Five Children and IT

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Five Children and IT's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Five Children and IT completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 2 April 05.

Overall comments and recommendations

Five Children and IT is a charming and entertaining family movie. It is based E. Nesbit's children's book about the adventures of the five Butterworth siblings, during their stay at an eccentric uncle's castle in 1917. Children will enjoy the amusing misadventures of the children and the magic of IT. For adults, the script is actually quite humorous (the older members of the cast and IT have particularly absurd things to say), the acting is universally good, the sets and the style of the movie are lovely and the storyline isn't overly-sentimental.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Five Children and IT contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

During the summer of 1917, the five Butterworth children are evacuated from London to their Uncle Albert's castle, after their parents sign up to serve in World War 1; their father (Alex Jennings) in the air force and their mother (Tara Fitzgerald) as a nurse. Cyril, the eldest, is put in charge of the toddler, Anthea, Jane and a none-too-pleased Robert (Freddie Highmore).

The children vary in their enthusiasm about the adventure that awaits them at eccentric Uncle Albert's (Kenneth Branagh) home. They meet their unpleasant cousin, Horace (Alexander Pownall) and the kindly housekeeper, Martha (Zoe Wanamaker), who almost immediately warns them to stay away from the Greenhouse. Needless to say, it doesn't take them long to find this room and explore the hidden pathway leading away from it.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There are very few overtly violent scenes in this movie. During one heated exchange between Cyril and Robert, Cyril angrily grabs Robert by the arms and calls him an idiot. He then angrily aims to push away Anthea, but she steps away.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

There are some scenes that could disturb children under the age of eight:

• the children being separated from their parents; Robert, in particular, finds the parting very difficult.
• the children's concern for their father's safety is another theme which is revisited throughout the movie.
• the children explore a dark and winding passageway leading from the forbidden Greenhouse. Jane comments on her apprehension; the scene is accompanied by eerie music.
• after a wish in which the Butterworth's gain wings, they get into a dangerous situation when they fly into the path of German zeppelins.
• Horace has a laboratory for his ‘monster mastery', where he appears to be conducting experiments, including boiling dolls. At one stage he menaces the other children with the same treatment.
• Horace binds IT to his experiment table, holding a knife to him and threatening to perform a dissection.
• Horace's dinosaur egg cracks open and a grumpy full-sized Tyrannosaurus Rex appears in the laboratory. All the children appear afraid.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Some children aged eight to thirteen may still be scared by the above-mentioned scenes.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Children over 13 years are unlikely to be scared by any of the scenes in this movie.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in this movie.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity or sexual activity in this movie.

Use of substances

There is no use of substances in this movie.

Coarse language

There is no coarse language in this movie, just one instance of name calling when Cyril calls Robert an 'idiot'.

The movie's message

The movie's main message is that of the power of family, particularly the importance of loyalty, selflessness and sticking together in tough times, and that everyone's contribution is important.

Values that parents may wish to encourage include:

• loyalty
• working together for a common purpose.
• selflessness
• caring for your family
• trying to make friends with different types of people (Horace, IT)
• equal gender roles

The following content could be used by parents to discuss with their children what their own family's values are, and what the real life consequences can be of some actions and attitudes:

• fighting, yelling, insulting and pushing between all the children
• under-age driving
• disobedience
• lying.