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Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby

(2008, Rated PG, Family and kids, Starring Steve Zahn, Brad Garrett, Jon Cryer)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 5, age appropriate for kids over 7; suggested age 7.

  • Is it any good?

    5.0

  • Common Sense says

    Smart comedy flips the 3 pigs tale on its tail.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 7 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Wonderful parable of unwavering parental love and an examination of what identity means; Lucky is caught between nature and nurture and must make a choice. Also a good representation of the love of adoptive parents, and of a non-traditional family structure. Two characters befriend each other as young outcasts from school and stick together throughout. Includes the occasional fart and baby diaper jokes.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence & scariness:

    Cartoonish threats and violence with a heavy dose of the absurd, like a giant oscillating fan aimed at the brick house.

  • Sexy stuff:

    A teen girl wolf uses flirtation to influence Lucky.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby

Parents need to know that, despite its grounding in a well-known fairy tale, this movie is so smartly written that it may be a little intense for the usual fairy tale audience. An adopted baby grows into a typically rebellious teen, with all the normal familial tension of that stage heightened by the real predator/prey relationship of this particular son and his three fathers. There is real suspense in whether Lucky will be true to his family, or to his natural instincts. But the entire movie is leavened with sharp, funny visual humor and dialog.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the atypical family structure of Lucky and the three pigs. Do their differences –- not just in appearance, but inward characteristics –- make it easier or harder for them to get along? Hamlet and Lucky come together in trying circumstances and stay loyal friends. Do you have friends in your life like that?
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