THE BOTTOM LINE: There’s little that’s off-color or nasty. There’s that passionate spark between Piggy and Kermit, and a human one between Gary and Mary, however shy.
8 and older
Arthur Christmas (PG). Not just another corny Santa story gussied up in computer-animated 3-D, “Arthur Christmas” is fresh. The sophistication of the British-accented dialogue and the occasional darkness of the story make the film better for kids 8 and older, though younger children can enjoy the characters, animation and physical comedy. Arthur is the younger son of Santa, who’s pooped but reluctant to step down. Santa’s oldest son, Steve, has turned the operation into a computerized marvel. But Steve’s system fails to deliver a bike to a little girl. Arthur decides he’ll fix the error. Without Steve’s or Santa’s knowledge, he sets off with ancient Grandsanta on the old sleigh.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Some of the aerobatics could unsettle kids younger than 8. The idea of a selfish grandparent could dismay little ones. The film contains rare mild sexual innuendo and toilet humor.
10 and older
Hugo (PG). While often comic, and though it ends happily, this film, subtly rendered in 3-D, is not ideal for children younger than 10. It runs longer than two hours and explores dark themes of loss, loneliness and failure. For attentive kids 10 and older, “Hugo” offers a charmed tale that is also a crash course in early film history. Hugo lives inside the clockworks of a Paris train station, narrowly avoiding capture by the orphan-hunting Station Inspector. Hugo was taught how to fix machines by his late father. Now alone, he has been trying to repair a mechanical man that he and his dad were working on. He’s caught stealing by a toy shop owner, who confiscates a notebook full of diagrams.
THE BOTTOM LINE: When Hugo is chased by the Station Inspector, he dangles high over Paris. The Inspector catches another orphan and sends him away in a sad scene. The bitterness of the shop owner is an adult theme. We see brief footage of World War I warfare. There is mild, subtle sexual innuendo.
PG-13
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1. The erotic longing between high school grad Bella Swan and gentlemanly vampire Edward Cullen finally resolves itself in the marriage bed. There is little that can be called explicit, yet this installment is definitely less geared to middle-schoolers. Bella becomes pregnant with a baby who could be a demon. The Cullen clan worries that they should terminate the pregnancy, though Bella refuses, ready to sacrifice a life with Edward to save their offspring. Jacob, a longtime rival for Bella’s love, alternates between worrying about Bella, threatening to kill the “demon” once it’s born and trying to protect Bella and the Cullens from his werewolf pack.
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