THE BOTTOM LINE: Some of the nonstop action sequences involve gunplay, and a flashback shows old battleships firing cannons and burning. Captain Haddock is an alcoholic.
We Bought a Zoo (PG). Certainly the most family-friendly and mildest movie of the season, “We Bought a Zoo” offers kids 10 and older and their parents a heartwarming story, good acting and cool critters. The movie follows single dad Benjamin, a journalist grieving over his late wife. He decides to quit his job and move the family to a house in the country — even after he learns that a financially struggling private zoo comes with it. His sad adolescent son, Dylan, hates the idea, but daughter Rosie loves it.
The bottom line: The script includes rare barnyard profanity and mild sexual innuendo. A sick animal is put down. This happens off-screen. Dylan draws disturbing images that reflect his grief and alienation. Adult characters drink.
PG-13
War Horse. This heart-rending World War I-era tale gets the full Steven Spielberg treatment, which often pushes this PG-13 film into R territory. High-schoolers who can handle the harrowing depiction of the Great War could be transported by the stunning epic. Some teens won’t have the patience for it, but the rewards are high if they do. Albert, a poor English farm boy, trains a big-hearted horse called Joey. When World War I breaks out, Albert’s dad sells Joey to the army. The film follows Joey’s experiences on the battlefield. His story starts to parallel Albert’s, after the boy is old enough to enlist. Eventually, the young man and his horse are slogging separately toward each other through the battlefields of France.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The battlefield scenes in “War Horse” are extremely intense and push the PG-13 envelope hard with shattering artillery fire, charges on horseback, trench warfare, images of men and horses dead, the deathly silence of a poison gas attack, and Joey trapped and struggling in barbed wire. This makes the film problematic for many middle-schoolers.
The Artist. A silent, black-and-white film that celebrates Hollywood in its early days, “The Artist” will appeal to a special kind of teen. Said teen must love film, understand that it’s an art form and must be intrigued by film history. Set in the late 1920s as talking pictures are about to revolutionize the industry, it follows the downfall of George Valentin, a star of silent films who can’t make the jump into talkies. His marriage is failing, and a young starlet, Peppy Miller, worships and tries to help him.
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