Just took my recently turned 4 year old (yesterday, in fact) to the movie Puss 'n Boots today for her FIRST movie out. I read some reviews and even saw some comments from friends and family on FB about the movie. I read that it had no guns or real violence. I have to seriously disagree. Which is why I'm asking, "Am I the crazy one? I know it is rated PG and expected a little crude humor (which there was just a little of), but I didn't expect Jack and J. to point a gun and shoot several times, sharp knives threatening Boots, the amount of sword fights, or Boots having the "police" running after him and throwing knives and battle axes. And to find the back story to be about revenge. Ugh.
I also didn't appreciate the preview of a rated R movie to be shown beforehand either (Coke commercial that highlighted a movie coming out that showed men with guns and a building exploding). Realize this has to do with the theater.
If you have seen the movie, did you think it was too violent for kids under 6?
Maybe I'm just a prude. We don't let the girls (ages 4 and 18 months) to watch anything with guns or violence. We watch Nick Jr. and PBS and very few actual movies. Most Disney movies are too scary for my now 4 year old.
I just wanted a reality check of what others thought was violent compared to what I think is violent. I was raised on rated R movies at too young of an age - not a good thing.
I'm not horrified about the violence, just surprised at how many guns were in it when I read reviews that said it was very tame. Just trying to gage what is tame to most others.
My 4 year old is a very emotional little thing and it puts a lot of stress on her when there is a witch or evil person. We try every so often to try to watch a show with an evil do-er and sit with her to explain it. She just isn't ready and doesn't enjoy that type of entertainment. It's just so hard to find a good movie for her at the theater. Something she has been asking to do. Just wished the reviews I read had been more forth coming. The previews seemed pretty tame.
I thought this was going to be about it not being as funny as the previews let on. Violence wise it was tame. How sharp can can a cartoon knife be? It isn't real. They fell out of the clouds and used leaves to keep from dying. Its a cartoon.
The pigs were in diapers? It is a cat wearing boots?
If you've seen the other Shrek movies you'd know what to expect sounds like exactly what the others had it in.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but since the main character (Puss) carries a sword, I would assume there would be some fighting in the movie. I guess I'm wondering why, if you consider Disney movies too scary for your children and feel so strongly about violence, you took your child to this movie at all and what kind of plot-line you expected from a sword-carrying Zorro-type kitty? We don't play at guns or violence in our home and are careful to explain when violence occurs in things our daughter sees (ie. hunters in Bambi, fighting in Shrek, Auto-Pilot going crazy in Wall-E, etc.), so I'm not blowing off your concern to protect your children from violence in films/TV, just confused as to what you expected this movie to be about.
Sounds exactly like what I would expect for the character(s) in the Shrek related movies.
We plan on seeing it with our kids.
Added: Lots of cartoons on TV has more violence in them than I would expect...but we don't censor a lot of genres in our house. To each her own.
PG is not intended for kids as young as four. Increasingly, kids' movies seem to carry the PG rating just so the makers can slide in a little more action and a little more "nudge-nudge" sexy references that really are there for the adults in the audience. But if you saw the TV commercials for "Puss" you might have noticed that it was a high-action movie and probably too loud and long for a four-year-old. I would stick to G films unless you want to preview them yourself.
Well, what were you raised on?
I grew up with Thundercats - tons of bad guys and fights..., Smurfs - kidnapping with Gargamel, Tom/Jerry - always hurting each other, etc...
We all grew up fine.
So I guess, if you feel like this movie was out of line, you should stick with G rated stuff.
I might also sugges that "most Disney movies are too scary for your now 4yr old" could be because she's never been exposed to it and been able to process the emotion. I'm not suggesting you expose her to a horror movie. But talking her through what's happening in something like a sword fight in a cartoon can help her process things emotionally, and build her own coping mechanisms.
Just a suggestion.
I didnt think it was bad at all.....but i am not one to censor much either.
*****i really liked the part about the glaucoma, made me laugh but my kids would be none the wiser.
Have you ever seen Shrek with the Puss n Boots character from which this movie is based, or read the parental advisory about the movie, or watched the movie trailer....? He's a Zorro character, his whole story is fighting and sword fights. He is wearing a sword in the movie promo picture, the movie tagline is about a swordfighting cat... I haven't seen the movie b/c I avoid the crude humor... but from what you describe, violence wise it sounds exactly like what I would expect. I'm actually surprised given your views on cartoon violence that you would miss all that.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448694/parentalguide
Are your kids not allowed to watch Peter Pan/Little Mermaid/Tangled/Snow White type movies yet? There are guns/sword fights in those. Better to stick with G ratings to be safe then, instead of PG ones. To clarify, I don't think you're a prude.
I think to take a 4 year old to a PG movie is just asking for feelings like you're having.
www.commonsensemedia.org might be a good place for you "review" movies before you buy those tickets!
Your not a prude. I totally agree with you. There is a lot out there "for kids" that shouldn't be. I don't know about this movie in particular, I wouldn't take my kids (3 and 7) because of the crude humor anyway. Maybe it is geared to older kids. But there is a ton of marketing aimed at young kids and getting them excited about things they have no business knowing about.
I second checking out the website www.commonsensemedia.org. It's our go-to whenever we want to watch a new movie, buy a new Wii game, etc. They rate Puss as appropriate for ages 6 and above.
I agree with you completely! My 5 year old is JUST NOW starting to be able to watch most G movies! I say good job to you for being 'a prude'. You know your kids better than anyone.
PS www.commonsensemedia.org is a great site, but even they sometimes get it wrong (why do disney movies have to be SO DARN SCARY?? I wish they would have a feature on the DVD that plays the movie without the horrible 'bad guy' parts).
A great movie to see in the theater was/is Pooh bear.
I felt like that about Rango, I thought it was the worse kid movie ever made. We saw Puss in Boots but I have older kids so I didn't really notice what you mentioned. I would of mentioned to the manager the R rated preview tho for sure, that's not cool. It seems like movies are not G rated anymore at all for kids.
Next time try kidsinmind.com They review movies for parents. Any violent content. They tell you every little detail. Every curse word. Every moment that may be considered suspenseful. Any sexual content, which includes kissing and innuendo. They also tell you the general message of the movie. It's much more detailed and will help you decide if a movie is appropriate for your child. They review movies in the theater and on video. For Puss in Boots it got a 4 (on a scale of 1-10) for violence and a 3 for profanity. http://www.kids-in-mind.com/p/pussinboots.htm
I just want to second S.B. about the kids in mind website. It is excellent because it does list every little thing so nothing will be a surprise.
My 4 year old went with my sister and my niece (2.5) on Saturday and they all loved it!!
I think you can't shield your kids from all of the "bad" things out there forever, as hard as we may try. I think it is better for them to learn and see some things when they are with us so we can explain them.
We aren't too picky with what our kids watch or listen to. I think it's much better for them to not be restricted by us, than to go out and go buck wild on their own. Our kids tell us if they see or hear things they should not and will walk away when it's inappropriate. They know what crosses the line. And my kids are 8, 6, and 4.
I think they know because we are teaching them that.
If your 4 year old is over sensitive, there's no problem with that. Just check things out before she sees or hears them, and maybe preview things.
Good luck - because it's going to be hard to shield her from a lot of stuff.
I haven't really heard much about the movie, and my 4 year old was just invited to another 4 year old Bday party at a place that shows the movie in 3D. I just saw the trailer and looked up the movie on the suggested website Kids-in-mind.com (I book-marked, thank you!). You are not crazy! And my 4 year old will not go to this movie, especially the 3D version, she would be scared to death! Seriously, it's not PG for nothing... The movie does look cute though, but we'll wait to see it in a couple of years, lol...
My 5 and 2 year olds are going with me to see this on Wednesday. You should expect sword fights since he's well, a sword fighter. I would not expect guns, so that would have been a surprise but not one I couldn't live with. The throwing sharp stuff, I'm guessing from your description that it'd be kind of Tom and Jerry-ish violence? In which case, yeah.......it's PG which means you'll have to give some guidance re: the movie, not G. Doesn't sound bad enough to skip watching with the boys though.
HOWEVER: an R rated movie advertisement, or a commercial that isn't reasonable for a children's movie would upset me (much more than the movie you described). R rated advertisements have no place in a children's movie. I'd speak to management about that. (Once, we accidentally went to the wrong room and realized it when we were wanting to watch a "grown up" movie and all the previews were kid stuff. That was the warning that let us know we had turned too soon. Previews should match the movie being watched.
Nope, not crazy. My 4 year old is the same. She is also this way about the Disney movies... she has seen a few and desperately wants to see the Lion King - but I know the violence would just totally scare her and give her nightmares for days.
We were actually thinking about seeing puss'n'boots, so thank you for posting this... I think we will pass!
BTW, I didn't even know it was rated PG...I have seen the commercials and had the same impression as you...comedy, maybe some crude humor..
Hi J. - I totally understand your concern but also recommend that you perhaps stick to G-rated movies in the future, especially if you have a sensitive child. I think most kids arent ready for PG until they are around 8 personally and then it depends on the movie.
My niece was 6 when we all went to see Wall-E which was rated G. My 4yr old was fine but the peril was too much for her and she wanted to leave.
I haven't seen it, but I agree that you should try and screen your kids from violence for as long as possible!! All those violent shows with fighting, guns, swords, etc. are so not necessary to watch at such an early age! Even some cartoons on television are just ridiculous, in my opinion.
No, you are NOT a prude. You are using common sense when choosing which shows/movies are appropriate for YOUR children. Sure, you can't shield them forever, but you are in control of what they watch now. Keep them young for as long as you can!
Not at all. We took our 4 yr old and I thought it was so stinking cute!
