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Mia and the Migoo | 2008 | PG | - 1.3.3
An animated tale about a man (voiced by Jesse Corti) that misses his young daughter (voiced by Amanda Misquez), after leaving her behind in his village in order to help build an exclusive South American resort. The developer (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a greedy bully that misuses natural resources and neglects his son (voiced by Vincent Agnello), and after a scary dream, the young girl sets out with her good luck charms to find her dad and heal the forest. Once in the woods, she meets a shape shifter (voiced by Wallace Shawn), who calls in his brothers to protect a magic tree before it is cut down. Also with the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Matthew Modine and James Woods. Directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd. [1:32]
SEX/NUDITY 1 - A small boy asks a small girl to kiss him on the cheek and she refuses.
► A heavyset woman with a large bosom hides a small girl under her long skirt and as she lifts the skirt, we briefly see her panties. A small girl floats in the air and we briefly see her panties. A heavyset woman removes her blouse and we see a lot of cleavage above a large, wide bra.
VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A man fires a rocket at the roots of a large tree in a lake, breaking them; the lake and sky turn blood red and cover the entire earth with flames and red waters that burn like oil.
► The roots of a sacred tree fall off, causing large holes to appear through the centers of the Migoo people, and they become small and cry; they dissolve into the soil as the whole world freezes into ice and two children fall asleep on the ground.
► A flock of birds chase a man in a helicopter into a storm; lightning strikes it, the helicopter crashes, and we see the man unhurt, standing in torn clothing on the ground.
► A man fires a flamethrower over the heads of construction workers. A construction worker walks into an access tunnel to check its status and it caves in on him in a large cloud of rubble and black smoke; later, we see that he is unhurt. At a construction site, workers see that their tall scaffolding and cranes are twisted up and lying on the ground, except for one that falls over beside their card table, ending their game.
► A man and a small boy visit an arms dealer in a basement and purchase rockets, a rocket launcher and a flamethrower; big game animal heads line the walls and two men outside in the hall test a flamethrower that produces a large flame. A construction person says that he and the crew must dig out a man caught alive in a cave in; he leans against some rubble, it falls apart to create an opening, and the crew crawls inside.
► A meteor storm sends a small meteor through a hotel window and it burns into a pillow and makes some smoke; no one is harmed. A young girl hits a man over the head with a rocket and he angrily takes it away from her.
► A young girl falls off a mountainside, and the Migoo perform a spell that lifts her back up on an airshaft; during the spell, their eyes turn from black to blue and white, indicating magic.
► Two men wander in a tunnel, one falls and shouts he has broken a leg, and the other finds him and says it is dislocated; he pulls on it sharply, and relocates it as the injured man yells loudly. A truck forces a bicycle-rickshaw type vehicle off the road in a cloud of dust as the rider yells.
► A man sees a large footprint in the forest and tells another man, "We'll shoot it!" and later he says, "It's not murder if you kill a monster." Several people warn a young girl that monsters will eat her alive and she says she is not afraid, because she must find her father.
► A young girl prays at her mother's gravestone and later sees two visions of her mother come back to life, singing her a lullaby. A young girl awakens from a nightmare in which she feels her father is in trouble and she sets off for the mountains at his work site alone.
► A sorceress cuts a small girl's hair off with a long knife as the child sleeps and burns it in a wood stove during two incantations. A sorceress shows a small girl a mobile of humanoid amulets and tells her that she will meet these beings on the road and they will be scary but they will also be her friends.
► Several people state that the world is too hot; we see heat waves in the air on city streets. We see instances of the world becoming suddenly colder, without warning; we see ice, snow and children's breath misting the air where it had just been very hot. A young girl shows three good luck charms to neighbors and says the objects will protect her from monsters.
► A young boy yells at his father that it is wrong to kill a giant in the forest. Several brief arguments occur among a small boy and his parents, men in a card game, construction workers and their boss, a small girl and a rickshaw driver and a group of large supernatural beings that look like humanoid rocks. A boy and his father argue briefly and reconcile. One man is very tense throughout the film and shouts at his mother, his small son, his employees, his assistants and a small girl.
► A small girl walks for miles on a path and across narrow trails on the side of a mountain, looking down to see that it is a far drop. A man flying a helicopter picks up a lost little girl.
► The Migoo are fat, short, stone-like creatures that can become as tall as trees, they speak in riddles and pick their noses (we do not see any debris), but make sure the forest animals have water and tell a young girl that they are guardians of a sacred tree and that if the tree dies, the earth will also die, completely.
LANGUAGE 3 - 2 mild scatological terms, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (crazy, loco, loser, morons, stupid, fool, fart face, big butt, dodo head, rude, liar, dirt bag, the devil, scaredy cats, bully, coo coo, cowards, nonsense, junk), 1 exclamation (shut up), stereotypical references to children, working mothers, native superstitions, religions, South American cultures, Asian businessmen, construction crews, corrupt military officers, corporate bosses, and administrative assistants.
SUBSTANCE USE - Magic spells and potions are mentioned, but we do not see any drugs or chemicals. In a card game, a short bottle of whiskey and a paper cup sit on the table untouched as men play poker.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Work/family balance, natural resources, corporate impact on the environment, climate change, native religions, superstitions, magic, South American governments, honesty, responsibility, making amends, working together.
MESSAGE - Conservation and teamwork can prevent a climate related disaster.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
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