helpful, and they also have parent reviews. And I noticed that Netflix is now showing the Common Sense Rating if their is one.
