Aquamarine parents guide

Aquamarine Parent Guide

Overall B+

Claire (Emma Roberts) and Hailey (Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque) change their summer plans after Aquamarine (Sara Paxton) washes ashore their local beach. Now the 'tweens are busy trying to help the floundering mermaid get her land legs and hook the man of her dreams (Jake McDorman).

Release date March 2, 2006

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

Why is Aquamarine rated PG? The MPAA rated Aquamarine PG mild language and sensuality

Run Time: 104 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Sand, sun and an endless shoreline are the perfect setting for a summer crush. For Claire (Emma Roberts) and Hailey (Joanna ‘JoJo’ Levesque), it’s also the setting for their last summer together before Hailey and her mother move to Australia.

In order to avoid thinking about the inevitable parting, the two modest, sun-conscious preteens spend endless hours focusing on the hunky lifeguard who is the object of their seasonal affection.

Unfortunately, Raymond (Jake McDorman) is also on the radar of every bronzed, bikini-clad beauty on the beach including the older and more confident Cecilia Banks (Arielle Kebbel) and her two sidekicks. With so much interest coming his way, Raymond is totally oblivious to the younger girls’ infatuation.

However, life at the beach house changes for Claire and Hailey when they discover a mermaid swimming in the club’s outdoor pool. During a terrible tempest, Aquamarine (Sara Paxton) washed up on shore. Now the gentle sea siren wants to exchange her gills for gams so she can experience life on land.

Outfitted with feet and newfound facts from Claire and Hailey’s stash of teen magazines, the wannabe landlubber falls fins over flippers for Raymond and promises to grant the girls one wish if they help her reel him in. But helping Aquamarine snag a date is difficult when the mermaid has to be back in the water by sunset.

Aimed at the preteen set, Aquamarine focuses on Hailey and Claire’s friendship and the relationship they develop with the blonde sea creature. The script incorporates adolescent angst over body shapes, teen tabloids and the budding interest in boys. Yet the movie also addresses deeper fears both the girls must face. Claire is understandably afraid of the water after her parents were drowned at sea. Hailey is worried about having to be the new kid at school, again. Luckily for young viewers, the conclusions to their concerns resembles reality more than an overblown fish tale.

For parents, the flippant use of terms of Deity and some mean-spirited teasing by a stereotypical trio of bad girls may be the biggest issues. As well, Aquamarine’s naiveness and her lack of clothing require the girls to be inventive when she comes ashore.

Still for tween girls who are too old for Arial in The Little Mermaid and too young for Daryl Hannah’s character in Splash, Aquamarine may be the perfect mermaid to catch their interest, hook, line and sinker.

Starring Emma Roberts, Sara Paxton, Jake McDorman. Running time: 104 minutes. Theatrical release March 2, 2006. Updated

Watch the trailer for Aquamarine

Aquamarine
Rating & Content Info

Why is Aquamarine rated PG? Aquamarine is rated PG by the MPAA mild language and sensuality

Aimed at young teen girls, Aquamarine focuses on the value of friendship. While bikinis are common on the beach, the main characters are prone to more modest attire. When Aquamarine comes ashore, she is naked but carefully arranged hair keeps her covered although some back nudity is seen. The script includes repeated terms of Deity and one moderate profanity. One girl briefly discusses her lack of cleavage and there is some fawning over boys. A character is trapped in a water tower. Another character pushes a girl off the pier and into the ocean.

Page last updated

Aquamarine Parents' Guide

Claire and Hailey help Aquamarine learn everything they know about relationships by reading a stack of teen magazines. How reliable is the information in these pages? Why does some of the advice seem to contradict itself? For more information on teen magazines, check out this article.

Claire is concerned about her lack of cleavage. Why are many children obsessed with growing up quickly? Why is the need for a “perfect figure” so important?

How does Raymond answer Aquamarine’s question about love? Do you think he gives a good response?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Aquamarine movie is June 12, 2006. Here are some details…

DVD Release Date: 13 June 2006

Catch this mermaid-out-of-water tale on DVD in both wide and full screen presentations. Hear the whole fish story from director Elizabeth Allen and producer Susan Cartsonis, or listen to the cast’s commentary of specific scenes. Net the ones that got away by watching six deleted scenes, and learn the ropes of the production with behind the scenes auditions and five featurettes. Audio tracks are available in English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital Surround) and French (Dolby Digital Surround), with subtitles in English and Spanish.

Related home video titles:

Like Aquamarine, the animated Ariel thinks life on the land will be better than life in the ocean. In The Little Mermaid, she gets an evil sea witch to transform her tail into legs. After meeting at camp, two girls discover they are twin sisters and plot to get their divorced parents back together in The Parent Trap.