Welcome to “Finding Entertainment Appropriate for Kids” where each Friday we’ll spotlight a piece of entertainment that kids might want to enjoy this weekend and analyze if it actually is appropriate for them.
The film this week is “9,” an animated film by director Shane Acker and produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov. It features the voices of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly and more. Now, you might not be familiar with Acker or Bekmambetov but you know Tim Burton. He’s the director of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “Batman,” all films that are packaged as kid appropriate but end up being a little too freaky for most parents to stomach.
Well, it seems, much is the same with “9.” The film is about a bunch of man made sack creatures who are all that’s left of humanity after the world has ended. Already, we are getting scary. The creatures then travel out into the world and we, the audience, concurrently discover their purpose, what happened to the world, and more.
“9″ is rated PG-13 for “violence and scary images.” Peter Howell of The Toronto Star believes “Children who handled the darkness of ’Coraline’ and the depressing backdrop of ’WALL-E’ might be able to handle the similar rigors of ’9′.” Roger Ebert disagrees saying “this movie is clearly targeted not at kiddies but at teens and up.” And Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune backs up his Windy City friend saying that “9″ is not in “any way interested in pandering to a young audience. The PG-13 rating is appropriate.”
So, it seems like even though the film is getting good reviews and is animated, “9″ is not a movie for your kids, unless they are a little bit older and able to process frightening concepts like “the end of the world.”
(Images Courtesy of Focus Features)
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