Countless kids have been eagerly awaiting the return of their favorite heroes to theaters all year, which finally arrived on September 28 with “Paw Patrol 2: The Mighty Movie” and set the box office ringing loudly over the weekend. But the joy and enthusiasm among the four-legged friends, especially among much smaller children, quickly turned into something else: fear and panic.
Several parents reported an uncomfortable movie theater experience with their children, who left the theater crying. Including Alexander Keßel, editor of the website , who attended the film with his children and publicly shared the experience. Because right at the beginning of the film, the little ones were faced with a real shock: a meteorite that hit the Paw Patrol headquarters.
This is where his three-year-old son whimpered for the first time: “Daddy, I’m scared.” This feeling continued with his five-year-old child, until the editor pulled the emergency brake after about 45 minutes of running time and left the cinema with his children. Outside, they met other families whose descendants also couldn’t handle the tension of the film.
And this experience is probably not an isolated one. On Other voices spoke up, including editor Andrea Zschocher: “But what is presented on screen is significantly beyond the absorption capacity of most small children. Fast parts, an exciting story, things always explode, Skye is in danger… That’s quite a lot for small children.”
Should “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” have been rated 6?
Precisely for this reason, ‘Paw Patrol 2: The Mighty Movie’ had already been a topic of discussion in advance. Rumors circulated on various film and cinema sites that the film would receive a 6-year age rating from the Voluntary Self-Regulation of the Film Industry (FSK for short), until a week before the theatrical release the verdict that the film received finally became public a rating without age restrictions.
This initially caused tension among parents – and children – because the animated film’s core audience, like the original “Paw Patrol” series, is somewhere between three and six years old. Now, however, the parents are quite incomprehensible about the ruling. “I’m not entirely sure about the filmmakers’ strategy for ‘Paw Patrol 2: The Mighty Movie.’ The series is actually aimed at small children between the ages of three and six. After that, the puppies quickly become kind of cool,” writes Andrea Zschocher.
The FSK sees the responsibility as parents
After the first shock reports, RTL turned to the FSK and asked how the decision to approve the animated film was made. The different levels of development at this age played an important role in the decision, as Peter Kaun from the FSK told us explains: “There are large individual differences in development, especially among preschoolers. Exciting scenes can be received very differently. What is important in this age group is a positive solution that provides relief.”
A release without age restriction is in no way a recommendation by the FSK that this film is automatically suitable for children aged 0 and older. Instead, this assessment is the responsibility of the parents who know their children best. Here Peter Kaun points out options for orientation, such as first watching the trailer of the film or reading the short statement from the FSK in advance. This would always be available on the FSK website whenever the film in question was released in cinemas.
Some parents have already intuitively made their individual assessments of “Paw Patrol 2: The Mighty Movie” – including Andrea Zschocher from : “In theory, everyone would have three [meiner Kinder] can see the film, but as a mother I have a responsibility and decided: the youngest child is the biggest fan, for this film experience in the cinema, without the possibility of interruption, and is still too inexperienced with media. Of course we will watch the film together again. But in the flow, with pauses to fidget, ask questions and catch your breath.’