In their young age, kids are extremely moldable. They will likely imitate whatever they see in front of them; parents, siblings, and yes even those on television and in movies. With that in mind, it is incredibly important for parents to understand what movies are out there, and which ones should be avoided like the plague. The following is a list of 10 animated movies that your kids shouldn’t watch. Be on the lookout!
10. The Simpsons Movie
Despite being an animated movie, this is definitely one that should be avoided. It is not, contrary to what many young children believe, a movie for them. Just like the popular television series, The Simpsons Movie brings out many adult themes such as drinking, drugs, being disobedient to the law and parents, sex, and a host of other topics that are clearly teenage level and above. Don’t be fooled, parents; just because a movie is animated does not mean it is for your children.
9. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut
Even worse than The Simpsons Movie is anything that has to do with South Park. It’s rated R, so that should give a good enough clue as to the type of content that it has. Filled with vulgar language, innuendos, sexual content, and a bunch of kids who are ridiculously rebellious and sometimes, just plain evil, South Park can be a horrible influence on children—and even on adults!
8. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
Although not rated R, this movie is clearly for adults. Like the TV show that bears a similar name, this one constantly has crude sex humor, innuendos, and a couple kids who are pretty dumb. This, however, is often what attracts younger viewers—so don’t let them even hear of it!
7. Futurama: Benders Big Score
Made popular on Cartoon Network and similar stations, Futurama became a hit with the Middle-School to High School crowd. It’s strongly suggested that it is not for younger children. The language can be a little crude; there are obvious allusions to sexual acts, and numerous drug references. Again, just because it’s animated and on a kids network doesn’t mean it is for children.
6. 9
9 is a post-apocalyptic animated movie, and has the potential to really frighten young kids. It is rated PG-13 for scary images and violence. Besides that, it’s just pretty weird…
5. Beowulf
As one can imagine, this animated version is very violent. It’s rated PG-13, but it seems that a case can be made to make that a little higher; according to its rating, it contains violence, scary images, sexual material, frightening scenes, and even nudity.
4. The Black Cauldron
As the name suggests, this movie can be a bit frightening for younger kids. There are a number of scary scenes with frightening beings, plus a lot of magic. Although this one might not have to be avoided like the plague, it still might help for parents to keep their younger children from watching this until they reach a certain age of maturity level.
3. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
This movie definitely has some cleverly hidden innuendos, but even without that, this movie can distort many things—namely, the female body. Jessica Rabbit is a female character who has an extremely exaggerated body type; large breasts, slim figure, and tight fitting clothes. This is not just a cursory note, because many parts of the movie focus on her and the male characters starring at her. At other points in the movie, she is clearly attempting to be seductive. Probably not the best movie for children to watch.
2. ParaNorman
This is not a movie for children, despite its PG rating. There are some foul words, decent amount of violence, and even some sexual innuendos. Chances are, this movie was made more for the middle school age group than any younger kids.
1. The Princess and the Frog
Although it can be applauded that this movie set to eliminate the typical stereotypes of what a princess is, it also missed the mark in many areas. Modern retellings can be good and bad at the same time. It’s good that the film company wanted to make an African American princess for a change, but it’s bad that they introduced weird magic and numerous frightening scenes. Be careful of what this movie attempts to teach children!
Conclusion
Never assume that an animated movie is for kids. Instead, always do research and check the content out. It is much better to do preliminary research than to have children start mimicking the various things they learned from an inappropriate animated film.
