At my daughter’s school they do different things to raise money, just like any other school would. My favorite one that they do is the Movie Matinee fundraiser. For only $8.00 we get to go see 10 movies at our local theater. All the movies on the line up are kid friendly, mostly Disney movies and run at the same time they are coming out on DVD. As a parent of two now, this is a great opportunity for me to spend some one on one time with just my daughter once a week. However, I think I need to be more vigilant about checking out the reviews of the movies before we go. The spring line up so far has been a smidge questionable to say the least.

This last weekend we went to go see Disney’s A Christmas Carol. My daughter was so excited to go see it. She has been talking about it since she first saw the previews for it. I too, had seen the previews and didn’t see any problem. Let’s just say that they did a great job sticking to Charles Dickens’ story line. The movie was terrifying for her and watched most of the movie through the cracks between her little fingers as they clung to her face, covering her eyes. I felt so bad, I asked her if she wanted to leave, but she wanted to be a big girl and stay, poor thing.

The weekend before that, we sat and watched Planet 51. The movie was hysterical for both the kids and parents. However, making jokes about a grown man’s anatomy was a bit inappropriate; especially since the grown man was completely naked (the movie did not show anything from the waist down). My daughter has been telling everyone all about it since she saw it.  So now I am faced with not being able to trust Disney or the movie ratings themselves. After our viewing of A Christmas Carol, I was determined to find a reliable site that I could get reviews from other parents that have already seen the movie and I found the perfect one at International Movie Data Base (IMDB).

On their site you can search any movie that comes to mind. Upon putting in their search engine Planet 51 it gives me the direct link to their page that covers all the information about the movie including all the trailers for it. When you scroll down the page, you will find a section titled “Additional Details” where you can click on the link “view content advisory for parents.” The parental content advisory covers everything to the last detail. I wish I would have found it sooner. The movie is broken down into five categories, sex and nudity, violence and gore, profanity, alcohol/drugs/smoking, and frightening/intense scenes, accompanied by what exactly is in the movie pertaining to the category so you can make the call if it’s appropriate or not. 

This a great way to find out what you are going to be subjecting your children to before you pay for your tickets. IMDB should definitely find its way into your bookmarks.