Is The Marvels safe for kids? Is The Marvels OK for children? Read the The Marvels Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, an honest parents guide and mom review of the all-new 2023 Marvel Studios sequel film, starring Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel. No spoilers! #The Marvels May contain commissioned links.
The Marvels Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide
Do desperate times call for desperate last minute The Marvels trailer releases? Man, I hope the cat’s not out of the bag.
As a huge Iman Vellani and Kamala Khan fan, the 2022 Ms. Marvel miniseries has been one of the bright highlights of recent Marvel Studios releases these days. But with Marvel on a downwards trend since Avengers: Endgame (y’all didn’t believe me about Secret Invasion, did you?) and even Loki Season 2 excitement waning, I’m not convinced that The Marvels movie sequel hype matches the results.
In The Marvels Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, I’m breaking down the visuals, the story, a full PG-13 age rating explanation for violence, adult themes and language, and what kids’ age recommendation is suggested to watch in this new 2023 Marvel super hero film. The Marvels 2023 parents guide to the new live action Marvel Studios feature and a no-spoiler parent review of The Marvels, is this the cosmic super hero trio we’ve been waiting for? Or a cosmic mistake?
The Visuals
Visually, The Marvels is exactly what fans want to see. Realistic CGI, heavy light power fighting scenes, vast space and world landscapes, colorful imagery. I can’t argue with the visual success this movie is and the growth of Marvel Studios in this department. Unlike Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the reality grounding and more realistic and believable worlds give The Marvels a solid footing for The Marvels.
Photosensitivity Warning. For viewers prone to epilepsy and photosensitivity, The Marvels is probably one of the heaviest bright flashing light, spinning camera work movies I’ve seen. We’re talking 3 super heroes who have “light” powers who are fighting in space. You can do the math. Not only do we have multiple scenes (sometimes back to back) with intense CGI flashes, but spaceships flying, shooting guns, and weaving in and out of CGI created worlds.
Overall, The Marvels is one of the most photosensitive Marvel movies ever. Watch with caution, especially those seeing in IMAX.
The Story
Brie Larson (“Fast X“) reprises her role as Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel in this new 2023 Marvel Studios live action film. This new Captain Marvel sequel-like film is directed by Nia DaCosta (“Little Woods“) and co-starring Teyonah Parris (“WandaVision“) as Monica Rambeau, Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel, along with newcomers Zawe Ashton (“Fresh Meat“), Gary Lewis (“Gangs of New York“), and Seo-Joon Park (“The Chronicles of Evil“).
Taking place after Avengers: Endgame but before Secret Invasion, we catch up with Captain Marvel and what she’s been up to during her time out in space. Insert the Kree. You may need a Captain Marvel movie refresher before heading to the theaters for this sequel, to fully understand exactly the what and the why. But fans will easily be able to pick up the story where it left off.
And that’s when the unlikely team gets thrown together. Kamala and Monica complete the trio as we join The Marvels on saving the universe…and multiverse…once again. And that’s when Marvel lost me. The plot is chaotic and messy – with 2 out-of-body “what the hey just happened?” scenes that definitely don’t fit the Marvel narrative. Applause to the director for taking risks and for a creative stance. But Marvel fans are either going to LOVE these 2 scenes (aka wow this made the movie!) or hate them. And trust me when I say, you’ll know EXACTLY which scenes I’m talking about.
“Which scene is not like the other one…”
Add a one of the weakest villains in Marvel history, the Khan family (they stole the movie), a few cameos (don’t watch the latest trailer if you don’t want a cameo spoiler), and a couple of laugh out loud moments. But overall, the story was highly lacking on this 2023 Marvel movie.
The Marvels PG-13 Rating Explained
Is The Marvels safe for kids? Another Marvel film that’s rated PG-13? Should parents be concerned? It’s no secret that I am highly skeptical of all MPAA ratings (um hello, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker not disclosing any language??). And as we know, not all movie and TV age ratings are the same. As a parent, it’s been rather heartbreaking to witness how ratings have shifted over the years with a G-rating no longer an option.
PG ratings now oscillating between Turning Red intense to Christopher Robin calm, and even PG-13/TV-14 age ratings teetering on the edge of R or MA ratings (Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night, I see you!), there’s a wide range between the age of 0-14 years old for parents to consider. Having fully disclosed parent guidelines can help determine if a movie or show is kid friendly – and safe for the whole family to watch together.
Why is The Marvels rated PG-13? In this The Marvels Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, this 2023 Marvel Studios super hero movie is rated PG-13 for “action/violence and brief language.” With film and TV ratings also unpredictable these days, having fully disclosed parent guidelines can help determine if a movie or television show like The Marvels is kid friendly. Is The Marvels too intense for kids? Too scary? Let’s breakdown that PG-13 age rating in The Marvels parents guide.
Violence/Suspense. Violence is overall on par for Marvel movies. Heavy super hero fighting throughout including use of super powers, hand-to-hand combat and some gun violence. No heavy blood, mild to moderate gore including a person exploding in space, alien-like creatures, and vomiting sounds and visuals present.
Adult Themes. One kiss on the cheek and two women holding hands (could be insinuated as friendship-like gestures but Marvel fans could also infer as a LGBTQ+ nod). One scene of Goose cleaning himself in an awkward position and of his private areas (though back turned to camera).
Grief, death and loss are common themes. There are a few scenes taking place in a hospital (flashbacks) that may be triggering for some. Reminder again of multiple scenes with vomiting visuals and sound effects present.
Language. I grossly overestimated the language count for The Marvels. And I so appreciated it. To my surprise, I was happy to see overall language much more toned down. The Marvels foul language and swear words include 5 “sh!t” (including 2 references sung in a song), 2 “d@mn,” 1 “d@mmit,” and 11 “H-E-double-hockey-sticks.”
Other milder insults and bad language phrases include “freakish,” “oh my g-d,” and “oh my gosh.”
The Marvels Age Rating for Kids
With a runtime of 1 hour 45 minutes, The Marvels actually felt like short (is that even possible?). With enough super hero action and interesting scenes to carry the movie, there wasn’t a slow moment. Kids who are Ms. Marvel fans will appreciate Kamala and family’s screen time, as they definitely carry the humor of the film. This is one of the most kid friendly and family friendly Marvel movie releases that I’ve watched in a long time. 
The Marvels is most similar to the 2019 Captain Marvel movie release and the 2022 Ms. Marvel miniseries on Disney+.
This 2023 Marvel Studios live action super hero movie is rated PG-13 for “action/violence and brief language” by the MPAA. This is pretty much the same rating given to all Marvel Studios films.
Yes, The Marvels does have one mid-credit scene. While there is no post-credits scene, there is one ending sound effect for those who sat through all of the credits (but definitely NOT worth staying for).
Based on my The Marvels parents guide and mom review above, this parent movie reviewer would not recommend The Marvels film to kids younger than the age of 10-11 years old.
Considering the full PG-13 rating breakdown above, this parent movie reviewer would not recommend The Marvels film to kids younger than the age of 10-11 years old. This PG-13 rating is pretty spot on and easily comparable to the Captain Marvel 2019 movie rating, but more kid-friendly due to the insertion of Ms. Marvel.
I recommend parents to prescreen The Marvels movie for foul language and super hero violence throughout the film. But overall, this is one of the most kid friendly and family friendly Marvel movie releases I’ve watched in a long time (cough, Doctor Strange 2, cough).
The Overall
Well, it’s not Eternals bad. That’s it, that’s the quote.
A lower middle tier Marvel film that I could relate and appreciate more than Quantumania, The Marvels is a lot of the Ms. Marvel show that I love, but also a lot of Captain Marvel that I’m “meh” about. With Nia DeCosta’s choice to insert 2 very key scenes into this film, it’s a risk that fans will either love and embrace or honestly hate.
And that’s when the confusion sets in. I may need a few more days to process, but overall I didn’t hate it. Ms. Marvel and the Khan family were absolutely fantastic. Captain Monica Rambeau felt like a weak third wheel. And the villain is probably one of the most cringe Marvel characters of all time.
But for kids, this is actually one of the most kid-friendly and family-friendly Marvel movie releases in a long time. And those who LOVE Ms. Marvel will really appreciate her character arc in this film.
For me, The Marvels felt like a cat vomit fest of chaotic ideas that may have gone one multiverse too far.
Follow The Marvels on social media:
- Website: https://www.marvel.com/movies/the-marvels
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarvelStudios
- Twitter (“X”): https://twitter.com/MarvelStudios
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MarvelStudios
- #TheMarvels
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The Marvels, the all-new 2023 Marvel super hero film sequel to Captain Marvel flies in theaters on Friday November 10, 2023. Will your family be watching?
I was invited to screen The Marvels 2023 film in exchange for The Marvels Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide. All photos courtesy of Disney/Marvel. Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for more movie updates, celebrity interviews, entertainment, and behind-the-scenes info!
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