# Green Lantern: OK for kids? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372 "2011-06-22T02:44:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/1 "2011-06-22T02:44:48Z")
My wife is away, babysitting isn’t an option where I am right now, and I’m really jonesing to see the movie. Would it be acceptable to take my daughter? You don’t know her, of course, so here’s some background: She’s seen the Christopher Reeve _Superman_ about a hundred times. She’s seen all three real _Star Wars_ movies. (If I can get her to age 21 without seeing the three prequels, my tenure as a parent will have been successful.) She’s seen—and loved—both _Spider-Man_ and _Spider-Man 2_. I saw _Thor_ without her. I think the monster at the beginning in Frost Giant World might have been a bit too intense for her, but nothing else (including the metal giant flamethrower thing) would be unacceptable. Guidance, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/2 "2011-06-22T03:10:50Z")
Age? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/3 "2011-06-22T03:36:36Z")
I think so. There’s nothing gory like what happens to the Green Goblin in Spider Man. The main baddie is a space monster. When he kills people he does it by sucking energy from their bodies. For some reason, the energy is shaped like their skeleton. One of the secondary baddies becomes deformed with a grotesquely swollen head. Otherwise, there’s some bad language, a middle finger, and discussion of sex, but that’s about it. ETA: I didn’t see Thor, so I don’t know about the one thing that was possibly to scary for her. I do know that the aforementioned scene in Spider Man seemed too graphic _to me_ for the tone of the movie, but my baby sister saw it when she was four and wasn’t bothered by it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/4 "2011-06-22T04:06:45Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Age? Yeah, see, I was deliberately avoiding that, because I believe every kid is different. I figured it was more useful to describe what she can handle and what she can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/5 "2011-06-22T04:10:41Z")
Thank you for the help, **Alan**. I’ll check in again tomorrow, if anyone else would care to contribute. (Please?) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/6 "2011-06-22T04:13:39Z")
If she can handle _Star Wars_, she can more than handle _Green Lantern_. But only if you buy her junk food from the concession stand. And the new Bieber CD. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/7 "2011-06-22T06:29:17Z")
IDK, I didn’t find it particularly full of kid unfriendly stuff. But if she doesn’t like frost giants, this movie IS chock full of weird aliens, and the two villains and most of the heroes are weird looking aliens (or mutant). Star Wars was chock full of weird aliens both good and bad, but it’s possible the muppet/CGI dichotomy might make some sort of difference to her. FYI, the [IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com) is usually helpful as a parental guide - it gets pretty specific in terms of what exactly is in each movie, so you can pick and choose which things as a parent you happen to be concerned about (although this is of course dependent on user input which might not appear on premiere day). For this movie, it [says](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1133985/parentalguide): > [@](#): > > Sex & Nudity > > - Embracing and kissing. > - Mild sexual innuendo. > > Violence & Gore > > - Frequent portrayals of non-graphic violence. > - Frequent gun and weapons use, with some blood and detail shown. > - Frequent portrayals of nightmarish images and transformations. > - Occasional disturbing scenes. > - Some scenes may frighten children. > > Profanity > > - Infrequent use of scatological slang, profanity, cursing, and vulgar expressions. > > Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking > > - Mild drinking > > Frightening/Intense Scenes ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/8 "2011-06-22T11:47:40Z")
“Mild Drinking” gets a warning? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/9 "2011-06-22T15:21:23Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Age? Is she old enough to drive? ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/10 "2011-06-22T18:41:29Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > But if she doesn’t like frost giants, this movie IS chock full of weird aliens, and the two villains and most of the heroes are weird looking aliens (or mutant). Not the frost giants, but that creepy monster thing that [minor spoiler ahead] Thor killed by flying in its mouth and out the back of its neck. > [@jackdavinci](#): > > FYI, the [IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com) is usually helpful as a parental guide - it gets pretty specific in terms of what exactly is in each movie, so you can pick and choose which things as a parent you happen to be concerned about (although this is of course dependent on user input which might not appear on premiere day). > > For this movie, it [says](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1133985/parentalguide): Thank you. That’s a great resource to know about. Plus, it answers a follow-up question I was going to ask **Alan Smithee** about “discussion of sex.” > [@BMalion](#): > > Is she old enough to drive? Ummm … Not sure why you’re asking, but no. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-lantern-ok-for-kids/586372/11 "2011-06-22T18:46:00Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > … > Ummm … Not sure why you’re asking, but no. Just trying to be whimsical. I was thinking how funny it would be to see: “Would my daughter be OK with Green Lantern? She’s 34 years old.”