Parents' Guide to

Titanic (2012)

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Emotional small-screen retelling humanizes historic tragedy.

Movie NR 2012 184 minutes
Titanic (2012) Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

TITANIC is a miniseries that chronicles the tale of the doomed ocean voyage and its 2,200 souls by interweaving both fictional and historically accurate stories of first-class guests, crew members, and steerage passengers who faced the same fate with the ship's demise. There's the unassuming Earl (Linus Roache) and haughty Countess (Geraldine Somerville) of Manton, whose liberal-minded daughter, Georgianna (Perdita Weeks), finds unlikely romance on board the ship. Italian brothers Mario (Antonio Magro) and Paolo (Glen Blackhall) and Irish emigrants Jim (Peter McDonald) and Mary Maloney (Ruth Bradley) and their children head to America with hopes of new possibilities in a new land, while designer Thomas Andrews (Stephen Campbell Moore) simply wants to see the liner of his design sail into the horizon. Their stories are as varied as they themselves are different, but their fates are the same on that cold April night when an iceberg spelled disaster for the seemingly unsinkable ship.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (23):

This four-part miniseries gives an intimate glimpse into the lives of more than just the elite class of passengers, by spotlighting a different set of characters in each segment of the series. Their stories become intertwined once they're aboard, which makes their desperate fight for survival -- often at the expense of someone else's life -- all the more anguished. It's impossible to watch this small-screen re-telling without drawing comparisons to its famous high-grossing, Academy-Awarded counterpart, and the similarities don't end with the familiar dining room settings, unexpected romance between a reluctantly proper British lady and a handsome American man, or the dramatic reenactment of the ship's final moments. But it's the differences between the two interpretations that ensure that this one is more than just a timely copycat.

There's a discomfort to watching this story unfold because of your awareness of the outcome before it starts. It's hard to get emotionally drawn into the lives of the characters, fiction or not, knowing that many of them won't survive the story. On one hand, Titanic does a good job of reminding us that the century-old statistics from the tragedy are more than just numbers, that they were real people with hopes and dreams and families who loved them, regardless of their traveling class. On the other, the story is too emotionally wrenching for most kids for that very same reason. Mature tweens who can handle this aspect of the show will be fine with the content, however, and the show's portrayal of the class system and prejudice can spark some discussions about how those issues have evolved over time.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about overcoming adversity. How does experiencing tragedy change us? Have you ever survived a particularly difficult situation? Did it change your perspective on life or the people involved?

  • How does this series portray prejudice between the characters? Do you think it is a fair assessment of the time? Were you surprised by any of it? Do you think times have changed considerably since then, or is this still a problem?

  • Families can discuss the historical fiction genre. What aspects of this movie are obviously fictionalized? Do you think this type of series aims more to entertain or to educate? Did you learn anything new from this story? Was it any more or less credible than James Cameron's version?

Movie Details

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 suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

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