Common Sense Media Review
Slightly stiff but sumptuous and faithful production.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 21 parent reviews
Based on 112 kid reviews
Kids say the film adaptation maintains a faithful but darker narrative from the musical, showcasing a haunting love story interspersed with violence and mature themes, making it more suitable for older children. Many praise its stunning visuals and powerful music while cautioning that it contains frightening and inappropriate elements, such as graphic scenes and implied sexual undertones that may not be suitable for younger viewers.
- dark themes
- great music
- age-appropriate
- graphic content
- stunning visuals
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
In this musical based on Gaston Leroux's story, a brilliant masked madman (Gerard Butler) who lives under the opera house falls in love with the exquisite young soprano Christine, (Emmy Rossum). She believes he is the angel of music, sent to teach her by her dead father. But he's no angel and will do anything to make Christine a star and possess her. At first, Christine is mesmerized by the Phantom. He brings her his cavernous home deep below the stage and sings to her, inspiring her to sing with passion. And just as the theater owner sells the place to two scrap metal dealers, the phantom arranges to have Christine get the starring role in the opera's newest production. The new team has a new patron -- a handsome young nobleman named Raoul (Patrick Wilson) who was once Christine's childhood sweetheart. He and Christine fall in love but the Phantom will not allow Christine to be with anyone else, even if it means destroying everything he cares about.
Is It Any Good?
Despite lavish settings and costumes, and sweeping camera movement, the sumptuously produced PHANTOM OF THE OPERA feels static, stuffy, and stagey. Much of it takes place on a stage and there's very little action -- people stand still and sing rather than move, or, well, act.
Overheated emotions set to Andrew Lloyd Weber's purplish music are so inherently "theatrical" that the film cannot be as effective as the stage play, and the performances are more about the music than the story. Christine, Raoul, and the Phantom sing in the theater, they sing in the caverns, they sing in a graveyard, and they sing at a masked ball. But the bland Gerard Butler as the Phantom never conveys the menace or the allure of the brilliant madman who hears the music of the night.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what the Phantom loved about Christine. Can you love people without really seeing who they are? Families could also talk about the way the two key songs in the movie are used to illuminate different relationships and different emotions.
Movie Details
- In theaters : December 22, 2004
- On DVD or streaming : May 3, 2005
- Cast : Emmy Rossum , Gerard Butler , Minnie Driver
- Director : Joel Schumacher
- Inclusion Information : Queer Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Warner Bros.
- Genre : Musical
- Run time : 143 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : brief violent images
- Last updated : September 21, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate