Parents' Guide to Scarygirl

Parents need to know that Scarygirl is an animated adventure with plenty of positive and environmental messages, and a strong female lead in the 12-year-old Arkie (Jillian Nguyen), who must save her dad from the evil Dr. Maybee (Sam Neill). Arkie—who has been brought up by her single father, Blister (Rob Collins)—is resourceful and courageous. She is also blind in one eye and has to wear an eyepatch, and has a tentacle for an arm. But she doesn't let this get her down, instead becoming a hero who saves the world, showing that it's not our appearance that matters, but who we are inside. The environmental themes are strong, if unsubtle, promoting the notion that we are destroying the planet and that our behaviors must change in order to save it. There is also an anti-trophy hunting theme explored, as the rare octopus characters at the center of the piece are being hunted. This leads to some violence and threat, but nothing too dramatic, just explosions, mainly. However, some of the villains may be a little scary for kids, no less in their appearances as well as their actions. The movie is based on a 2012 video game of the same name.

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