basically exact PG-level movie.
Inkheart
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Tween-targeted fantasy adaptation is no Harry Potter.
Themes in this movie include: family relationships, friendship
updated 11.23.09
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 9 and Up
The good stuff
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Role models:
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Inkheart was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
Parents need to know that this family-friendly fantasy is based on author Cornelia Funke's best-selling young adult novel. As in the book, there's a dark tone to the story, and the threat of violence seems real (especially the death threats). The "inked" villains may disturb younger kids, although some of the fantastical elements are funny. Henchmen hold people hostage, threaten to kill people, and burn property, and characters are in serious danger through most of the film. There's mild flirting between two younger characters and a quick kiss and embrace between married couples.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about whether scary characters and events based in fantasy are less frightening than those based in real life. Why or why not?
- What does this story have in common with other movies based on popular young adult books? How is it different?
- If you've read the original book, how does the movie compare? Is this a faithful adaptation?
- Why do you think filmmakers sometimes change things from books? Families can also discuss secrets.
- What's the difference between secrets and lies? Are lies used for good reasons OK?
Have you seen it? Review It!
More on Inkheart
What’s the Story?
Director Iain Softley's adaptation of Cornelia Funke's best-selling novel chronicles the adventures of 12-year-old bookworm Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett) and her father, Mo (Brendan Fraser), a respected bookbinder. Mo is not only a rare-book specialist, he's a Silvertongue -- he has a secret magical ability to bring the written word to life when he reads aloud. Meggie doesn't know this, because her father hasn't read aloud since the day several characters from the fantasy book INKHEART leapt out of the book and his beloved wife Resa (Sienna Guillory) was sucked inside. After finally locating a copy of the out-of-print book, Mo, along with Meggie and her great aunt Elinor (Helen Mirren), are kidnapped by the villainous stranded character Capricorn (Andy Serkis), who burns the novel and exploits Mo's gift for his greedy needs. Meanwhile, Dustfinger (Paul Bettany), another Inkheart character, is so desperate to return home that he helps Mo and company escape to search for the last person who might have the book -- Inkheart's author (Jim Broadbent).
Is It Any Good?
Condensing such a rich and vivid story into a 100-minute film is no easy task. Even with a remarkable cast (three Oscar winners!), cool special effects, Hollywood's go-to leading man for period family films (Fraser), and a built-in audience, an adaptation can fall flat. And this one, for all of its entertaining allusions and literary jokes, isn't awe-inspiring enough to please the series' many young fans. The film's more Lemony Snicket than Harry Potter. About halfway through, the story starts to feel bogged down -- and despite some effects-heavy action near the end, the promising premise just doesn't deliver. And the comic relief is limited to Farid (Rafi Gavron), a cute but horribly accented personification of one of the thieves from Arabian Nights, and a couple of the doltish bad guys.
Mature kids may appreciate the dark tone, and even younger children will pick up on at least a few of the many literary figures that appear in the story -- like Rapunzel or the flying monkeys from Oz. But it's easy to get lost with so many characters (some real, some fictional, some caught in between) clogging the screen. While the central figures are compelling (a father and daughter who can conjure up anything they read is pure genius) and the movie is certainly action packed, the mystery and magic are gone once the credits roll.
Movie Details
Studio: Warner Bros., Director: Iain Softley
Run time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release: 1/23/2009, DVD release: 6/23/2009
MPAA Rating: PG for fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language
Run time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release: 1/23/2009, DVD release: 6/23/2009
MPAA Rating: PG for fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language
Our Members Say
See 32 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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Kids ages: 13
I rate this title on for age 8 and give it- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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Kids ages: 13
I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
basically exact PG-level movie.
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Kids ages: 13
I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
basically exact PG-level movie.
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I rate this title off for age 6 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Negative role models
Scary
The d word and j a word.Better than book.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
lovly film
it somtimes just popped up with different bits and it was a bit scary
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Middling tween-based fantasy brings nothing new to the table
Inkheart falls into the same the-book-is-probably-better theory. It could've been very good, but thanks to another disappointing performance by Brendan Fraser, Inkheart falls flat. The story follows pretty well with the book, but some scenes were clearly added. One offensive scene depicts a rodent crawling into a woman's giant breasts. And the camera zooms in for a close-up shot, revealing almost everything. It was obviously a throw-back to the Black Caldroun (when a frog got caught in a witch's breasts) but this movie is not animated. That scene alone makes this flick for preteens an up only. Other than that, there is some violence, a few scary scenes, and a use of "d**n. Overall, better choices definetly are around. Preteens looking for fantasy fun should check out the Narnia series.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
Great for 8+
I loved this movie. I watched it three times. One reason being I love ferrets. Great acting, and a few funny things said, like 'I LOVE Duckt Tape.' A bad word, d-mn, but I think it kind of hit it off well, like, it made you see how mean Eleanor was. This movie I recommend for kids 8+. Not because a seven-year-old couldn't see it, just that they wouldn't like too much action, I think they'd like a movie better about Clifford The Big Red Dog. 8-yr-olds, I think this is for them and older. Everyone I'v met that has seen this movie loves it too!
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Not as good as I thought it would be, but I still bought it
I love this movie. Although in my opinion the book is waayyy better.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
OK Movie
It's a great movie. Not much like the book (a little better). I like it.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
perfect for all ages!
a great movie due to the fact that it does not differ much from the book. the main storyline is followed, although the ending is different. The book is brought alive in this great film, and i recommend it for kids as young as nine. however, some of the violence may be too young for kids eight and younger. the henchmen of Capricorn may scare some; they are dressed in black and are scarred with tatoos. they are usually brutal towards prisoners and villagers. but all in all, the movie is really great for kids to teens.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
inkheart
it was cool how you got to like bring people out of the story it was a cool effect
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I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
Too violent for my five year old -- threats of violence and actual violence. When the bad guys ramsacked the aunt's house and burned her books it was too much for her.
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
great for all ages
I think inkheart was a great movie for all ages.It is kind of funny and it rocked. It has some good family messages.
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I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
WARNING: This movie may be to scary for some little kids!
This film was not what I expected to be. At first I thought that this movie would be cool ( kind of) fun for the whole family. Instead I thought that this this movie was a little too long and bit scary for kids -6-7 and under.This movie may maybe iffy and somewhat scary for kids ages 8 +. Mostly this movie would be a pretty good movie for ages 11- 12+. I did think that this movie was a bit scary at the end .If kids want to see this movie they need to know that is movie has some scary scenes like in the Harry Potter movies. This movie has very brief language. It only has one or two bad words. I would recommend this movie to kids who have read and liked the book, or to to kids who like fantasy movies like this and the other 6 Harry Potter movies.
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Good for tweens
i enjoyed this movie i thought it was an intresting chose to combine the two first books for the one movie. I would love it if they make the second movie but dont think they will
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
lame movie
boring i thought but i think 7+ might enjoy it
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
Pretty good...
The movie was a lot better than I thought that it would be. But the PG rating may have been pushing it a little. There is much more language than it says in the review. A few s-words and possible and uttered f-word. The camera also looks DOWN a woman's dress, and we see A LOT of cleavage. All in all, it wasn't too bad. But it is definitely not for kids.
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I rate this title off for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Books and movie don't match
This is a pretty good movie but it does not resemble the book. I like your comments lindaSLP
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
good but not as good as I thought it would be
I thought the movie was good but not great.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 40% | of parents say it's too violent |
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