Family film

From ArticleWorld

While children’s films are ideal for entertaining youngsters while the adults are otherwise occupied, the family film is designed to be watched together. It is, therefore, often more successful than a children’s film as it has a much wider target audience. These films often have main characters that are young and sometimes they feature an animal. Recently many family films have been animated; the bright colours immediately attract the children’s attention. In order to ensure the film is appreciated by older audiences the dialogue often contains small jokes which are inoffensive to younger ears but which are firmly aimed at entertaining the adults.

Animation

In recent years animation has moved on from hand drawn cartoons to very impressive computer animation. These films are time consuming and expensive to make and so tend to be aimed at the whole family, not just the children, in order to ensure they make as much money as possible.

Examples of this would include the huge hits Shrek and Monsters Inc. These films are bright, colourful and contain characters that children will easily feel affection for. Monsters Inc also stars a young child in a lead role and so it is easy for youngsters to identify with her. These films also contain many jokes which children will not understand but adults will appreciate, while the overall plots are simple enough for everyone to enjoy.

Certification

Film classification in the UK tends to specify that children’s films are to be given a Uc rating, meaning that they are suitable for all but aimed primarily at children. Most family films are given the rating of U, meaning universal, demonstrating that there is no content unsuitable to be seen by children but that it is enjoyable for all. In America the ratings are slightly different, but most family and children’s films receive the same rating of either G or PG. This makes it harder to distinguish between the two but again provides reassurance that the film is suitable for a young audience.