PG Means “Pretty Good” Right?

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find family-friendly movies at the theater or on home video. Parents often turn to the MPAA rating for guidance. (Whether that’s entirely a good idea is a subject worthy of debate but for now, let’s assume that movies with a rating of “G” or “PG” are at least supposed to be suitable for both parents and children.) More and more it is animated films that make up the bulk of G and PG movies. For example, in 2012, 7 of the 10 highest grossing PG rated movies at the box office were animated films.
How appropriate are these movies? Are parents safe renting a PG movie for their kids without first pre-screening it? This column is the first in a planned series reviewing recent PG films.

Paranorman *½

Paranorman was the first of three “kiddie-horror” animated films released in late 2012. (The others are Hotel Transylvania and Frankenweenie.) The lead character is an 11 year old boy named Norman who has the ability to see and talk to ghosts. This makes him very unpopular and his only friends are similarly bullied kids. He lives in a New England town notorious for its Salem like witch trials, one of which is about to be commemorated by the town. Norman learns that before her execution, the witch cursed the town to be overrun by zombies (in this case, the resurrected corpses of the men who condemned her.) Naturally, Norman’s abilities help him and his friends to save the town.

While the stop-motion animation is outstanding, there are several aspects of Paranorman that should concern parents. First is the horror imagery seen throughout the film. Images and references (some intended to be humorous) of zombies, ghosts, witches and the undead pervade the film. While not all children will be frightened by these images, young children most likely will not understand the morbid humor. It doesn’t seem necessary for kids to see these images without the cultural context by which adults view them. In fact, the movie gets increasingly scary as it goes on with some particularly frightening scenes near the end. Christian parents should take note that the witches’ condemners who turn into zombies are Puritans at their most stereotypical. (They’re bigoted, hateful, mean, etc.) The movie also does not portray a Christian worldview of death and the afterlife.

Even more troublesome is the alarmingly inappropriate humor. Keep in mind the most of the film’s characters are eleven years old with two older siblings being no older than 16 or 17. Here are a few exemplas of the jokes.

The school bully says he wants to go the adult video store instead of the library.
One character is seen watching his mom’s aerobics DVD with the image paused so he can stare at the woman on the screen.
An older boy reveals he is gay at the end of the movie. (He mentions having a boyfriend.) I do not think jokes about puberty, pornography and homosexuality are appropriate in a PG movie aimed at kids.

Needless to say, I do not recommend Paranorman for adults or children.