Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
In this animated film (based on the story "Iron
Man" by the British poet laureate Ted Hughes), it's 1958 and a young boy gets to
befriend a massive alien robot that unexpectedly lands near -- and frightens -- the small
town of Rockwell, Maine. With the voices of Jennifer Aniston, Eli Marienthal, Harry
Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman, John Mahoney
and M. Emmet Walsh. [1:26]
SEX/NUDITY 2 - Some innocuous flirtation among a couple of adults. We see a
boy unzip and then zip his pants in a bathroom; a man unzips his pants and a squirrel
jumps out of them. We see a boy in swimming trunks.
VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - A deer is shot and killed by hunters. A man goes through
the window of a boat and is knocked onto rocks on the shore. A boy runs into a tree and
cuts his head (we see blood on his face). A man grabs a boy by the face and threatens to
take him away from his mother (the boy is obviously scared); also, a man renders a boy
unconscious by covering his mouth with some type of noxious concoction. Two boys almost
fall off a roof; a boy gets knocked unconscious. A robot blows up many tanks and armored
vehicles and a robot bites into a power station and gets electrocuted (the scene is very
noisy and scary). A robot is run over by a train and knocked out; also, a robot gets shot
by tanks, bazookas, machine guns, armed aircraft and other types of military artillery. A
robot is shattered to pieces (and allegedly killed) by an atomic bomb. A big robot carries
a boy in his hand, towering above the trees, and the boy looks scared. We see a brain on
TV that moves across the floor by itself. A lot of scatological humor (diarrhea,
constipation).
the review continues below...
PROFANITY 3 - A couple of anatomical references, several scatological
references and mild obscenities; some name-calling. [profanity glossary]
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Sputnik, aliens, UFOs, The Cold War, atomic holocaust,
sacrifice, immortality of the soul, killing, the morality of deer hunting, paranoia,
openness to differences.
MESSAGE - Government inspectors are scarier and more vindictive than alien
robots. The real message: Killing is bad, and robots, like humans, are basically harmless
until forced into a defensive position.
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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