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Whale Rider
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 9, age appropriate for kids over 11; suggested age 11. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Excellent to watch and discuss as a family.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 11 and Up
The good stuff
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
About Whale Rider
Parents need to know that this movie has some tense family confrontations. The death of a mother and baby in childbirth is very sad. A character is injured, but ultimately recovers. There is brief strong language. Characters drink and smoke and there is a brief drug reference. The movie presents a minority culture with great dignity and respect, and the theme of equality is exceptionally well handled.
Read our full review by Nell Minow
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about talk about the traditions of their own cultures.
Our Members Say
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Sad but beautiful...
The young girl who plays the lead role is really an exceptional actress. I loved the whole movie and I cried when the girl's grandfather doesn't show up for her concert. It is beautifully filmed and I liked how she keeps striving to please her grandfather and to be as good a leader as any boy even when nobody approves. Two thumbs up!
- I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
A wonderful movie
This is a beautiful movie with a message of love, acceptance and triumphing when the odds are against you. Younger kids who watch this may not completly understand what is happening, so you may have to explain it, but all in all, it is one of the best movies I've seen in a while, and everyone who I know that has seen it loves it.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
A movie that is very uniuq with a great story.
Whale Rider is not only a great picture it has a great message two. Should be rated PG-13 but not a very intense PG-13.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
A must watch for tweens.
- I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
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I didn't like the actual whale-riding part, but the rest was really great. Good themes to discuss with tweens.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
This was an okay movie, It was scary at the end!
It was not very easy to understand, and the accents were hard to understand. It was a little slow at the beginning of he movie but the end was very exciting but a little scary. It was sort of hard to understand the spiritual stuff but it was interesting. It was very suspensful at the end, and Whale Rider is a pretty good movie!
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
This was an excellent movie. It is definitely an enjoyable show!
This was one of the best movies I have seen for a long time. It wasn't a "grown-up" movie, and it wasn't a kiddie show. I think that it was a great movie, definately a break from the usual tired old shows, there were no "bad guys". The grandfather wasn't evil in not letting her be chief, he was just very traditional. This is a very nice change from the usual one-sided baddies in many movies. Over all, I found this movie to be a wonderful movie.
- I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
An absolutely beautiful movie
I checked out the Common Sense Media notes before I took my 9 year old and 5 year old to the movie. I was prepared for the opening scene with a baby and mom dying in childbirth (which happens in the opening scene) and kept checking my 5 year-old's face - it all happened so fast with alot of montage photography that it went over his head. From that point on, Whale Rider is one of the most beautiful and moving films that I have seen all year. It makes you laugh and cry. The characters are wonderful, the cinematography extraordinary. We had long discussions with my daughter afterward about the struggle to preserve native cultures and the abiilty of girls to be leaders, and the importance of pursuing your dreams even in the face of opposition - all were themes of the movie. I really can't recommend this highly enough.
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