Forbidden Planet

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Classic '50s sci-fi future flick is campy fun.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this 1950s movie has some tense/scary scenes, but no blood or gore. There is a little drinking of alcohol.


What's the story?

It is the year 2200, and Commander Adams (Leslie Nielson) directs his spaceship to an earth-like planet called Altair-4 in search of a former earth colony, out of contact for many years. They receive a transmission from Dr. Morbius, telling them to go away, but they insist on landing. A huge robot named Robby brings Adams and two crew members to the home of Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon). Morbius tells them that, with the exception of Morbius and his wife, everyone else in the colony was violently killed by an unseen force, which then disappeared. Now widowed, he lives with his daughter, Alta (Anne Francis) and Robby. Alta has never seen any human other than her father. Morbius explains that a great race once lived on the planet, and he has studied their artifacts. In an attempt to use their minds and spirits to create something, he inadvertently created a creature made up of their fears and anger. It is called the Id. It reappeared when the colonists arrived, out of their subconscious urges. And, with the arrival of the crew from earth, it has come back again. The invisible being damages the spacecraft and kills three of the men before Morbius, realizing that the Id came from within him, renounces that part of himself, destroying both of them. Adams and Alta escape with the crew before the planet explodes.


Is it any good?

 

FORBIDDEN PLANET was the first big-budget science fiction movie, and the only one for over a decade. It is loosely based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, the story of Prospero the Sorcerer and his daughter Miranda, who are alone on an island until a storm brings their former countrymen to them. Robby the Robot is the obedient Ariel. And the Id is the powerful and angry Caliban. The gadgets and special effects seem almost quaint to us now, but the movie is still fun to watch for younger children and it still raises some important questions for older ones.

The Id, of course, is named for Freud's famous concept of the id, the instincts and impulses of the unconscious mind. Morbius says that he and his wife survived because they were the only ones who loved the planet and wanted to stay, that the monster was created from the fears and jealousies of the other colonists. The implication (more explicit in portions cut from the film), is that Morbius' jealousy when Alta falls in love with Adams brings the Id's destructiveness out again. In a way, this movie is more a way of exploring unconscious feelings we all harbor than it is speculation about life in the future or on other planets.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about how, if someone's feelings could create a creature like the Id, what would it look like when you are mad? When you are sad? When you are lonely? When you are happy? Do you think we will ever have robots like Robby? What would be the best thing about having one? Would there be any disadvantages? Is the rule making it impossible for Robby to harm any rational beings a good one, even though it makes it impossible for him to protect them from the Id? Can you think of a better rule?


This review was written by Nell Minow
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Really Good 50's Sci-Fi Space Action Adventure

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Parent
January 24, 2012
 
A science fiction classic that may scare the youngest ones
This science fiction classic movie is a must-see. However, at 40, I still remember it as one of the movies that scared me the most as a young kid. Of course, it also made me an SF fan. Impressive scenes are the invisible monster appearing briefly in a force field and the door melting when the main characters are chased by the monster. Parents should watch the movie with their younger children and discuss its themes with them.

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This review was written by Nell Minow
Studio:Warner Bros.
Director:Fred McLeod Wilcox
Cast:Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, Warren Stevens
Genre:Science Fiction
Run time:98 minutes
Theatrical release date:March 15, 1956
DVD release date:April 18, 2000
MPAA rating:NR

This review was written by Nell Minow
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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