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It's a nihilistic show, but characters are attempting to save humanity, which is good. Positive messages are more clear in show's second season, which is less about stylish violence, more about how characters' often traumatic experiences have affected them emotionally (even though violence doesn't stop or slow down in second season). Family ties are prominent and crucial, and many characters derive strength from closeness with family members.
Positive Role Models
some
It's tough to distinguish good characters from bad; both are very violent. So-called superheroes injure, kill other characters (who are clearly villains, or faceless minions) in brutally violent ways, are praised for doing so. Sibling characters can be supportive of each other and loving, though they often fight. Second season partially occurs during 1960s America, and a character of color arrives in time to take part in civil rights movement; racist characters kick her out of a "Whites only" restaurant, call an adult man "boy," but it's clear that they're the bad guys and that characters working to give people of color their rights are on correct side of history. A gay character is a substance abuser and a bit unstable, but he's confident about his sexuality. A young boy who has lived a deceptively long time is called "old timer" and other nicknames that denote his unusual lifespan, is generally treated with respect, deference. Characters grapple with heady notions like obligations conferred by family ties, damage caused by disrespect and unkindness from an authority figure.
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Characters are killed in operatic violent sequences: flung out of high windows, bloodily torn apart by a man who morphs into a multi-armed creature, stabbed, shot, eyes torn out. Expect blood and gore and piles of bodies, as well as "action" sequences with impact minimized by happy pop music. Second season takes a more apocalyptic tone, with many scenes depicting violent end of the world (e.g., in which a mushroom cloud sprouts over a city, a wall of flame rushes toward our main characters). Fantasy/sci-fi weaponry and combat (a ghost sprouts attacking tentacles from his belly, and characters can disappear and reappear at will). Merciless crew of bad guys searching for Umbrella Academy member dispatches dozens of people with guns; we see bloody wounds, characters writhing on the ground in pain before dying.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
One character is a love interest for another adoptive sibling; expect flirting (same- and opposite-sex), kissing, dating, romantic complications. A gay character sums up the attractiveness (or lack thereof) of other men.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Language includes "s--t," "a--hole," "bastard," "hell," and insults: "Loser!" "You're crazy!" A gay character is called "pretty boy," and an adult African American man is called "boy," but it's clear that the people leveling these slurs are villains who are in the wrong.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
One character is depicted as a drug addict; we see him scoring drugs in an alley, taking handfuls of pills, drinking tumblers of whisky. Other characters criticize his habits. The toll it's taken on his life is clearly shown. Scenes take place at bars, with characters drinking, sometimes to excess.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Parents need to know that The Umbrella Academy is a series about a group of adopted siblings with superpowers who team up to try to prevent a fiery future apocalypse. Parents' main concern will likely be the show's violence: It's gory, bloody, and sometimes set to music, so that it reads as more cheerful than it should. Characters, usually depicted as villains, bad guys, or faceless minions, are dispatched bloodily by the so-called heroes. They're shot, stabbed, and torn apart, with spurting blood and gore -- in piles of dead bodies. Sex and romance are downplayed in favor of violence, but one adopted sibling does have romantic feelings for another, and there's a gay character who sometimes makes iffy remarks about the appearance and attractiveness of various men. One character is a drug addict and an alcoholic; viewers see him gulping down unnamed pills, scoring drugs in an alley, drinking enormous drinks (and more) while he acts sloppy and impaired. Language includes "s--t," "a--hole," and "bastard." The show's second season is similar to the first in terms of tone and violence, with an apocalyptic storyline in which characters are attempting to ward off the violent end of the world. We see battlefield scenes, scenes in which an army of bluish ghosts attack people; a mushroom cloud goes up and a wall of fire consumes a group of characters. One main character is dead and a ghost; it's implied he may have died by suicide, and a father figure character has apparently also died by suicide. A trio of expressionless villains mow down dozens of characters with machine guns; we see dead, bloody bodies and people writhing with pain as main characters run to escape the carnage. A character of color exists in a 1960s timeline in which the civil rights movement is prominent; racist characters call a man "boy" and point out that a restaurant is "Whites only." Scenes take place in a burlesque club with female dancers in brief costumes (but no nudity).
Super fun show, quirky storyline, read this if you're considering watching with kids between 10-15
**SPOILERS WITHIN**
I absolute LOVE this show! And want to enjoy it with my 11 year old but there is some gory violence and the occasional sex reference or scene. However, those things aside, the story line is fun and quirky and the fight scenes are set to seriously catchy music!
If you're like me and want to enjoy with your kids but want to avoid the nitty gritty, I have taken the liberty to create a list of moments to fast forward or skip ahead or just tell your kids not to look.
Things to note: When I say ff10s it means to hit the "fast forward 10 seconds button" that is on the Netflix bar (between the play/pause and volume icons, bottom left of the screen).
If I say ff10s twice or four times, I mean press it that may times right after the other.
Anything that says "until XYZ time left on the episode" that's the remaining time of the episode, not the form the episode is at. For eg if it's a 50 minute episode and I say 33:10 left on the episode, it has only been playing for. 16 minutes and 50 seconds.
Where I say to fast forward after some talking, do it as soon as you hear the last word I have written. Waiting might expose the inappropriate line.
Anywhere that says skip ahead if necessary or look away if needed, viewers choice based on what your kids can and can't handle. You can always ask them to look away at first, tell them what you see and ask if they want to try watching. Up to you.
If there is anything I haven't covered that you felt was inappropriate, it is only because I know my child is totally fine with whatever it is I haven't skipped over.
Happy viewing umbrella fans.
Season One
Episode one:
* When Ben goes into the vault (restart again with 33:10 left on episode)
* Five in the cafe when the old guy leaves and the music starts (she's seen it, but tell her to sheild her eyes when he snaps the guys neck and when he cuts the tracker out of his arm)
Episode two:
* When Klaus is creating backstory to be Fives dad, after he says "terribly misguided" skipped forward, straight after is Ishmaels towing scene. Restart again with 27:28 left on episode)
* After the eye bit when Klaus asks for his money and Five calls him useless, when Klaus says "you need to lighten up old man, FF10S once
* After Five is with Delores when the cops show up skip ahead until 5:09 left and Diego is in the studio
* When Five tells Luther there's nothing they can do, it shows them all dead in the apocalypse, probably ok to watch
Episode three:
* When Klaus is in the bath after Hazel and Cha Cha arrive, it shows flashbacks to his childhood and the ghost heads calling his name. Might be too scary to see. Skip ahead if necessary
* When Diego asks mum if she heard the noise, it shows her sewing into her own hand and Diego cuts into the skin of her arm to remove her battery. No blood but it might look gross
* When Cha Cha says the night's a total loss at the hotel and Hazel says "not so sure about that", they open their car boot to a screaming Klaus. Probably ok to see. Ask first
Episode four:
* When they wheel Luther in, his chest is burnt, they inject the serum into his chest with a needle quickly, ask first but probably ok to see
* After Leonard wishes Vanya goodluck when he walks her to training, skip ahead until either 47:25 left on episode or when Cha Cha says "let's waterboard him". Skip that bit to start but then he enjoys the water
* When Diego and Luther argue in Fives room, after Diego says "thank god or I would have turned out just like you. Let me ask you a question" skip ahead before he asks the question
* After Cha Cha says (in the donut shop) that Five is trying to change the timeline and she says "let's get back to whatshisname", it shows the dead ghosts in Klaus's mind. Restart again with 28:59 left unless she's ok to watch.
* In the library with Diego and Luther, when Diego says "you've never had to hold down a job, pay bills" ff10s
* In the bar when Allison says about Leonard "or rifle through your stuff, steal something", ff10s
* Back at the motel Klaus gets slapped a few times. When Hazel and Cha Cha hide waiting for Five, it flashes back to Klaus as a child in the tomb. Skip and restart with 20:15 left
* Previous dead people will show up some with blood wounds. Might be a bit gross to see
* Right after it shows Leonard has Vanya's medicine jar, look away but listen, it shows very gross dead people talking to Klaus but listen to the conversation because it's relevant
* Patch in the hotel room freeing Klaus, when Klaus goes through the vent, Cha Cha shoots Patch from behind and she drops dead. Maybe skip, maybe not, not too scary
* When Diego goes to find Patch, he rolls her over and holds her and cries and you see blood. Probably skip or look away
Episode five:
* When Agnes says "when they're hungry they eat", ff10s
* After Leonard says "Vanya this is your time" and kisses her, FF10s
Episode six:
* When Diego is tying up Klaus after Klaus says "tighter and higher" FF10s
* After Diego ties Klaus for a second time and Klaus falls over in the chair, he thinks back to the war and sees Dave dead and bleeding from the chest, skip or look away
Episode seven:
* After Harold's dad takes off his mask, hits him and asks for a beer, once you see Harold approach with the hammer, possibly mute or skip ahead. You don't see him hit his dad but you hear sound effects and see the dad's legs move with the sound. But then you see the kid covered in blood quickly. Maybe just look away
* When Hazel and Cha Cha are in the woods and Hazel says "when he's hungry he eats, when he's tired he nests" ff10s
* When they're in Leonard's attic and see their faces and Five collapses, they show a glass wound up close. Might be gross. Maybe just look away
* When Klaus is on the floor on the rave looking for the pill, he sees Dave and Dave has blood from his mouth. It's quick though, look away if needed
* When Leonard and Vanya walk out of the restaurant and approach the guys on their car, when Leonard says "don't touch her" mute and look away until Vanya screams help and walks towards them.
* In the hotel once Cha Cha wakes up, when Hazel removed the masking tape off Cha Cha and she says "this world is ending", ff10s and then again when Cha Cha says "if you leave this room and I'm still alive" ff10s. And again when Hazel walks out and Cha Cha screams "I know how to find you. You're dead. Dead " ff10s
Episode eight:
* After Vanya and Leonard leave the hospital, skip ahead until 44:45 left of the episode
* When Vanya is in the woods concentrating on the night before, look away until it goes back to them in the woods
* After the guys rush out of the pub to go after Allison, it will show Cha Cha's hand dripping with blood from her handcuff. Might be gross but it's quick
* In the cabin when Vanya and Allison are fighting, when Allison says "please don't make me do this" and tries to rumour Vanya, look away but listen to Vanya and Leonard. Can look again when it shows their car
* When the guys get to the cottage, look away once they get out of the car. Can look again after the screen goes off Allison's neck
Episode nine:
* After Diego throws a knife at Klaus, Vanya thinks back to her fight with Allison. Don't look until after the first flashback until Vanya gets up to wash her face
* When Leonard starts hitting the book and Vanya is screaming to stop, as it shows Harold in the air and stuff starts spinning, skip ahead until 33:12 left on the episode
* After Agnus tells Cha Cha that Hazel left, ff10s but don't look yet because it shows Harold again and Five puts the eyeball in and out. Can listen but not watch until after it shows grace stitch Allison's neck
Episode ten:
* When Vanya asks if Pogo knew, once she lifts him in the air, ff10s but then close your eyes after it shows Luther walking out just until it shows Klaus and Diego going outside
* In the bowling alley, when Luther asks if there is a way for Klaus to silence the voice inside his head, as Klaus begins to talk, ff10s
* In the bowling alley when Luther apologises to Allison, when he says "we can't do this now" ff10s
* When Vanya gets off the bus and Hazel says to Cha Cha "this is where you get off", he throws Cha Cha from the car, may want to look away though it's not gory
* In the hotel room when Hazel points the gun at The Handler and she says "I thought you were the smart one" ff10s
* In the orchestra scene when Klaus conjures Ben to fight, might seem scary but it's not so bad, though he does rip one guy in half. Look away if needed
* When they try to time travel at the end, it shows some people get vaporised by the flames. Quick. Might be scary, might not
Season Two
Episode one:
* In the war when Allison says she heard a rumour that she blew their minds, it shows an electronic kind of head explosion, fake looking blood. Might be gross
* After Allison kisses Ray, it shows Luther fighting in boxing. Some blood spit and violence, grossest thing is Luther breaking the guys arm with his knee. Look away if needed
* At the mental institution, Diego dislocates his own shoulder but it doesn't really seem bad. When it shows the milk truck arrive, the Swedes shoot a guard straight in the chest, look away. They then chase Diego and Lila out of the corridors, they shoot an orderly and some cops and Lila pops Diego's shoulder back. Sounds more painful than it looks
Episode two:
* The very first few seconds replay when Hazel shoots The Handler in the head and shows her lying on a gourney to be thrown into an incinerator. You see blood from the bullet wound. Not much
* After Luther sees Vanya at the farm, it flashes back and quickly shoes her killing Pogo, not worth skipping, it's over too quick
* When it shows the Swedes in the kitchen, two of them are doing pain training and throwing knives at each other. One gets the other on the leg and he takes it out. Bit of blood. After they get a letter to go after Vanya, they open the freezer, don't look. Wait until they close the freezer
* When Diego and Reggie fight, Diego gets stabbed. It's too dark to be of any bother
Episode three:
* As soon as Klaus drives off from the cult, look away. Lila takes the blade out of Diego. Also when she tells him not to move, look away quickly
* When Klaus tells Allison Ray is in jail, when Klaus asks why she doesn't rumour him out, ff10s
* After Lila tells Diego about her parents, and then slaps Diego, after Diego says "I don't understand you" skip ahead until 20:22 left on the episode
* When Klaus leaves the paint store it shows Allison and the sit in, it flashes over to Luther fighting and he doesn't fight back. Maybe look away
* It then crosses back to the sit in. The server spills hot coffee on Allison and then the police start hitting Ray. It gets a bit violent and can be quite emotionally confronting due to the violent racist tone of the scene. Especially when they take Ray outside. Look away or skip ahead until 7:04 left on the episode
* After Allison leaves with Klaus, it goes back to Luther's fight. Look away or skip ahead until 5:33 left on episode
* After it shows the moon that Luther is looking at, when the funny music starts, skip ahead until 4:14 left on the episode
Episode four:
* Opening scene is Lila's parents being killed. After it shows the text on the house (1993) Ff10s twice
* When Lila gets out of the car, look away
* When Vanya goes looking for Harlan, he has drowned in the lake but it's ok cause she saves him
* After Five blips out of the closet at his dad's meeting, fight scene with the Swedes. Bit of violence
Episode five:
* After Allyson gets up to get the blender for day drinking, skip ahead until it shows Luther cooking eggs, 37:29 left on the episode
* In the hair salon with Klaus and Vanya, after Allison says "maybe we can at least try to save my marriage" ff10s, and again when Klaus says "face it, the healthiest long term relationship" ff10s
* When the Swedes are walking through the woods and the little one approaches Diego's knife in the tree, as soon as you hear the click when he steps towards it, ff10s (though you'll still see his burnt foot/calf)
* Back at Sissy's, when Carl says "you're part of the family" and looks at Sissy, ff10s twice
Episode six:
* In the sauna, when the Swede asks The Handler "what's in it for you" ff10s
* When Elliot arrives home and sees the cat, after he gets punched the first time, ff10s four times
* Back at Elliot's, when Luther calls "Diego" as soon as Diego walks up to Luther and the chair, ff10s before the direction of the camera changes
Episode seven:
* Once Five walks into the room with the axe, as soon as AJ the fish head says "call security", skip ahead until 42:52 left on the clock when the girls walk in and then back out
* After The Handler says "tick tock" ff10s
* When Luther calls 'Olga' and says to Diego "it's ringing" ff10s
* At the mansion, when Jill and Ben(as Klaus) are talking, when Ben/Klaus is smelling Jill's hair, after he says "you're incredible too" skip ahead until Diego shows up, 20:42 left on the episode
* When Klaus is running away from Kichi and he says "bless the water" ff10s
* When Allison is fighting the Swede and grabs the vacuum part off the floor, ff10s
* After Allison rumours the other Swede to kill his brother, ff10s four times
Episode eight:
* When the last remaining Swede is looking at a family photo, ff10s. The axe is ok, he does not chop off his own hand
* When Lila says to The Handler "I can't do this job if you don't trust my instincts" ff10s
* In the FBI building Vanya gets constantly electrocuted. It's confronting. Look away if necessary
* When they put drops in Vanya's eyes and she looks at her feet, she sees eyeballs. It's gross. Look away if needed
* In her trip out, she is forced to eat a brain...it's gross but not worth skipping. Look away if needed
* When wrapping up the Swedes body and Ben asks Klaus what it was like when he possessed him, ff10s
* After Reginald says to Vanya "one more bite and you can go" it flashes past her whole life and some of her violent memories flash such as Allison, Leonard and pogo but it's quick. Choice to look away
* When Klaus, Allison and Diego get out of the elevator and Vanya is going nuts, it does show some dead people in the corridors, a bit gross but somewhat quick. Look away if needed
* On the farm, when Harlen gets out of the car and Carl grabs the gun and almost shoots Harlen, he redirects the bullet and kills Carl. Look away if needed
* At the Commission when Lila says "Five killed my family", ff10s
* When Vanya wakes up, ff10s
* When Reginald is back at the tikki bar, after he unbuttons his jacket, and the jerk says "uh oh, someone's ready for a fight", he peels off his face and kills the others, you only see the peeled face. Look away if needed
* In the infinite switch board, when the Handler asks if anyone else has seen it and he says "no only you" ff10s
Episode ten:
* After Diego tells Lila they can be her family and she looks around, once she looks at Allison and Luther then back to Diego, ff10s
* When Lila asks the Handler "do you even love me" ff10s
It's really very good but you've got to keep it in the right age group. It is just plain violent, with a lot of gratuitous violence used for humor and entertainment. Beyond that it is profane, vulgar, and filled with conflicted and inconsistent characters that make for very good interest but poor role models. In a sense it's a creator of a lot of good conversation between you and your older teen. But the level of violence is inappropriate for younger teens who are still trying to separate fantasy violence from reality, and even many adults can become desensitized to violence and abuse, and this series is rife with them. That said the performance of the actors in this very quirky slightly supernatural mystery is extraordinary. Likewise the plot with its twists and the sets with their detail are brilliant. It is a beautiful piece of art, but the fact that it has a character who presents as 13 years old does not mean this is for 13 year olds. This is not some kind of real life drama where we discuss choices that the characters make with our kids. This is mad cap fantasy that requires a maturity to just simply recognize this is entertainment, it is over the top, it has nothing to do with reality.
This title has:
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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What's the Story?
Decades before THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY opens, 43 infants were inexplicably born to women all over the world who weren't pregnant the day before. Eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Meany) figures these children must have some kind of special powers. And so he sets out to adopt as many of them as he can. His final tally: seven, including Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), who can make things come true merely by saying things out loud; Klaus (Robert Sheehan), who can speak to the dead; Number Five (Aidan Gallagher), who can jump through time; and Vanya (Elliot Page), who is, as Hargreeves says, "nothing special." Years after they were a hot crime-fighting family, the super-siblings are now estranged. But when Hargreeves dies mysteriously -- and when a character missing for over a decade reappears, warning that eight days from now, a fiery apocalypse destroys all of humanity -- the gang teams up again for a major mission.
Inventive visuals and quirky actors clearly instructed to let their freak flags fly breathe life into the somewhat hackneyed setup of a school for superheroes. Hey, didn't we do that already? X-Men? Sky High? But this show takes it to the limit, and as time goes on, the emotional stakes of the show deepen, which makes the action and villainy more exciting and sets this show apart from similar outings. The show's early hyperkinetic action sequences set to cheerful pop aren't as effective as they could be. They'll remind you of Kick-Ass, for one thing, and they're over the top logically speaking: Does a bank robber really deserve to be flung out of a third-story window to certain death? Um, maybe the super-sibs could just call the police? But other moments are sheer joy, like a scene in which the siblings dance to "I Think We're Alone Now" in separate rooms of the house before the camera pulls back as if they were dancing in a dollhouse, each in his or her own box.
Two of Umbrella Academy'sactors are also reliable fun whenever they show up: Robert Sheehan, all elfin-fey jittery energy as the junkie bad sheep of the family, and Aidan Gallagher, tasked with playing a character with the consciousness of a 58-year-old and the body of a 13-year-old. Grousing his way believably and magnetically through scenes in which he can't believe the stupidity of everyone around him, Gallagher is a kick -- and, incidentally, has a really cool superpower. Unfortunately, the sublimely gifted Page mopes around for a while, not given as much to do until her "I'm so ordinary!" storyline shifts. It's always great to see an underdog get hers, but it's frustrating to watch Page's sparkly light dimmed while we wait. Thankfully, the show deepens and gets better as the first season plays out, and the second one is even better, with an apocalyptic storyline that heightens the tension and a lot of time spent investigating the characters' inner lives and frustrations. The violent set pieces and sci-fi weaponry remain, but the show takes time to illuminate the characters caught up in the violence, which imbues the battles with meaning and heart and turns what could be an empty spectacle into something gripping, moving, and, ultimately, entirely thrilling, on many levels.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the level of violence in The Umbrella Academy. Is it more or less violent than you expected? More or less violent than other shows or movies about superheroes? How can you tell the difference between a superhero and a supervillain? Is the violence in this show enjoyable? What impact does media violence have on kids?
How well do you think comic books translate to feature films or TV shows? Which comics-based productions have made the best adaptations? Is it important to your enjoyment of the show to have read the comic before watching?
What makes stories about humans with extraordinary powers especially appealing? Why would people want to have superpowers, particularly at this moment in time? If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
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.
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