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"FLY AWAY HOME"
(1996) (Anna Paquin, Jeff Daniels) (PG)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Mild Minor Mild Mild Minor
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Minor None Minor None Mild
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Minor None Moderate Moderate Mild


QUICK TAKE:
Children's: A teenager becomes "mother" to a flock of geese and then must learn to fly to lead them on their migration to the south.
PLOT:
Fourteen-year-old Amy Alden (ANNA PAQUIN) must go live with her father Thomas (JEFF DANIELS), a metal sculpture artist, in Ontario, Canada after her mother dies in a car wreck. Depressed at first, her discovery of geese eggs and their subsequent hatching brings her around. The geese imprint on Amy and follow her everywhere, believing she's their mother. Thomas and his girlfriend Susan Barnes (DANA DELANEY) soon discover, however, that without a real goose mother, the geese will never learn how to migrate south for the winter. Being an amateur and experimental aviator, Thomas hatches a plan. He'll teach Amy how to fly and they'll get the geese to follow her to their southerly destination. Soon they take off for their destination in North Carolina and, as word spreads about their mission, Amy and the geese become media celebrities as they near the completion of their mission.
WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Younger kids will, but older kids might think it's too immature for them.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG
For an opening accident scene and some mild language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • ANNA PAQUIN plays the teen who comes out of her depression (over her mother's death) when she finds and takes care of a flock of geese. Other than wearing a nose ring, she has no bad traits.
  • JEFF DANIELS plays the inventor father with no bad traits.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    OUR TAKE: 7 out of 10
    This is a thoroughly enjoyable film that will bring a smile to your face and give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside. Those expecting grand adventure or exciting scenes should look elsewhere as this small film's goal is show Paquin's devotion to her friends, the geese. While there's no doubt that the characters will accomplish their goal, the fun comes from just going along for the ride with them. Paquin is great in her role and Daniels provides an understated performance. We give this one a 7 out of 10.
    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Other than one use of the "s" word, this film could easily have been given a "G" rating. There is the subject of Amy dealing with the death of her mother, and while this isn't forgotten, it's glossed over as the story changes its focus. There's mild drinking and one very brief discussion of Susan occasionally "living" at Thomas' house, but that'll go over most kids' heads. While some kids will fidget in several scenes, they'll enjoy all of the ones featuring the baby geese as they interact with Paquin. As always, you should read through the category listings, but there's little to object to here.

    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Amy's uncle drinks a beer.
  • The family has wine on two occasions.
  • A TV anchor states that anyone who's still on their two martini lunch may give that up forever (if they had just seen Amy and the geese fly through downtown Baltimore).
  • BLOOD/ GORE
  • Amy has a little blood on her when seen in the hospital after the car wreck.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • The local game warden tries to do his job of clipping the wings of the geese (following state law) but later confiscates (ie. steals) the geese from the Alden farm.
  • The family then breaks the geese out of game warden's cages and begin their trip (with Thomas briefly lamenting that he's turned his daughter into a criminal).
  • FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES
  • There is a car wreck (the car swerves to avoid a truck and rolls down an embankment) that takes the life of Amy's mother, but it's played out in almost a dream fashion with only a song heard playing on the soundtrack (no scary music or sounds of the crash) -- but there are some point of view visuals of being inside the car as it rolls and the windshield shatters.
  • Thomas, Susan and Uncle Dave rush out of the house at night, yelling Amy's name as they search for her (but the audience knows where she is -- in the barn with the geese).
  • Amy takes the plane by herself (before knowing how to use it) and lifts off from the ground and then crashes. Thomas rushes to her and thinks she's dead, but it turns out she isn't hurt.
  • Igor, a lame goose, is accidentally hit by Amy's plane and falls back to the ground (and is later found roughed up, but okay).
  • Amy and Thomas get picked up on radar at a military base that scrambles its fighters to determine who the intruders are. But nothing comes of this other than some dramatic music and later all turns out well as the base welcomes the family (and the geese).
  • Hunters shoot at flocks of geese (including Amy's) as they fly over (but none are seen being hit).
  • Thomas' plane has mechanical problems and it goes out of control and he crashes into a cornfield. Amy lands and rushes to him, finding him with a dislocated shoulder, but other than that, he's relatively okay.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Hunting Rifles: Used by hunters to shoot at the geese as they fly over.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Amy gets a nose ring (ie. An earring through the nose).
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • Just a few scenes have dramatic music that some younger kids may find tense.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • 1 "s" word, 1 ass, 1 hell and 6 uses of "Oh God," and 1 use each of "God damn" and "God" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Amy asks Susan (upon meeting her for the first time) if she also lives there (her father's house) and Susan says "Yes, sometimes," implying that she sleeps over.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Amy's mother is killed and she must go and live with her father whom she barely knows. She's depressed and feels isolated, but the discovery of the baby geese brings her out of her doldrums and soon she grows close to her father.
  • Amy and her dad briefly discuss why he and her mother broke up (it wasn't nasty and both admitted they were at fault and the only reason given is that they were both artists and it's hard for two artists to get along and be married).
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Losing a parent.
  • The responsibility of taking care of pets.
  • VIOLENCE
  • Amy's mother is killed in a car wreck when they swerve to miss hitting a truck. Their car tumbles down an embankment (no death or injury is seen).
  • Bulldozers tear down trees (without permission) on property near the Alden farm.
  • A professional wrestler (seen on TV) slams his opponent down onto his head.
  • As the game warden tries to render a goose flightless (by clipping its wing), Amy hits him on the head several times with a metal bowl. Thomas then rushes the guy out and forcibly removes him from his property.
  • Igor, the lame goose, is accidentally hit by Amy's plane and falls back to the ground (and is later found roughed up, but okay).
  • Hunters shoot at flocks of geese (including Amy's) as they fly over (but none are seen being hit).



  • Reviewed September 8, 1996

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