Parent's Guide

Sure, that reissued Disney cartoon is a safe bet, but otherwise, it's a weird week for kids' entertainment choices. A movie called Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is a suitable babysitter, right? And Radio Flyer, with a plot about child abuse, is way too heavy, right? Not necessarily. The title and ads simply reflect who the studio thinks will like its movie. Our Parents' Guide shows you where marketing and reality split ways.

Movies
The Adventures of the Mouse Detective
What It's About: Basil, the Sherlock Holmes of the Rodentia order, attempts to rescue a little mouse girl's father from evil big cheese Professor Ratigan and save the Royal Micedom in the process.
Will Kids Want to Watch It? Put it this way-Disney knows mice.
MPAA: G.
Sex/Nudity: None.
Drugs: None.
Violence/Scariness: A scary kidnapper, a mouse is fed to a giant cat, a bat kidnaps a girl, knives are thrown in a bar, there's a barroom brawl, Ratigan knocks a crutch out from a handicapped person's grasp, plus slapstick violence among Ratigan's gang of rodents.
Profanity: Zip.
Mature Themes: Logic is a better weapon than guns — a nice counter to your standard action-movie message.

Medicine Man
What It's About: Bad Medicine. Ponytailed Sean Connery discovers a cure for cancer in the Amazon jungle, then loses it. Whiny Lorraine Bracco tries to help him get it back.
Will Kids Want to Watch It? Doubtful; a large machete is necessary to plod through this cinematic jungle. Forcing kids to watch it for the pro-environment message might backfire and make them litterbugs.
MPAA: PG-13
Sex/Nudity: Dozens of exposed female breasts and saronged butts among the natives, Bracco in bra and panties.
Drugs: A caffeine high, Connery and Bracco taking turns getting drunk.
Violence/Scariness: Lorraine gets a bloody lip falling off cliff, there's a scary medicine man dream, Connery fights the medicine man and gets beaten up by road construction goons, there's a major fire.
Profanity: About six words.
Mature Themes: A plea against the destruction of the rain forests; Western-style civilization shouldn't be forced on native peoples.

Radio Flyer
What It's About: A boy's flying fantasy comes to life in this alternately uplifting and harrowing tale of two brothers trying to escape the anger of their abusive stepfather.
Will Kids Want to Watch It? Children will relate to the genuine ''kidness'' of these two brothers and their boundless imagination, but — a major but — parents should be aware and prepared for disturbing scenes of child abuse that are a large part of this film. Handle with extreme care. .
MPAA: PG-13.
Sex/Nudity: None.
Drugs: Several scenes of stepfather getting drunk, which always leads to him beating the younger son.
Violence/Scariness: A kid gets hurt in an attempt to fly on his bike, stepfather hits boy, several other beatings are not shown (though we do see the resulting bruises). Two scary-monster scenes are conjured up by the boys' overactive imaginations; neighborhood kids beat up the brothers; a dog attacks the stepfather twice, followed by a badly hurt and bloodied dog; the stepfather scares kids.
Profanity: About nine obscenities.
Mature Themes: The issue of child abuse, including the complicity of a parent who turns a blind eye, is forcefully and realistically depicted.

This is My Life
What It's About: Apprentice stand-up comic Julie Kavner hits it big, but loses fans at home as her two daughters feel neglected.
Will Kids Want to Watch It? Young teen girls should identify with the daughters, but most of the humor (on stage and off stage) is aimed at adults. Now, if ! kids knew Julie was the voice of Marge Simpson...
MPAA: PG-13.
Sex/Nudity: A lot of talk about sex; an awkwardly real scene of first-time sex between the older daughter and a nerdy boy (no nudity) that might elicit some questions from young viewers.
Drugs: None, though Dan Aykroyd does eat a lot of paper.
Violence/Scariness: None.
Profanity: Just one.
Mature Themes: A working mother's problems in balancing family and career; children's pain at being abandoned by a parent.