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MirrorMask

(2005, Rated PG, Fantasy, Starring Stephanie Leonidas, Gina McKee, Jason Barry)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 9; suggested age 9.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Dense, dreamlike fantasy isn't for every kid.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 9 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Characters are rarely entirely good or evil (not even the tentacled Queen of Darkness), which is a refreshing change from the one-sided morality in a lot of movies -- but a little odd when the heroine is betrayed by a character she thought was her friend, only to have him come crawling back a few scenes later. The heroine is a strong female lead who ultimately makes the right, responsible choices, though there's tacit approval of her being a graffiti artist.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    A few times a creeping darkness turns humans (or humanlike creatures) into statue-like figures who can shatter. But all of the scariness/creepiness is based in fantasy and isn't "real" by a long shot.
  • Sex:

    A brief scene of the heroine's alter ego cuddling with a boy (the heroine strongly disapproves).
  • Language:

    Not an issue.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Nothing overt, though the movie does have an overall "trippy," Alice-in-Wonderland-like ambience, and a key clue is the phrase "get higher" (wink wink, nudge nudge).
 

What Parents Need to Know

About MirrorMask

Parents need to know that although there's some potentially scary creature imagery in this fantastical plunge into a post-modern Wonderland, it's more weird and playfully grotesque than ugly or horrific. A menacing queen who sprouts black tentacles (through her mouth at one point) is the worst of it. Some young viewers may just be more confused about the otherworldly events and warped logic than scared or otherwise upset.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the movie's messages about growing up and acceptance. Do kids "get" those themes when they watch? How is the "anti-Helena" different from the real Helena? Parents, the film is full of literary and mythological allusions (like the Riddle of the Sphinx) -- see how many your kids can identify. Being familiar with that type of subtext may also help them appreciate the complex paradoxes and dense oddities in the somewhat similar Lewis Carroll stories Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. I rate this title off for age 8 and give it 1.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    it was so BORING i feel ASLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. Kid Reviewer Age 8
    Lives in Kansas
    I rate this title off for age 7 and give it 4.0

    older kids

    its too creepy for kids

  3. Kid Reviewer Age 9
    Lives in Montana
    I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give it 0.0

    horrible

    horrible movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so bad i feel asleep!

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