Inkheart parents guide

Inkheart Parent Guide

The script depicts a strong, young heroine and other engaging characters that use the power of the written word to combat the evil intentions of others and ink their own happy ending to their story.

Overall B+

Although Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett) and her father Mo (Brendan Fraser) love books, he never reads them aloud. That's because the voice of the man with the silver tongue can bring objects and people from the story pages to life. Unfortunately, every time something or someone enters their reality, another disappears into the world of the novel. But Mo may be forced to use his unique talent when Meggie is kidnapped by some unsavory characters that escaped from a book called Inkheart.

Release date January 23, 2009

Violence C
Sexual Content A-
Profanity B+
Substance Use A-

Why is Inkheart rated PG? The MPAA rated Inkheart PG for fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language.

Run Time: 105 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Reading the classics aloud to his daughter seems like a logical activity for Mo Folchart (Brendan Fraser), a book restorer who loves to search through ancient texts and dusty novels. But Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett) can’t remember ever hearing her father read to her, although he has instilled in her his love of literature.

Following her dad from one spot to the next as he searches for rare and exotic volumes around the world has become a way of life for Meggie. Then one day, the pair is accosted by a strange man outside of an antiquarian bookshop in a tiny European village. Dustfinger (Paul Bettany) introduces himself as an old friend of her father’s, but it is obvious to Meggie that this is anything but an amicable meeting between the adults. Before she knows what is happening, the girl, her father and her great-aunt Elinor (Helen Mirren) are roughly hustled off to a remote castle in the mountains and locked in a dreary dungeon with all kinds of strange and magical beasts. That’s when Meggie discovers her father is a “silvertongue” and has the unique ability to read characters out of a story.

While some of the fictional beings, like Capricorn (Andy Serkis) and his henchmen (Steve Speirs, Matt King, Jamie Foreman and Stephen Graham) have embraced their new surroundings in the real world, Dustfinger is eager to return to his role inside the pages of Inkheart. However Mo’s promise to recite the words that will put the fire-eating Dustfinger back in his tale is jeopardized when Capricorn snatches Meggie from her dad and holds her as a hostage in his dark scheme to overthrow the countryside.

The movie, based on a book by the same name, is full of gun-toting soldiers and thugs who frequently threaten their prisoners, often with knives and swords. One man has his arm slashed during an encounter with an angry captor and another bears the scars left by a blade. Although the characters face many moments of peril, including a tornado from the Wizard of Oz that descends on the castle, Meggie, who was abandoned as an infant by her mother (Sienna Guillory), fears losing her father the most.

While many scenes will likely be too intense for very young viewers, this movie, packed with whispering tomes and colorful secondary figures, is aimed at older children who won’t suffer from nightmares after viewing the frightening adventures portrayed on screen. Luckily, the script also depicts a strong, young heroine and other engaging characters that use the power of the written word to combat the evil intentions of others and ink their own happy ending to the story of their lives.

Starring Brendan Fraser, Andy Serkis, Eliza Hope Bennett. Running time: 105 minutes. Theatrical release January 23, 2009. Updated

Inkheart
Rating & Content Info

Why is Inkheart rated PG? Inkheart is rated PG by the MPAA for fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language.

Characters in the film are frequently threatened with weapons or placed in perilous situations. A man is attacked by a small animal, kicked in the back and slashed on the arm with a knife. Others are captured and thrown in a prison cell. Thugs attack a group, destroy property and burn a pile of books. A tornado damages buildings and causes men and vehicles to be thrown in the air. Individuals are hit with a variety of objects. Two men pour gas in a building and then ignite the fluid. Characters turn to ash and their bodies crumble and blow away in the wind. Women are shown in low cut bodices. Infrequent profanities are included in the script.

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Inkheart Parents' Guide

Mo tells his daughter that the written word is a powerful thing. Why does he warn her to be careful with it? What effect can literature have on a person’s life? What negative impact can words have?

Aunt Elinor has spent her time living adventures in her library. What does she learn about embracing the actual world? Why is it important to balance fiction and fantasy with real life experiences?

What characters from literature would you like to be able to bring to life?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Inkheart movie is June 23, 2009. Here are some details…

Release Date: 23 June 2009

Enter the world of Inkheart with this DVD release. Along with the movie, the disc includes A Story from the Cast and Crew (featuring the author, Cornelia Funke) and Eliza Reads to Us (with Eliza Bennett, who played Meggie Folchart).

Inkheart is also available on Blu-ray. This 2-disc set offers behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, featurettes (A Story from the Cast and Crew, Eliza Reads to Us and From Imagination to the Page: How Writers Write) and BD Live.

Related home video titles:

Characters from the Wizard of Oz are also portrayed on the big screen in the 1939 film version of the enchanted story. Like the novelist in this movie, the writer of an adventure series lives a life very different from her hero until she agrees to help an ardent fan in Nim’s Island. Brendan Fraser plays another fictional voyager in the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D based on a book by Jules Verne.

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