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South Pacific

(1958, Rated NR, Musical, Starring Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, John Kerr)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 6, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0

  • Common Sense says

    Classic Broadway musical with serious themes, great songs.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 8 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    The movie reflects the culture of the 1940s armed services and the well-defined gender roles of the time: the women are nurses; the men are soldiers, pilots, etc. and clearly in charge. Racial prejudice and bigotry are shown to be negative behaviors, as well as unfounded and self-defeating.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence & scariness:

    World War II air battle: airplanes are fired upon by Japanese; man falls out of plane, pulls parachute, and lands safely in water; Japanese soldiers shoot at sailor in rubber raft, he paddles away. A main character is killed off camera by enemy fire; his body is then seen, but no injuries are apparent.

  • Sexy stuff:

    Several loving, passionate kisses.

  • Language:

    Song lyric "ain't that too damn bad."

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Pilot has unlit cigar in mouth. Characters use wine when making a toast. Cigarette smoking on a couple of occasions.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About South Pacific

Parents need to know that there's some warfare in this movie, set during WWII. Airplanes bomb Navy vessels, and an airplane is hit by enemy fire. There's a machine gun attack on an unarmed man in a rubber raft. Heroes are caught by gunfire behind enemy lines. However, these are not realistic, gruesome battles: there are no on-camera hits with the exception of a hole in an airplane, no blood, and no one is injured on camera. One leading character is killed (off-camera), but his body is shown without any wounds or blood.

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about how musicals have evolved since 1958, when this movie was made. What are some of the filmmaking techniques that make today's musicals more realistic? And how have the morals and values shown in this film evolved?
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