Wendy | 2020 | PG-13 | – 1.5.5

Why is “Wendy” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “brief violent/bloody images.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a kiss, a hug and a cleavage-revealing outfit, a scene of a hand being lopped off by a child using a machete with the bloody result shown, a child disappears in an underwater passage, the presumed death of children, the use by adults of children as bait to attract a creature, children taking risks and a couple of scuffles, and at least 1 F-word and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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A young girl (Devin France) and her two brothers (Gage Naquin and Gavin Naquin) are determined to have a grand adventure and run away from their small town by hopping on a train and following a boy to a strange island where growing up is held at bay — if you just believe. Inspired by J.M. Barrie’s children’s classic “Peter Pan.” Also with Yashua Mack, Ahmad Cage and Krzysztof Meyn. Directed by Benh Zeitlin. [Running Time: 1:52]

Wendy SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A teen boy kisses a teen girl. A boy and a girl hug. A girl makes a comment about children being naked.
► A woman wears a top that reveals cleavage. A boy pulls off his pants and throws them (we see his underwear and bare legs). A few scenes show shirtless men and we see bare chests, abdomens and backs. A few scenes show shirtless boys with bare chests and abdomens.

Wendy VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A boy holds a machete and another boy asks him to cut off his hand; other children in the room argue and the boy with the machete raises it in the air and brings it down on the other boy, the boy screams and we see a lot of blood pouring on the ground and a bloody stump (the stump is later covered with a coconut shell).
► Three children swim through a narrow passage and one boy seems to have been cut by something (we see some blood in the water); his companions wait for him and he never surfaces so they go back to find him, but other children pull the two back to shore insisting that the other boy is OK. Children are grabbed by adults and pulled on board a boat; a boy swings on a rope and kicks a man holding a harpoon trained on a creature in the water. A boy and a girl jump off a rock ledge into the ocean where the boy sinks (he seems unconscious) and the girl tries to retrieve him until they are surrounded by a bright glowing creature and they find themselves safe inside a cave. A boy tells three other children to stand near the edge of the open door of a moving train and he pushes them out; they fall into water below where a girl in a rowboat is waiting. Adults follow and surround children in a few scenes and we see children bound and gagged and tied to the deck of a ship. A man and a boy swordfight (there are no injuries).
► A harpoon is thrown at a creature in the ocean and we see it held underwater in a large net; children struggle to free the creature and it seems to die (its eye turns white and glowing embers fall from it), and a man pulls the hook with a piece of glowing flesh on it to the surface. A girl walks along craggy rocks and into a cave, jumps in water and swims through the cave where a glowing creature moves under the water and we hear noises (like a whale song). A girl and two boys jump on a passing train and ride away; another boy climbs up to the top of the train with them. A boy runs out of a diner, onto railroad tracks and we see him jump on a passing train as another train speeds on a nearby track. A girl jumps on a train where a boy sits and a woman chases the train, stumbles and falls. A person runs along the top of a moving train and jumps from car to car. A young girl walks out on the roof of her house and is startled by a train car blowing steam into the air. A girl chases a moving train and trips. A boy’s hand is shown to be aging faster than the rest of him. A man and a girl put an injured boy on the back of a donkey and take him to shelter. We see an abandoned area where structures are in rubble and people walk through scavenging.
► A boy and a girl scuffle and one shoves the other to the ground (there are no injuries). A boy hits a girl in the head with a small club and she falls to the ground (we do not see an injury). A woman drags her son up a flight of stairs to put him and her other children to bed. A boy carries a turtle into a diner and taunts his mother with it. Two boys play fight with swords. Several children playfully slide down a muddy hill. A man forges a hook to replace his missing hand.
► Several scenes show a volcano blowing smoke into the air and geysers open in the ground around it. A boy gestures with his hands as if he is conducting an orchestra as geysers erupt, while three other children watch. A large glowing creature moves through underwater caves and in the water around an island and we hear what sounds like whale songs in a few scenes.
► We see a missing child poster with a picture of a young boy. A boy says he wants to be a pirate. A girl reads an adventure story and one line has a character telling another character to throw, “intestines into the grinder.” A boy talks about his mother having hitchhiked across country and stealing a car when she was young. A girl talks about a haunted train. A girl talks about a boy and says, “His heart cracked right down the middle and all the joy spilled out of it,” when his twin brother disappeared. A man tells a girl that the dirt she is walking on has dead people in it. A girl yells, “You can’t lose hope, that’s what makes you old.”
► We hear dishes breaking and loud conversations coming from a diner and a woman goes to find out what’s happening. Children throw cake at each other.

Wendy LANGUAGE 5

 – At least 1 F-word (off screen), 3 scatological terms (1 mild), 8 anatomical terms (3 mild), 10 mild obscenities, name-calling (mop and broom man, wild ones, boring, lame, fish bait, jerks, sweet heavy, idiot, lost boys), exclamations (screw you up, jeez, you’re killing my inner child, beware, darn), 2 religious exclamations (Oh My God). | profanity glossary |

Wendy SUBSTANCE USE

 – People drink beer at a party.

Wendy DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Growing up, adventures, dreams and aspirations, taking care of family, trust, hope, imagination.

Wendy MESSAGE

 – Growing up can be a grand adventure.