MovieChat Forums > The Muppets (2011) Discussion > I Love the Movie BUT not all the way app...

I Love the Movie BUT not all the way appropriate for children

posted 10 years ago by RelpScooby
12 replies | jump to latest

I was once a pre-school teacher and I had an early copy of Monsters Inc and 1 of our co-workers mentioned that it wasn't appropriate for kids, which he's a fool but in regards to this movie, there were "parts" specifically catered to adults. Believe me everyone, I don't nitpick at all, that's 1 of the last things I do, but "PLEASE think about the things I'm going to list" and not in any specific order.

A while ago Courtney Love was upset at the use of Kurt Cobain's rendition of "Teen Spirit". Now sue her or me, that was not an appropriate song for kids due to how Kurt Cobain ended his life. Now if I was a kid, I would ask my parents or friends, "Hey what song were they singing and who originally sang it" ?

You also had the use of CeeLo Green's "F You", which the singing chickens performed. Sure it was funny, but doesn't anyone find it messed up the original song is called "F - U - C - K You" ?? What happens if child curiosity comes out again ? "HOW" will someone water down the answer and "no" the edited version called "Forget You" still isn't the right answer, because it took a dirty song to make a clean one; kids won't find out the truth...right ?

When Kermit asked Scooter to imagine everyone naked. Yeah that part was funny, but will children "understand" why Kermit gave that advice to Scooter ?

LOL for the moment these are the only inappropriate things I've notice (sorry i'm getting used to daylight savings and it's early in the morning for me, I can't think of more but there are more) I'm drawing blanks

[–] TheGreatGeekGod 10 years ago

A few things.

1. Your co-worker is a moron.

2. Following that, he should of know that Monsters Inc. was rated G while Muppets was rated PG

3. You should of talk to someone about the rating of the film.

4. A pre-school should not be showing PG films or higher to kids without parents permission.

5. If you look at the back of the DVD case you can see why it was rated PG, which was for some mild rude humor, which would give you an idea that their will be some naughty/inappropriate jokes in this film.

6. Do your homework, if you look at the parents guide here on imdb or go to common sense media, both of which give greatly detailed reports of the content in the film

7. You assume that the film is not completely appropriate for children, but they could be ready for it, it's no worse then any other muppet movie or special. But if you want to show the kids the PG movie, tell the parents that you want to show them a movie, it's rated PG for some mild rude humor and if you have no problem with your child viewing this film, then sign the permission slip.

and finally

8. Or you could avoid all of this and just showed them Monsters Inc. which once again was rated G, so it's okay for anyone of any age to see with out getting offended, scared, and so on. While Muppets was rated PG, which means that theirs content that may offend, scare, etc.

I know I sound like a broken record, but that's all that it chalk downs to. Show the preschoolers the G rated movie, not the PG one, dear god your co-worker is an idiot. That's like me going to show the kids My Little Pony: Equestria Girls and some one says "That's too inappropriate, the villain turns into a demon like creature at the end, that's way too inappropriate. Show them Home Alone instead."

Thanks for Reading, this really long passage.

Sincerely, milburnbj

[–] RelpScooby 10 years ago

I appreciate your nice sized reply. On you point of #6 I don't know if I can trust IMDB for the ratings as what is rated/appropriate for what age group. I definitely can't trust their reviews either LOL

As for my co-worker, let's say...he was a "sugarfoot" and you can tell by his voice but in the world of teaching, that wouldn't matter. I believe he was more concerned if the "wonderful" parents would've found a problem with something, somewhere in Monsters Inc. Do keep in mind, I was teaching like 3-5 weeks after Sept 11th happened back in 2001, so avoiding any hint of controversy is a good thing.

I did like the Muppets movie alot. But when you think of the Muppets, you immediately think of the 2 main characters. Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. You would believe that just by those 2, the rest of the movie or anything connected to either is "child safe and harmless". If Disney had that much money to buy Marvel and The Muppets, "they" should be 100 x's more careful on how they treat things. I mean if your company isn't known for "adult based themes or Rated R like movies" and it's all family safe, then why wasn't the movie made to be rated "G" ? I'm 37 years old and I'm laughing throughout the movie because I can understand all the humor and jokes/mockery etc etc. For example, when we were kids, we all laughed at Tom and Jerry because they advocated cartoon violence and hatred to a certain degree but it was considered as rated G back then, within their standards. When I got older in age and not a child anymore, I knew how severely they were trying to hurt each other.

I also noticed how they stereotyped the bad Muppets and made them have Hip Hop clothing or the Punk Slash like looks/clothing. I believe that can have kids asking questions. I had a situation when I was singing a song from the radio in front of the kids and some of the fellow teachers were like, "Uhh we don't know if that's appropriate for the kids". I was singing Outkast's Ms. Jackson which was a huge hit on the radio and the kids sang along with me. So what I did to some may have been not even scratched the surface of the situations/music in this movie.

1 last thing about ratings and I have to share this. I'm a huge huge fan of the movie Blade, especially the first one. So if the movie is bloody, gory with lots and lots of violence it gets a TV-14 rating. How much blood, violence, sex, and foul language was in that movie ? Cable stations/Premium channels need to learn how to give out ratings if "THEY" believe that kids should have a parental lock on what's not appropriate on TV like "R, NC-17, TV-MA or Unrated".

Thanks for your input

[–] Rowbes 10 years ago

my toddler is currently watching this movie for the hundredth time so I feel obliged to give my $0.02.

first off, The Muppet Show was marketed towards adults and contains material far more inappropriate than anything in the film.

if my son should get older and become curious about who sings the barber shop song I can explain the concept of the rock band Nirvana without feeling compelled to explain the concept of suicide. it's not necessary information just like you can show them the Muppets featuring John Denver without explaining plane crash death.

the radio friendly "forget you" was far more popular than its unedited predecessor. additionally, there's nothing inherently dirty about a melody. explaining the origins of the song is up to the discretion of the parents, and does not make the film inappropriate in and of itself.

there's also nothing inherently sexual about nudity. nudity is a very natural thing, kids love to be naked, and I didn't see anything wrong with scooter imagining the audience wearing very modest underwear.

I find it amusing that you claim not to nitpick, but have a lot to say about the PG content of a PG film. I was far less offended by this film than by your crass use of the term "sugarfoot."

Side note: The original Tom and Jerry was not made for children

[–] ricaus77 10 years ago

You must be one of those super fun teachers who complains over everything little and tries to get everything banned...

I'm sorry but in a short reply to your post, you are wrong...way wrong

I remember growing up watching ace Ventura, the mask etc and finding them hilarious, only watching them more recently realising that there were a lot of jokes I was too young to understand. One scene comes to mind is the ballon scene in the mask where he mistaking lay pulls out a used condom instead of a balloon...

Now compare that scene to any one scene in the muppets...

[–] RelpScooby 10 years ago

So if you saw Ace Ventura then I'd imagine you wacked off to Rebecca Ferrati's few mins

[–] ricaus77 10 years ago

Again wrong...I can now see why your no longer a teacher

[–] RelpScooby 9 years ago

For starters you have an exceptionally UGLY avatar so you got the gaul to tell someone, why and why not they're a teacher.

I need not say more.

[–] ZeoRangerFive 9 years ago

For starters you have an exceptionally UGLY avatar so you got the gaul to tell someone,

Really? That's how you're going to fight back? That has NOTHING to do with what you guys are talking about.

And to state my opinion, all the things you pointed out are dumb. IF a child is to ask about a song and who sang it why would you say "Nirvana, it was a band in the 90s and their lead singer killed himself"? That is just completely unnecessary information to the question asked. That's like asking "What year did the Muppet Show begin?", "1976 and Jim Henson died because he waited too long to go to a doctor". And the melody of "F-You" who cares? I didn't even know what song it was until much later because I wasn't too familiar with the song at the time and when I realized what song it was I didn't care, if a kid asks you simply say "Forget You" and move on.

I need not say more.

And more reason why you're not a teacher anymore.

Dragonzord! Mastodon! Pterodactyl! Triceratops! Saber Toothed Tiger! Tyrannosaurus!

[–] hdfans 9 years ago

I would much rather let my children watch this movie than most television commercials. Just my 2 cents worth.

[–] Howlin Wolf 9 years ago

The Muppets weren't meant to be 'safe'; they may appeal to children, but they're not exclusively for kids.

In my opinion, the movie catered TOO MUCH for a younger audience.



"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Oh no! Whatever will we do?

Of all the movies out there, you find this one to complain about being too inappropriate?

Someone else even made a post on this thread asking how this movie isn't G.

Your whole post is just more evidence why most kids today are complete wimps.

Btw I know I'm late as heck