Home on the Range - why PG?

[Epcot Mom]

OK, so we are squares and don't let our dd5 see anything not G rated. Disney is clearly marketing to young children yet this has a PG rating. Has anyone seen it and knows why?

We started paying attention to ratings when I took her to see Lilo and Stitch, without even checking the rating. I assumed from the commercials, it was ok. I thought it was too violent and scary for a 4 year old and would have walked out if we hadn't driven with another family. I'm trying not to make the same mistake again.

It looks cute, I just need to make sure it's not too much.

Thanks,
Epcot Mom

 

[shatzjsl]

We saw Home on the Range this past Sunday with my 10-yr-old. I am not sure why it is PG. There is some violence but not very much at all. In fact, I really can't put my finger on what parts were violent. Nobody died, no bad words. Typical good vs. evil Disney movie.

 

[JBurke]

I had read an article that it got a PG rating because of one or two of the jokes.

At point the cow played by Roseanne in referring to her large utters says "What are you looking at? They're real."

I dont think there was anything in the movie that required it to have a PG rating. It was perfectly fine for my 3 kids (10, 6 and 3)

I didnt like the movie as much as other Disney movies. It was just okay.

 

[Oh Kay!]

DS5 loved the movie. There was a similar thread on the Community Board, and based on the postings I decided there weren't anything objectionable. Action parts are cartoony, and the villain yodels.

 

[mkcp91]

I was the one who asked this same question over on the community board.

Here's the link to that thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=541323&highlight="home+on+the+range"

I thought the movie was quite cute - you can read my mini-review on the other thread.

~Heather

 

[diztone]

I think the movie got the PG rating for the "adult humor" or adult situations. Did you all miss the male cows making crude "sexual" jokes about the female cows? Might have something to do with the PG rating. Although they did go over my two DD's heads, they were there.

 

[memymomonica]

Wow, I am surprised that you thought Lilo & Stitch was bad. My daughter loved it at 4.

Snow White is scary and that is G. Has anyone watched old Bugs Bunny cartoons? Those were pure violence and had some pretty adult subject matter. I watched with my daughter the other day. I remembered them from when I was young, but I never realized there was anything wrong until now.

I will let my daughter watch PG and PG-13 as long as I watch with her to explain as needed and she is only 6. I think Home on the Range was really tame. You shouldn't have a problem.

 

[shelly3girls]

I just wanted to mention that focusonthefamily.com has a great in depth review of most movies released. It is a Christian website so it includes a review on spiritual content among other things. We have found this site valuable in deciding if a movie has appropriate content or not. Once on the site go to the Parents section then click on movie reviews. I pasted some of the review for Home on the Range. After reading the full review you will know exactly what to expect so you can decide if the movie is right for your children. Just to note I did not paste it but the review describes the film and lists many positive aspects too.


Sexual Content
A pair of amorous Texas longhorns make passes at the three cows. The film ends with those steers (and a buffalo) pairing off with Maggie, Grace and Mrs. C. It will fly over the heads of children, but there’s no denying the breast reference when Maggie, referring to her udder, says, “Yep, they’re real. Quit staring.”

Violent Content
The cows accidentally start a barroom brawl. Maggie and Mrs. C mix it up on several occasions, pushing and ramming into each other. There’s a lot of cartoon violence, wild chases and perilous action. Characters get punched, kicked and smacked in the face with metal pans. The goat is assaulted by piglets and landed on by a flying cow. A hapless rabbit is pursued by a coyote, birds and a hungry rattlesnake.

Buck fancies himself an equine martial artist, and is seen beating up cowboys with wild, debilitating karate kicks. The cows are threatened by a vicious flash-flood. When Slim pulls a gun on Grace, Maggie and Mrs. C, the entire barnyard erupts with animals attacking the cattle rustler. Other wild action includes runaway trains, wagons and mine cars. Lucky Jack gets whacked in the noggin with a horseshoe (one of several concussion-inducing incidents that leave the victims seeing stars).

Crude or Profane Language
No profanity per se, but expressions common in classic westerns (“dang,” “doggone,” “dagnabbit”) may bother parents with small children likely to adopt them. Several characters are told to “shut up.” Another says, “So long, sucker!” Slim calls people “stupid.” Modifying a crass modern colloquialism, the goat says he’ll “open up a can of whoop-hide” on someone. Maggie talks about “kicking bad-guy behind.”

Drugs and alcohol
Men drink at a saloon.

Other negative elements
Maggie belches loudly several times. After unleashing a massive burp in the farmyard, she inspires several piglets to imitate her. (Judging by the laughter from little ones in the audience, they may be next to do the mimicking.) Buck intentionally tries to throw the cows off of Slim’s trail, then lies to get back into favor with Rico the bounty hunter. Slim and Maggie both mention that they’re motivated by vengeance.

 

[Timmer]

memymomonica,

Bugs Bunny was originally geared to an adult audience in the '40s and '50s - and shown in theaters before feature films.

Of course, I grew up watching them on television (just like everyone else here probably), and I don't remember getting any violent tendencies from them

 

[memymomonica]

That was my point. I think I turned out pretty good. I was reading that review above. Half that stuff I didn't even think about. I think they were going through with a fine tooth comb. I can't think of one film that we be 100% kid friendly. Not to mention most of that stuff is stuff kids are going to have to deal with in real life i.e. violence, lying, sexual overtones. Better, in my opinion, to watch and discuss with you kids. I don't want my daughter to be so sheltered, I want to give her the tools to deal with it.

 

[shelly3girls]

memymomonica
You are correct, they go through every movie with the finest tooth comb. The idea is that the parent then has all the info they need to make an informed decision for their child. I love the great detail they put into the review b/c it helps me decide if I will face issues that I may not necessarily be ready to discuss with my DD age 5.

 

[memymomonica]

I understand and I am glad that that information is out there for people who want it. I guess my point is that people (reviewers)find what they are looking for. You can find something negative in anything if you look hard enough.

I may be in the minority, but I subject my daughter to life as much as possible. She is only 6, but in our life, we deal with a lot more heavy issues than most. As you can see by my signature, my husband is a Marine. He is a pilot. We are faced with death, fear, seperation on a daily basis. I actually let her watch the war some with me so I could explain what was going on in her language. She deals with things better than most adults. I would like to think it is just her, but it is all military children. She is learning at a young age to never take anything for granted and live life to the fullest everyday because there is no guarantee of tomorrow. Some adults never learn that.

Didn't mean to ramble, just thought you might want to see where I was coming from.

 

[shelly3girls]

I am actually agreeing with you. I like to read through the review so I can be prepared on what questions may arise. Others may choose not to expose their children to some of what I do, but I think I am pretty middle of the road when it comes to what I allow my children to see.

 

[lorifl2]

Here is a great review site for parents:

http://www.screenit.com/movies/2004/home_on_the_range.html

It tends to get pretty detailed, so I wouldn't go here if you are worried about having the story spoiled, but it's great for seeing exactly why a movie gets the rating it got.

It looks like this movie got a PG for a couple of sexual innuendo type jokes that went right over the heads of my 9 and 5 year olds.

 

[Epcot Mom]

WOW! Thanks for the thoughtful responses. I, like many others it seems, feel it best to know what I'm heading into. I'm all for letting them experience what's out there, just want to keep it on her level. I had no idea those review sites were out there. I'll book mark those for future reference. It's more detail than I probably need and concerned about things I'm ok with, but better to know ahead of time.

This is one of the MANY things I love about these boards.....post any question and you'll receive quick, thoughtful responses from many different viewpoints.

Thanks everyone!

 

[laceemouse]

My kids are 12, 11, 8, and 6. When they were younger we used to have the "only G movies" rule also. When Disney came out with Dinosaur, my youngest was a DINO FREAK!!! (Still is really!) Anyway, she was only 2 and begged to see it. It had a few rude comments which they could have left out but the kids didn't get it. The violence was dinosaurs eating dinosaurs, and even a 2 year old knows about that. We all enjoyed the movie and decided to relax our standards after that. We do read the reviews, but feel most PG is okay. Now they have seen one PG-13, POTC, which we bought and youngest did not even care to watch, she only likes animated flicks LOL. Many people complained about Nemos mom getting killed, have these people seen Bambi? I agree with Monica on most counts, with my preteens I am more worried about drugs and sex than a little violence, especially cartoon violence. JMHO.....Lacee

 

[lenshanem]

I didn't even realize it was PG. I thought some of the jokes were a little much for kids. Why did they even bother putting them in? Weird... Not like it helped the movie much.