Fat Albert

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Fat Albert's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Fat Albert completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 20 April 05.

Overall comments and recommendations

Fat Albert is based on the 1970s cartoon show Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids . This movie is a good family film that can be enjoyed by all and promotes positive outlooks on life.

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 Fat Albert contains the following information:

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

A synopsis of the story

High school student Doris (Kyla Pratt) is mourning the death of her grandfather. She is no longer interested in sport, which she was very good at, or going to parties. Her stepsister Laurie (Dania Ramirez) is more outgoing and gets invited to Heather's (a cheerleader at school and one of the popular girls) birthday party but Doris isn't invited. Doris goes home from school and is crying while watching Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids on TV. Somehow her tears reach through the remote control and Fat Albert knows she needs his help. Along with several of his pals Fat Albert (Keenan Thompson) arrives in Doris 's lounge through the television as real people.

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 is a small amount of violence in this movie:

• in the cartoon that runs in parallel to the ‘real' movie, a small boy in a junk yard is being terrorised by the ‘buck-buck champion'. The buck-buck champion hits the boy, pushes him off a swing and makes him hide in an old car. The boy then manages to trip him up and jumps on him.
• at the end of the movie when Fat Albert is trying to get back in time, he borrows a skateboard which he rides really fast down steps knocking people out of the way. He crashes into market stalls and crash lands on Doris 's door step.

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.

Some very young children in this age bracket could be scared by the above-mentioned scenes. I addition they could be disturbed by:

• the cartoon characters coming out of the television set and turning into real people
• Fat Albert getting stuck in the middle of the television set as he comes out. He has to be pushed and pulled to get out.

Over the age of eight

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.

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 the age of eight would not be scared by 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. One of the cartoon character's clothes fade so much that his bottom is exposed, although it is not actually shown.

Use of substances

There is no use of substances in this movie.

Coarse language

There is no coarse language in this movie.

The movie's message

The movie's message is to believe in yourself and not to try to be someone you're not.

Values parents may wish to encourage include:

• Empathy
• Friendship
• Care and concern
• Selflessness
• Belief in one's self.