Tomorrowland Parent Guide

What kid hasn’t dreamed of making his or her own jet pack? Or at least thought about whipping around town in an airborne vehicle that looks like something out of the Jetsons TV show? Well if that is the future you dream of, then Tomorrowland is the place for you.

As a child, Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson) had big ideas. Tinkering around in his father’s shop, he created his own personal propulsion machine. Although it wouldn’t actually fly vertically, that was beside the point. He had his eyes firmly focused on the possibilities of the future. Now as an adult, Frank (George Clooney) is far less optimistic about the direction in which mankind is headed. Holed up in a highly secured farmhouse, he watches constant news feeds of natural destruction, man-made disasters and human follies.

Then Casey Newton (Brit Robertson) comes knocking on his door. She, like the rest of us, has been fed a steady diet of gloom and doom from her teachers, academics, politicians and especially the media. However, in the midst of all of it, she has a vision of the future and remains hopeful about the changes than could make the world a better place. However she needs Frank to help her get to a place called Tomorrowland, where the best and brightest are recruited to dream the impossible.

The first 45 minutes of this movie are the most fun, as the characters get a glimpse of a beautiful, sleek time to come. Based on the predictions of the 1964 Tomorrow-Land at The World’s Fair, the future in this movie has the retro look made popular during the 1950s and 60s. (Fortunately fashion isn’t reduced to standard issue where everyone is forced to wear identical jumpsuits like they do in Star Trek.)

After a string of bleak dystopian films such as Divergent, The Hunger Games and The Giver, Tomorrowland is a refreshing take. Yet it is only made possible by Casey’s ingenuity and optimism. Refusing to believe that global warming, natural disasters, riots and societal breakdown are inevitable, she doesn’t succumb to Frank’s fatalistic views.

The film is also free of any sexual content or substance abuse. While there is a generous smattering of profanities in this Disney film, the biggest concerns will be violent depictions. The most startling scene occurs when a speeding vehicle runs over a child. There are also portrayals of vandalism, peril and some brutal hand-to-hand fighting between humans and robots.

This production has an agenda, but thankfully it is not overly heavy-handed. And it acknowledges that the most gifted and creative people can come from all walks of life, ethnicities, age categories and career paths. Showcasing that diversity, along with the possibilities of greater things to come, Tomorrowland may just inspire young audiences to explore their own imaginations to find ways to create a better world.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.