Web sites help adults decide which movies are suitable for their kids

Moms and dads know that the movie rating "parental guidance" is about as vague as terms get.

When it comes to deciding what movies to allow children to watch, there's a big gray area between G-rated cartoons and PG-13 blockbusters. Some parents may find a movie rated PG for sensuality more acceptable than one rated PG for violence, and vice versa.

For older children, parents may question when it's OK to take a teenager to see an R-rated film - it is very R, or just a bit more graphic than PG-13? Parents of small children can't wait to take them to see animated cartoons, but is G-rated "Tarzan" the same as G-rated "Winnie-the-Pooh"?

Movie reviewers generally rate movies on quality, not whether a character blurts out a bad word. But that curse may be enough for some parents to warrant keeping their 6-year-old from seeing the film. Movie reviewers don't know what might scare a particular child, who couldn't care less about monsters but is terrified when Bambi's mother is killed.

Parents can find family-oriented details about new releases and video rentals on a variety of Web sites that review movies from a parent's perspective. Some offer specific breakdowns of every potentially offensive phrase, violent scene and flash of skin in a two-hour film.

Here, we give you the scoop on 10 family movie sites and highlight their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Screen It!, www.screenit.com

If you want to know every detail of what your child might see in a movie, this is the site to visit. It ranks movies on various issues from mild to extreme, then lists every example of alcohol/drugs, blood/gore, disrespectful/bad attitude, frightening/tense scenes, guns/weapons, imitative behavior, jump scenes, scary/tense music, inappropriate music, profanity, sex/nudity, smoking, tense family scenes, topics to talk about and violence.

There are no age recommendations, since the site notes no two children are alike. You'll also find a plot description, an answer to "Will kids want to see it?," why the Motion Picture Association of America rated it as it did, and how the cast plays as role models. Links allow visitors to see how others rated the movie, as well as read a full review in "Our Take."

You can't search the site for a particular movie, but you can find movies and videos listed by alphabetical order, genre and MPAA rating.

Jim Judy, with help from his wife, has maintained the site since 1996 and professes no affiliation with any political, social or religious group. Beyond banner ads, the site doesn't hawk anything. Movie critic Roger Ebert named Screen It! the third most useful movie site on the Internet.

Family Wonder.com, www.familywonder.com

This thorough but commercial site gives movies a letter grade and age recommendation, provides a summary and opinionated review, rates the entertainment and educational value and explains what will appeal to different age groups.

In its "parental advisory," it lists fairly detailed descriptions of profanity, questionable behavior, emotional intensity, frightening situations, mature themes, sex/nudity and violence.

Unsolicited information on related music and movies to purchase is either a drawback or an advantage, depending on your viewpoint. There is no way to search for a movie, but visitors can display the archive of video reviews by title, age recommendation or grade.

Published authors described as "experts on children's entertainment" screen the movie with appropriately aged children before writing their reviews. The site also rates videos, music, TV shows and video games.

-- Grading the movies, www.gradingthemovies.com

Subtitled "helping families find entertainment with values," this site does not review R-rated films, assuming that by definition these are not appropriate for children. It grades on "values," giving A's, for example, to "Chicken Run," "Disney's The Kid" and "Fantasia 2000." Besides current movies, it reviews videos, music and games.

Full reviews give letter grades for overall value, violence, sexual content, language and drugs/alcohol. They end with possible family discussion topics about the movie.

You can do a quick search by title for movies and videos, or a more extensive search by MPAA rating or by the grade given for violence, drug use, language or sexual content. If you wanted a movie with no violence, for example, you could search for movies that received an "A" in that category.

Additional articles cover such topics as "10 Things I Hate About Teen-Oriented Movies." Web site visitors can also grade movies and see other parents' votes tallied, as well as comment on films.

Rod Gustafson, who has four young children and claims a 20-year career in the film and television industry, has operated the site since 1994.

-- The Movie Mom, www.moviemom.com

Nell Minow, author of 1999's "The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies," reviews new releases and videos. She also recommends films for older kids and teens, as well as "the all-time best family movies" ("A Bug's Life," "October Sky").

Reviews recommend ages and briefly describe profanity, nudity/sexual references, alcohol/drug use, violence/scariness and tolerance/diversity issues. She also includes a thoughtful "Guide to Family Movie Watching."

Videos may be searched by recommended age group or genre. Minow also recommends topics of discussion prompted by films. The site hawks the book but nothing else.

-- Family Movie Reviews Online, www.familymoviereviews.com

The site reviews current movies by listing detailed examples of profanity, nudity, sexuality, sensuality, violence and alcohol use. They conclude with age recommendations. Titles can be searched by new releases, "favorites," or genre.

The site's "About Us" page is still under construction so no personal information on the reviewers was available.

-- FilmValues.com, www.filmvalues.com

This site, based on H. Arthur Taussig's "Film Values/Family Values: A Parents' Guide," allows you to search for movie recommendations based on type of film, recommended age range and the item you worry about most in children's films.

Reviews detail sexuality and gender issues, substance use, moral issues and values, crime, violence/scariness, language/profanity, blood, sex, nudity, emotional stress, watchability for adults, age recommendations and general comments.

Parents can search a database, find video recommendations and look at recent reviews.

-- Kids-in-mind, www.kids-in-mind.com

"We don't tell parents whether a movie is good or bad; we don't tell them whether it has any social or political signficance; we don't even bother with whether it has artistic merit," explains the site's editors, who began the service in 1992 with contributing critics. "We simply list material that parents may not want their kids to watch or hear."

This site, which includes new releases and videos, assigns a number from 0 to 10 for the amount of sex and nudity, violence and gore, and profanity.

Full reviews detail examples of these three topics, as well as adult issues and the message the movie sends. Parents can search films and videos by title or by ratings in amount of sex, violence and profanity.

Parents will find little information on G-rated movies, as most evaluations focus on PG-and-higher films that "are more likely to contain material of concern to parents."

-- Family Style Movie Guide, www.familystyle.com

Reviews of current movies and videos, as well as lists such as Academy Award winners and the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest movies. It gives a brief plot description and ranks nudity, sex, violence, drugs and alcohol on a scale of mild to extreme, with some description. The site says the reviews are generated by parents, and it has a Christian slant.

A helpful addition is a list of critics' starred ratings from E! Online, Roger Ebert, Entertainment Weekly, Reel and USA Today.

-- Parent Preview.com, www.parentpreview.com

ParentPreview.com is about "parents PREviewing movies, not REviewing movies," notes the site's introduction. Parents can share positive film experiences or steer families away from movies they found objectionable. The site includes only those movies parents write in about, with brief reviews.

-- Movie Report, www.moviereports.com

Brief reviews of current movies, rental videos and video games include general plot points and language that parents might be concerned about. The titles are sorted by MPAA ratings, then listed alphabetically. The site's motto is "just the facts." No information is provided on who compiles the reviews.

How different are the family movie Web sites? Read how they describe this summer's PG-rated "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle." Page D 1

Stephanie Dunnewind can be reached at 206-464-2091. Her e-mail address is sdunnewind@seattletimes.com.