Megamind parents guide

Megamind Parent Guide

For older kids and the adults that accompany them, this script offers an engaging twist to the superhero genre and more rounded characters than most animations.

Overall B+

The war between good and evil erupts on Earth when two aliens from different planets arrive and begin to engage in a feud of superhero proportions. This animated adventure features the voice talents of Will Ferrell as Megamind and Brad Pitt as Metro Man.

Release date November 5, 2010

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

Why is Megamind rated PG? The MPAA rated Megamind PG for action and some language.

Run Time: 96 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes, yet they are most easily recognized when they have chiseled jaw lines, broad shoulders and bulging muscles. It doesn’t hurt that Metro Man (voice by Brad Pitt) also has a skintight, spandex suit and a white cape to distinguish him from the everyday citizens of Metro City.

Like other champions before him, Metro Man is an alien sent here from a dying planet. Luckily he fell on the doorstep of a well-to-do family and was raised with all the privileges a wealthy upbringing could offer. His antithesis and arch nemesis, the blue-skinned Megamind (voice by Will Ferrell), also hails from a distant galaxy. His childhood, however, was spent behind bars in the Metro City Prison where he bounced to a landing in his space pod. Over the years, the battles between the pair have gone from legendary to rather routine.

Time after time, Megamind and his underling Minion (voice by David Cross) kidnap reporter Roxanne Ritchi (voice by Tina Fey) in an attempt to lure Metro Man into their hands. But the game rules change when the bigheaded scoundrel manages to permanently rid the city of its favorite do-gooder. Suddenly the super villain is left with no one to stop him from taking anything he wants from the unlucky residents who share his zip code.

But without a fight, Megamind’s unbridled ability to bully the locals quickly becomes unfulfilling. Putting his enlarged cranium to work, he determines to make a new superhero to combat. Unfortunately, Tighten (voice by Jonah Hill) turns out to be more evil than his creator. Watching his handiwork wreak havoc on his hometown, Megamind must venture where he’s never gone before—on the side of good.

For superhero buffs, the movie plays homage to all kinds of previous action figures including Captain Marvel, Flash, X-Men and Ghost Rider. Even actor Ben Stiller lends his vocal talents to a replica of Marlon Brando’s fatherly figure in Superman. (Stiller’s children, Ella and Quinn, also voice characters.) Yet while those comic book references, along with plenty of well-written quips aimed at older audiences, will engage the parents in the theater, the film’s introspective second act may fail to hold the attention of younger viewers. As well, the slapstick humor (which is often heavy on “slap”) involves a large stick repeatedly used to knock people out. Explosions, property damage and the depiction of a character’s death may also be unsettling to some children.

Still, for older kids and the adults that accompany them, this script offers an engaging twist to the superhero genre and more rounded characters than most animations. While it may seem strange to find yourself cheering for the villain, the message of this movie seems to be that although a tiger can’t change its stripes, even bad people can do some surprisingly good things when given the opportunity.

Directed by Tom McGrath . Starring Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt, Tina Fay, Jonah Hill. Running time: 96 minutes. Theatrical release November 5, 2010. Updated

Megamind
Rating & Content Info

Why is Megamind rated PG? Megamind is rated PG by the MPAA for action and some language.

Violence: Several individuals are repeatedly subjected to bullying and threats, sometimes with weapons. Others are run over by a car, bitten, hit with a large stick and caught in an exploding building. Property damage is frequently portrayed. A female character is dropped while in the air and nearly hits the ground before being caught. Another person is seen falling as well. Men engage in hand-to-hand combat on several occasions.

Sexual Content: An adult couple kisses.

Language: The script contains a couple of terms of Deity and some brief name-calling.

Alcohol / Drug Use: A couple drinks champagne with dinner. A man is injected with a DNA altering drug.

Other: A character appears to be mimicking Jesus Christ when he walks on water and descends from heaven. Some bathroom humor, including jokes about wedgies, is found in the script.

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Megamind Parents' Guide

What stereotypical characters are portrayed in this movie? How do those oversimplified conceptions change during the course of the story? How does that affect the way you feel about them?

Is success always as wonderful as one envisions? What does Megamind discover about having complete power? What does he miss?

What kind of pressure do the citizens of Metro City put on Metro Man? Who, besides superheroes, may feel this kind of demand in our societies? How do the rules of combat change when Tighten arrives on the scene?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Megamind movie is February 25, 2011. Here are some details…

Megamind releases to DVD and Blu-ray on February 25, 2011 with the following bonus extras:

Megamind: Single DVD:

- Meet the All-Star Cast

- Discover the Lost Scene

- Filmmaker’s Commentary

Megamind: DVD Mega Double Two-Pack

- Meet the All-Star Cast

- Discover the Lost Scene

- Visit Megamind’s Lair

- Experience AnimatorMan

- Learn to Draw Megamind

- Unleash The Reign of Megamind Video Comic Book

- Filmmakers’ Commentary

- Fun high-flying games and more!

Megamind: Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo

DISC 1:

- Megamind on Blu-ray

- Megamind: The Button of Doom (Megamind and Minion return to battle an even bigger foe in this all-new Mega comedy adventure!)

- Enhance the Movie Viewing Experience with the Animator’s Corner featuring Picture-in-Picture Storyboards, Behind the Scenes Footage and Interviews

- Uncover More Megamind Facts with the Trivia Track

- Put your own hilarious twist on scenes from the film with the Interactive Comic Creator

- Meet the All-Star Cast

- Discover the Lost Scene

- Visit Megamind’s Lair

- Experience AnimatorMan

- Learn to Draw Megamind

- Unleash The Reign of Megamind Video Comic Book

- Fun High-Flying Games and More!

DISC 2 :

- Megamind on DVD

- Filmmakers’’ Commentary

- Meet the All-Star Cast

- Discover the Lost Scene

Related home video titles:

Despicable Me portrays another bad guy who learns to do good after becoming the adoptive father of three female orphans. Superheroes also battle it out in The Incredibles and Sky High. Actors in this film have lent their vocal talents to other characters as well. Brat Pitt voices a robber who is looking forward to retirement in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. Will Ferrell does the speaking parts for The Man in the Yellow Hat in the children’s movie Curious George. Ben Stiller provides the verbal skills for a large lion that lives in New York City’s Central Park in Madagascar.