Family film guide: ‘War Horse,’ ‘We Bought a Zoo’
Published 5:51 pm Friday, December 30, 2011
“War Horse”
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence.
What it’s about: A young thoroughbred and the teenage boy who loves him must prove themselves on the farm and then on the battlefields of World War I.
The kid attractor factor: A boy and his horse, maybe the prettiest horse ever to grace the screen.
Good lessons/bad lessons: In life, “There are big days, and there are small days.” You get to decide what kind of day to make it.
Violence: Quite a bit of combat, some of it reasonably graphic.
Language: Disney clean.
Sex: None.
Drugs: Alcohol is consumed and abused.
Parents’ advisory: A violent history lesson about “The Great War” seen through the eyes of a horse, this is too intense for the very young — suitable for 12 and older.
“We Bought a Zoo”
Rating: PG for language and some thematic elements.
What it’s about: An adventure-prone widower uproots the kids when they buy and take over a small rural zoo.
The kid attractor factor: Cute kids, cuter critters, children living in and trying to save the family zoo.
Good lessons/bad lessons: “Bad things happen, you just keep going.” “You do something for the right reasons, nothing can stop you.”
Violence: A couple of off-camera deaths.
Language: A scattering of profanity, with some of it coming from the kids.
Sex: A little young teen romance, a little adult flirtation.
Drugs: Alcohol is consumed, sometimes in excess.
Parents’ advisory: Despite the presence of cute kids and critters, this is too slow and adult in theme for younger children. OK for 10 and older.
