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The Flight Before Christmas

  • 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 7.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0

  • Common Sense says

    Wolves will scare younger kids in this holiday feature.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 7–9

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    The main character learns lessons about taking responsibility, believing in himself, and recognizing the family members who really love him. Santa's reindeer are played as smug and macho.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence & scariness:

    Intense and prolonged scenes of threatening wolves intent on eating reindeer, Santa's reindeer, and Santa himself. Much of the movie involves the main character's pursuit by the same bloodthirsty pack of wolves.

  • Sexy stuff:

    There's a subplot about figuring out which of them is Niko's father that could be considered perverted -- ALL of them remember having one night stands with pretty girl reindeer.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The Flight Before Christmas

Parents need to know that while the movie features a cute baby reindeer and his forest friends, the story is about a pack of ravenous, evil wolves intent on eating Santa and his reindeer, and the main character is imperiled throughout. Non-standard family units like a single mom, son, and grandpa are featured, as is a surrogate father who is preferable to the real thing. No discussion of religious aspects of Christmas and hardly any of the secular aspects either; this is all about the reindeer.

Read our full review by InternLogin

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about what Niko does when he leads to the wolves to his herd by mistake. Have you ever made a mistake and tried to fix it? What did you learn from that experience?
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