Star Wars: The Force Awakens was classified yesterday as 12A by the British Board of Film Classification, in anticipation of it opening in cinemas in Ireland and the UK on Thursday, 17th December.
The IFCO also rate the movie as 12A as it only considers the film to be suitable for children aged 12 and over, and does not recommend mums take young children to it, no matter how much they beg you to!
The classification takes into consideration the language used, whether there are scenes of a sexual nature, and if drugs or violence feature.
While the highly anticipated movie may look harmless enough, it contains frequent scenes of moderate violence, including use of blasters and lightsabers, and dogfights between spaceships. Sight of blood and injury detail is limited and brief.
There are also occasional scenes of moderate threat including characters being interrogated using 'the Force' and characters being held at lightsaber-point.
According to Laura Haugh, spokesperson with MummyPages.ie, many parents are considering taking kids as young as seven to the new movie next week.
"We are hearing that a lot of parents are considering taking children as young as 7 years old to see the new Star Wars movie, which is released next week. We are hoping that by highlighting its classification as a 12A and reminding parents why the classification process is in place, it will help them make a more informed decision."
"Classifications are there to help parents and caregivers responsible for children with the appropriate guidance as to whether a movie or DVD is suitable viewing for the young people in their care. "
Urging parents to heed the recommendations, Laura explained: "If a child is upset by something they've seen, unfortunately they cannot 'un-see' it so it's important to offer some reassurance on the topic to counter their imaginative fantasies which may go into overdrive. This is particularly important, if your child is sensitive, is prone to anxiety issues or suffers from nightmares.”
