What is Avatar rated, and is it OK for kids?

For teens, mostly: it is rated PG-13, with brutal violence and several jump scares.

Avatar (2009)

Film · 2h 42m · Rated PG-13

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A paraplegic Marine navigates an alien world, torn between duty and protecting a vibrant civilization.

Epic and suspenseful. A date-night pick at a brisk pace. Emotionally it is heavy.

Streaming on Disney+.

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Avatar parents guide

The thing to know: brutal violence, more than a PG-13 usually carries. Beyond that, some innuendo or implied sex and mild language.

Our estimate: fine from about 16, higher than the PG-13 suggests, because of the violence.

Scare: Mildly scary; A few tense or eerie moments.
Jump scares: Several; More than a couple of sudden jolts.
Gore: Light gore; Some blood or injury, briefly.
Violence: Brutal violence; Our top level for violence.
Sex and nudity: Mild; Mild means innuendo, or sex implied off screen, with no nudity.
Language: Mild; Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is Avatar scary?: Only a little. Avatar has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.
How gory is Avatar?: Light gore and brutal violence.
What is Avatar rated, and is it OK for kids?: For teens, mostly: it is rated PG-13, with brutal violence and several jump scares.

What is Avatar about?

In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

Bittersweet. It earns its ending, but not everyone gets what they want.