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All parent reviews for Penelope
Average rating based on 13 parent reviews:
- 31% say there are positive messages
AGE
The Perfect Pre-Teen Girl Power Movie
My 13 year-old saw this movie when she was 11 and it was the perfect pre-teen film for her to see. I found it just when I'd given up hope of finding an appropriate movie for her age. I'd been lamenting that there was nothing between little kid movies and inappropriate PG-13 films for her to see. Penelope is the perfect answer to this dilemma! Enjoy!
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AGE
Twisted dark fairytale- horror-"lite" for tweens and up
In the first 10 minutes alone, the mother is horrified and embarrassed about her daughter looks, fakes her daughter's death to get the news cameras away and then they show the casket entering the creamatorium, flames and all. It only gets worse from there. I would say 12 and up. Adult themes and definately not a disney movie. Yes, it revolves around the "love yourself" theme, but at one point she states that if the curse isn't broken she'll kill herself. YES, she actually says that. My daughter asked me what that meant. I was horrified. What turns her "normal" again is a nice touch, but it has too much of a "Tim Burton film feel" as one of the other reviewers stated. If you won't allow your child to see corpse bride or nightmare before Christmas, or even coaraline (not by Burton but close enough), I'd skip this one too. At least this one wasn't marketed to the very young. Christina Ricci was excellent in this role. And Catherine O'Hara is charmingly repulsive as the mother. The scene in the car is a touch scary as another reviewer stated (it happens when the 2 bad guys are sitting in their car- if you watch it, look out at that point for a horribly disfigured version of Penelope) but throughout the entire movie I kept saying to my family "does she really look that bad to you?" as people ran away from her screaming. Ricci is too adorable, and even a pig nose can't hide that. We also discussed the fact that she shouldn't want to marry a guy that doesn't like her for who she really is.
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Charming and heartfelt!
What a totally cute flick this was! It's got an original storyline and it definitely keeps you watching. The "scary" parts in this film I think are meant to be comedy, that's why I think it should have been rated PG-13. Young kids don't know what is comedy and what isn't, in these types of movies. I absolutely adored Penelope (Christina Ricci is awesome), and even with her pig nose, she is beautiful! Good messages throughout - It doesn't matter what you look like, there is ALWAYS someone out there who will love you for YOU. Be yourself, nothing more.
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AGE
Warning
I had such high hopes for this movie. It looked so sweet in the trailors and looked to have a good message. I can not give a full review as my 8 year old daughter and I did not make it very far. She was so scared by a couple of scenes that we had to turn the movie off. I have to admit she is a bit more timid than some other kids might be. However, due to the dark 'feeling' of the movie, the witch at the beginning and the very, very startling scene where one of the characters imagines a horrifying version of penelope that very suddenly appears in the window of a car, we simply couldn't continue. She was in tears for quite a while. I have NO IDEA why that scene was necessary. I also feel that the trailors were very misleading.
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AGE
The movie teaches kids to believe in theirselves.
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AGE
Good message-- a bit dark for young kids
My 9 yrd old daughter and I had high hopes for this movie. The message is wonderful, but one that is defenitly meant for older kids. Suprisingly, there are many "drinking and smoking" scenes...Also, the mother's inability to accept her daughter's choices might be a difficult idea for young children to grasp. At one point in the movie, a character has a flashback of his impression of Penelope that is just frightening. While an adult might understand the point being made, a child might not. I am a strong believer that movie ratings have to be re-designed, just as tv shows have done. This is an example of amovie that needs a stronger rating....while the themes of the movie, (finding your self/accepting ones circumstances but have enough self confidence) are very important to all girls these days, I am not sure that such drinking scenes were at all necessary to make the point. The movie's "look" was pretty dark, I wondered for a moment if Burton had directed...
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AGE
Loved it :)
Kids movies were in short supply today so my 7 year old and I checked out Penelope. We both loved it! It was a great opener for a constructive discussion between my daughter and I about what is really important about people and that liking yourself as you are is the best gift you can give yourself. I do think they could have left out the scene where Penelope finds out about beer on tap, however mild they made it to be. The rating is showing appropriate for ages 10 and up, but I felt that the issues were very relevent for younger kids. You just have to know your child's maturity level. If you feel that he/she can see that people are in error in treating someone who is phyisically different badly and understand the resolution of self acceptance at the end of the film, then by all means see it with your child.
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AGE
Learning to like your self
This is the perfect movie to teach self esteem. Parents should teach their children about not judging people by the way they look. That it is important to look for the goodness in one heart. To accept ones self based on his or her abilities and not what some one else expects from them. Penelope is about a grown woman with a pure heart and she learns to love the person she is.
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AGE
Great message for teens.
The theme and its messages are not new if you're familiar with The Ugly Duckling (it's who you are on the INSIDE that counts) or The Wizard of OZ ("what I was looking for was right here in my own backyard all along.") But they are messages worth a fresh approach and this film does the trick with it's good acting by current stars and an entertaining fable-esque storyline. Christine Ricci and James McAvoy are perfect as the snouted girl and the snout-blind guy. Take the kids and talk about it after.
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AGE
Be aware
We really enjoyed this movie except for one part. When one of the main characters (Simon Woods) is remembering what Penelope looked like he has a "flashback". In the window of the van, he "sees" her and in his imagination, she has fangs and the scene is very startling. My 7 year old enjoyed the movie except for that one part. I was disappointed that had to be included. The movie would have been great without it.
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