Wondering if THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER is ok for kids? The latest Thor movie is not as kid friendly as other Thor movies due to a naked butt and some other mature topics. Director Taika Waititi definitely leaves his signature quirkiness on Thor: Love and Thunder, which may be good for some and bad for others. Here’s what parents need to know in this Thor: Love and Thunder Parents Guide.
Parents Guide to Thor: Love and Thunder
After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Thor has been traveling with the Guardians of the Galaxy and getting back into shape to be the hero he was born to be. As Korg likes to say, “from dad bod to god bod.” However, in the process he has also closed himself off to love to avoid getting hurt like when he was with his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).
When Thor learns that a villain named Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), is killing all the Gods and is headed to New Asgard next, he returns to help defeat him. There he runs into Jane, who not only has his look, but also has Mjolnir, his once beloved hammer. When Gorr kidnaps the children of Asgard, Thor tries to assemble an army of Gods to help rescue them and get rid of Gorr once and for all. However he is met with resistance and he, Jane, and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and Korg may have to do it alone, but at what cost?
Why is Thor: Love and Thunder Rated PG-13?
Thor: Love and Thunder is rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi violence, partial nudity, language, and suggestive Material which means some content may not be suitable for kids under 13.
Is Thor: Love and Thunder Kid Friendly?
Parents need to know you can expect to see some partial nudity, intense violent scenes, alcohol use, emotional scenes, and profanity used by some of the characters. To sum it up, Thor: Love and Thunder is not kid-friendly for some younger kids. I recommend screening the film first if you have doubts whether Thor: Love and Thunder is appropriate for your child.
Language in Thor: Love and Thunder
There is some profanity including at least 11 uses of sh*t or sh*tty, 5 uses of damn, 4 uses of hell, and a use of a**hole. There are also words of Deity like g-d.
Action
As with any Marvel film, there is a lot of action and violence. Thor: Love and Thunder does have a darker tone due to the nature of the villain as he tries to kill all the Gods and kidnaps children into the shadow realm. Some of the action scenes may be too intense for younger kids.
There are scary creatures, some jump scares, and kids trapped in a cage. Also children are required to fight some of the villains. A creature’s head is ripped off in front of children.
There are close up scenes of Gorr’s face which is scary and sometimes there is blood coming from his mouth. Weapons are used like swords, hammers, lightning rods, and axes. A character is stabbed in the throat.
Mature Content
There are some sexual innuendos and talk of an orgy several times and mention how this is not a “nudie festival.”
You’ll see some passionate kisses amongst several characters.
There is also one scene where you see the entire naked backside of Thor, bare behind and all.
Some characters drink alcohol and one gives Stormbreaker his first beer.
A character is sick which may be a trigger to some kids who have loved ones going through the same thing.
A character talks about two male Kronans making a rock baby.
Is Thor: Love and Thunder Appropriate for Kids Under 13?
Thor: Love and Thunder may be too scary for kids due to Gorr the God Butcher and the dark feeling of the Shadow Realm. However, if they’ve seen all the other Marvel movies, then they should be ok watching this one, especially if they’ve seen the Guardians of the Galaxy films.
The one major difference is the naked butt scene in Thor: Love and Thunder, which is not really appropriate for kids. It’s mainly used for comedy, but also totally unnecessary.
Thor: Love and Thunder has a definite Thor: Ragnarok vibe and then some. If lots of comedy in your Marvel films is not your thing, then this film won’t be for you. While tonally it was all over the place, it was nice to balance out some of the heaviness with some lightheartedness. But the humor in Love and Thunder just doesn’t hit as well as in Ragnarok and seems manufactured – insert goats and naked butt.
Sometimes the film would get emotional and and then veer away from the storyline with ridiculous distractions like the goats. I know I’m a party pooper, but those goats were annoying. The emotional elements added another layer to help make it more than just a funny Taika Waititi film. But once you were starting to get into your feelings, bam, something else to distract you.
Thor: Love and Thunder is good, but it’s not great. It’s bizarre and quirky, which doesn’t necessarily equate to bad. Thor: Ragnarok was great, because it was the first of its kind. Phase 4 of the MCU seems to lack cohesiveness and the films feel more like everybody’s doing their own thing. With no singular villain to all fight together, Phase 4 feels like the stakes aren’t as high. I’m sure it’s setting the stage for future battles, but I’m finding it hard to connect to the characters.
I loved Valkyrie, wanted more Darcy, and dug the Valkyrie/Jane supportive female friendship. Whenever Marvel showcases the women, we get magic. And Korg, well Korg can do no wrong. He’s the greatest storyteller since Luis in Ant-Man.
Other moments of magic include the use of bright colors, contrasted with shadows, black and white, and beautiful landscapes.
Christian Bale does an excellent job playing a creepy and revenge-seeking Gorr. He’s frightening, menacing, and could scare anyone. Kudos to the makeup department. However, on his quest to kill all the gods, we also learn that maybe the gods are all really horrible people. Then it turned into a ‘gods stink’ movie.
The soundtrack is really fun, but again, the tone is all over the place. I’m not sure what kind of a movie Thor: Love and Thunder wants to be. It certainly has its moments, but its charm is sometimes overshadowed by its excessiveness. You’ll get a bunch of laughs with Thor: Love and Thunder, but you also get a dose of cynicism that undercuts the spirit of love. The messages of all different kinds of love are certainly there, but the authenticity is questionable.
