Parents' Guide to

Ace Ventura Pet Detective Jr.

By Nancy Davis Kho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Funny, animal-loving kid lost in crude script.

Movie PG 2009 93 minutes
Ace Ventura Pet Detective Jr. Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 9+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 5+

funny

i watched this ages ago it's funny

This title has:

Too much sex
Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
age 12+
This movie is mildly amusing and very annoying. The main character is adorable, but he gets lost in this poorly made film. Lots of fart and poop jokes as the review said, and I just don't see those as beneficial for children of any age. I mean, do you really want to your child to go around acting like Ace Ventura Jr.? The only redeeming quality is Ace Jr.'s love for animals and for helping them, too bad that can't save this movie.

This title has:

Too much consumerism

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (5):

For a movie that's nominally about being yourself, ACE JR. is a lot more appealing before Flitter starts channeling his inner Jim Carrey. As an overweight, awkward 6th grader who can't help helping animals, there's a real appeal to Flitter, as when he blurts "Oh my god you're pretty!" to a girl he likes and then claps his hands over his mouth in agonized embarrassment. Putting on his Ventura pants and coif may give him confidence, but it also makes him obnoxious. He is outplayed in that only by the school's token rich kid, Quentin Pennington Jr. whose bratty exclusiveness will be familiar to viewers of MTV's My Super Sweet 16.

For kids under seven, the subplots of both famous animals and family pets going missing alongside the aforementioned panda may get confusing. And there is a lot of very naughty behavior, like the destruction of a valuable dinosaur skeleton, that is brushed under the rug. This is OK for older animal lovers to see as long as there's some discussion of what behaviors are amplified for laughs and what would be acceptable in real life.

Movie Details

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