Entertainment

Is 'Avengers: Infinity War' OK For Kids Under 10? Here's What Parents Need To Know

When your child is a baby, you can take them to pretty much any movie, no matter the content. (That is, if you're willing to risk them crying and screaming in the movie theater.) But once your child is old enough to sit up and pay attention to a whole movie, the days of sneaking away to an R-rated movie with your sleeping baby in tow are pretty much over. That being said, many parents are likely wondering if Avengers: Infinity War is OK for kids under 10 years of age.

Avengers: Infinity War, which is a sequel to 2012's The Avengers and 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, hits theaters this Friday, April 27, according to Rotten Tomatoes. As the movie-review website notes, Avengers: Infinity War is rated PG-13, due to "intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references." The Motion Picture Association of America further elaborates on film ratings on its website, explaining that when it comes to PG-13 movies, "Parents are urged to be cautious. Some material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers."

Basically, if your child is under 13 years old, it's up to you whether they are mature enough to handle a film with those elements.

A good place to start that investigation? The film's trailer.

The Avengers: Infinity War trailed starts out pretty slowly, but gradually builds to a montage of the aforementioned "intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action." There are plenty of scenes featuring battles, guns, sci-fi weapons, large hordes of people running in slow-motion, and a giant green man (or, as some people would call him, the Hulk).

Blogger Tania Lamb, who runs the blog Lola Lambchops, often writes "kid-friendly movie reviews from a mom’s point of view," according to her website. Luckily, she got her hands on an advance screening of Avengers: Infinity War and shared her thoughts on her blog. Here's what Lamb had to say regarding the film's violence:

So on a scale in violence, I would rate this higher (meaning more violence) than Captain America: Civil War and lower than Black Panther. There are fight scenes that will make sensitive children cringe. Also, some creatures in the film are nightmare-inducing ... There is blood, destruction, and explosions.

In terms of profanity, Lamb said she "counted at least a few hells, dammits, a**holes, and s**t," as well as "douchebag" and "a reference to Jesus in an irreverent way."

Overall, Lamb only advises parents of children under 10 to take them to the film if they are huge fans of Marvel films. She explained:

As always, use your best judgement. I would recommend Avengers: Infinity War for ages 10 and up. If your kids are big fans and have seen the other Marvel films, then you could go younger. I will bring my daughters ages 9 and up. I think sensitive content and violence will be an issue for younger children, and the length of the movie.

The movie is long it's 156 minutes, according to Rotten Tomatoes, which is about two and a half hours. Between the long runtime and the multiple storylines, Lamb thinks young children could have trouble following along.

And speaking of multiple storylines, the cast features a never-ending list of all-star actors, including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Zoe Saldana, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Olsen, and Idris Elba. Whew! Is it just me, or is this movie starting to sound like one of those giant-cast romantic comedies, like Love, Actually, New Year's Eve, and Valentine's Day — just with more superheroes?

Still, it sounds like it'll be quite the flick, but the younger ones may need to sit this one out until you feel comfortable with them seeing it.

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.