 | 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. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Furry Vengeance
- Review Date: April 29, 2010
- PG
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 2010
Common Sense Media says
Timber! This eco-themed family film falls flat.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this family comedy is filled with animal jokes,
pratfalls, and over-the-top sight gags, many of which involve animals provoking Brendan Fraser's character. Most of the violence is limited to skunk spray, animal pee, and bee-sting reactions, as well as the protagonist dad falling and hurting himself in every fashion imaginable. Apple dominates the product placements, with a Macbook, iPhone, or iPod visible in several scenes throughout the film. There's no sexuality outside of mild flirting, a quick kiss, and a couple of hugs -- nothing even remotely inappropriate for a PG movie. The messages of the movie are positive -- people shouldn't sacrifice their beliefs for work, and communities should take care of the animals in their midst -- but they're also secondary to the cartoonish "vengeance" the animals impart.
What's the story?
Dan Sanders (Brendan Fraser) has relocated his family (wife Tammy is played by Brooke Shields; son Tyler by teen cutie Matt Prokop) from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest to oversee the construction of a new housing development for his ambitious boss, "green" real-estate tycoon Neal Lyman (Ken Jeong). Lyman, of course, is far from eco-friendly and wants to tear down a local forest to build even more subdivisions and a "forest-themed" mall, but the woodland animals, led by a clever raccoon, communicate with each other to terrorize Dan into stopping the destruction of their home habitat.
Is it any good?
At the very least, the clever little animals in FURRY VENGEANCE don't talk. That's about all that can be said about the movie, which is otherwise filled with so many cliches, predictable sight gags, and lazily written dialogue that it's difficult to take it seriously. Even the "pay attention to the animals" message is buried under a puddle of raccoon pee. While kids might giggle, there are far better choices for eco-friendly family films.
Despite co-starring usually hilarious comedians like Jeong and The Office star Angela Kinsey, most of the jokes fall flat, although Jeong is so naturally funny that sometimes just looking at him is enough to elicit a laugh or two. It's especially difficult to watch Fraser -- the former swashbuckling action hero who starred in (the first two) The
Mummy films. He looks awkward and
ill-at-ease in this father role (even though he has quite the
large family of his own). Right about the third time the skunks trapped
in his character's SUV sprayed his face, it's hard not to feel
downright sorry for him.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the environmental message of the movie. What are the filmmakers trying to say about what it really means to be "green"? Was the real estate development company actually eco-friendly or just pretending to be? How "green" do you think the movie business is?
In what ways can we help protect animals and their habitats? What is the solution that Dan and his family come up with in the movie? Is it realistic?
How does Dan's work affect his family? Does he do a good job of juggling
his work responsibilities with his family? How does your family manage work, school, and family commitments?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
for middle schoolers and up
I took the boys to the theater to see this one and my youngest wasn't thrilled because it wasn't cartoonish enough for him and my oldest stated he didn't understand what was going on half the time other than the animals were attacking the guy. It's an adult concept and story line with a PG rating on it which insists its for kids but it really isnt. I was not impressed.
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Kid, 12 years old
November 2, 2010
AGE
Very bad movie. The guy hates animals and is trying to kill the forest which some people care about which are the earth lovers. But in the end he saves the animals and the forests. Childish movie, I do not recommend this to anyone. Very boring movie too.
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Kid, 12 years old
November 8, 2010
AGE
good for 6 and up
funny and it has a good message to it
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AGE
Predictable, stupid, and unfunny in all ways.
This movie is really dumb. I mean, how many movies/shows have we seen with animals trying to get revenge on someone? I knew this was going to turn out bad, and I never wanted to see it. But me and my family went on a camping trip and all of my little siblings wanted to see this. So I ended up watching along and got bored to death. I predicted practically ever single scene in this movie.
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AGE
Great Movie For Kids
Its a silly family movie with lots of laughs. Why it was given a PG rating I don't understand. There is nothing bad in this movie. Its great for the kids and great to watch with the kids but as an adult, it can be a bit too silly at times and I wouldn't watch it without the kids.
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AGE
Not too bad.
Silly plot and over the top gags. Younger kids will find it funny. Not too thrilled about the near-kiss of the teens. It was unnecessary and should have been left out of the film. Common Sense left out of the consumerism part that Brendan Fraser exclaims, "Miley Cyrus!" at one point. Other than that, it was a so-so film with a resonably descent message. Fine if you have some time to kill with the kiddos.
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Kid, 12 years old
May 28, 2011
AGE
Well it is not a bad movie but it is pretty dumb.
Well it is not a bad movie but it is pretty dumb.
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Kid, 8 years old
January 30, 2011
AGE
its bad
i hate it
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Kid, 12 years old
November 18, 2010
AGE
good movie but mild humer
well i loved the movie but it had stuff like birds pooping on dan and a lot of lot of crude humer and dan comes running out in his underware and at the ending cradits do not look it has stuff like dancing in underware and actiong very sexy and in the movie some skunks spray dan so hes tacking a bath in tomatto juice and the racoon replaces the toomato juice withe hot sauce and then replaces dans towel with his wifes brall so when dan picks up the brall he almost falls and putts the brall on by acident then the window rolles up and ever body starts tacking pictures the the racoon tack away his clothes so he putts on his wifes clothes that say num num on the butt so he walks out and he has a rainbow colered umbrella so his workmen wont se hin in his wifes clothes but they whistle and say were back here and dan lookes back and there they are his workmen but overall other then all the crude humer i couldnt stopp lauphing
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| Topics: | wild animals |
| Studio: | Summit Entertainment |
| Director: | Roger Kumble |
| Cast: | Brendan Fraser, Brooke Shields, Ken Jeong, Matt Prokop |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 91 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | April 30, 2010 |
| DVD release date: | August 16, 2010 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | some rude humor, mild language and brief smoking |
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