Jim “JD” Burnell

Ok, so I’ve read the thoughts of many of the negative reviewers, most of whom sound very much like they’re from red states. Here’s where I agree: this is not a great movie for kids, by which I mean under the age of 10 or 11. I get the disappointment from parents who are used to enjoying Pixar movies with the whole family. If this movie had been released in theaters, I can almost guarantee it would have been PG-13. That said: what’s wrong with Pixar making a movie for “tweens”? Puberty, the transition from childhood to adulthood, is a mystery to most kids. It’s an uncomfortable topic for parents, and in a lot of the USA, it’s also a taboo topic for teachers. This leaves a lot of kids growing up in an information vacuum, not really understanding what’s happening to their bodies. It’s also a time when kids figure out who they are. The criticisms of Mei disobeying her mom are fundamentally misguided: this is a natural part of growing up. Even more so in an Asian household. It sounds stereotypical, but just about every Asian person I’ve ever met describes the same kind of environment where they felt extreme pressure to live up to their parents’ expectations, in all aspects of their lives. And that’s why this film rings true: it’s clearly autobiographical, and it tackles a tough subject with charm and humor and just enough awkwardness. So yeah: if you’re the kind of parent who (still) thinks adults shouldn’t speak to kids about puberty, and they should have to figure it out on their own like you did…take a pass on showing this film to your middle school/high school kids. (Hopefully they’ll see it anyway.) But…if you’re the kind of parent who has an open mind, who realizes that Western society by and large is STILL suffering from the moral judgments of our Puritanical ancestors, and who wants their kids to feel comfortable talking to you about anything, especially uncomfortable topics like the transition to adulthood, becoming your own person, and forging new, stronger bonds with your adult children…this is an amazing and wonderful film. I commend Pixar for taking a risk like this, and I think it worked really well.

Mindless fun fan service... not much else. Guess it’s silly to expect more from a movie about a video game with no plot other than endlessly pitting pairs of fighters against each other so they can murder each other in graphic ways.