Entertainment

Kids Under 5 Might Be A Little Young To Go See 'A Wrinkle In Time' — Here's Why

by Casey Suglia

Nothing beats seeing a movie in theaters. Sure, watching a film on Netflix can be so cozy, but you can't replicate the experience of going out, getting popcorn, and seeing a film on the big screen. With a classic like A Wrinkle In Time debuting in theaters this weekend, it might be worth going out to the theaters to see. But before you grab your kids and start dreaming of that big tub of popcorn with extra butter, parents will young ones at home might be wondering if A Wrinkle In Time is appropriate for kids under 5 years old or if you need to find a sitter for the night.

There is a lot about A Wrinkle In Time that parents would enjoy. The movie stars major fan favorite actresses Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, and Oprah Winfrey (yes, Oprah) and is based on the classic book of the same name — A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'Engle. Those names and the source material are big enough reasons for a lot of people to go out and see the film about two pre-teens who travel to a different dimension to find one girl's missing father, according to Rolling Stone.

The trailer for the film, full of fantasy and young children at the helm, certainly makes the film seem appropriate for children of all ages. But parents should be warned that the film is rated PG for the thematic elements and peril that the children go through in the movie, which you can see a bit of this in the preview of the film below.

But based on reviews, according to Common Sense Media, the film is not suited for kids under the age of 10. Yes, the movie is full of positive role models and positive messages, according to Common Sense Media. However, there are a lot of thrilling scenes in the film where the kids are put into dangerous situations that might scare youngins and kids under the age of 5. While kids do absorb everything, they might not be able to keep up with the rapid dialogue and intense plot line that A Wrinkle In Time delivers — so if the images are a little scary or heavy, it might be too much for little kids.

Sure, the film is a Disney movie, but A Wrinkle In Time isn't your average Pixar or Disney classic. The film features "bizarre touches", according to Rolling Stone, that might not be appropriate for kids, including a "creepy suburban nightmare of 1950s." With that in mind, it might not sound like something that kids under 5 might enjoy anyways. There is enough broad and confusing imagery in the film, according to Vox, that they wondered how much Disney "trusts its young audiences to be smart and understand the world."

Not to mention, the film's director, Ava Duvernay, "warned" audience members that the movie was "basically" for kids ages 8 to 12, according to Deadline. And the book the movie is based off of is recommended reading for those who are in grades 3 to 8, according to Scholastic. So a lot of the concepts introduced in the film might go over the heads of those who are in kindergarten and pre-school.

There has definitely been a push for kids to see the film. Questlove, drummer for The Roots, has started the Wrinkle Challenge, asking people to donate money to help young kids see the film for free. Kids are being encouraged to see the film, according to Billboard, because they should "see images of themselves reflected in the universe." While the movie's thrills might be a little too exciting for your under 5, the messages that the film sends are very important, according to Common Sense Media, and is likely to allow kids to "discover they have the power to do the extraordinary."

But parents do know their children best and if they don't think that the images in the trailer are too thrilling or wild, then it's your call to make. Showing them the teasers from the movie at home might give you a good idea as to whether it's something they'll be able to sit through in theaters. You might decide that it's not a film they can see right now, but one they can watch when they're a few years older and be fully inspired by everything it has to offer.

Check out Romper's new video series, Bearing The Motherload, where disagreeing parents from different sides of an issue sit down with a mediator and talk about how to support (and not judge) each other’s parenting perspectives. New episodes air Mondays on Facebook.