Parents' Guide to Bad Dad

Parents need to know that Bad Dad is best-selling British author David Walliams' wacky, loonily dystopian cartoon of a tale celebrating the father-son bond. It involves Gilbert, a race car driver who, along with his son, Frank, is celebrated by the whole neighborhood until he loses a leg and his career in an accident. Assorted mayhem ensues, involving gangsters terrorizing the locals -- to say nothing of Gilbert's bad but well-meant choices getting him a new career as a getaway driver. As things go from bad to worse, Frank struggles to right wrongs and save the day. There's butt, bathroom, and gross-out humor galore, and adults are often found at "the boozer" (kids go there in search of them); one adult character is a sloppy drunk. Gangsters beat up neighborhood residents, smash their shops, and brandish guns. A gangster squeezes Frank's ears till Frank feels his brain's going to burst. An unexplained car wreck costs Gilbert his leg and proves to be attempted murder. Amid all the craziness, there are strong messages of father-son love, looking out for each other, courage, persistence -- and avoiding greed.