Avatar: parents' guide
Best for ages 13 and up. Rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking.
A sweeping sci-fi adventure that suits families with young teens who can sit through long stretches of warfare. A paralyzed Marine piloting an alien body on the moon Pandora joins the native Na'vi and ends up fighting the human company out to strip their land. Expect big battles with many deaths, a Na'vi father dying in front of his daughter, a romance that leads to an implied mating scene, about a dozen s-words, and a scientist who smokes often. Blood is limited, but the destruction of the Na'vi home and the 162-minute running time are intense. Age 13 matches the battles, language and sensuality.
What's in it
Violence
ModerateLong battles with gunships, missiles and arrows kill many humans and Na'vi. Arrows pierce pilots, soldiers are thrown to their deaths, creatures are shot or burned, and the bombing of the Na'vi home tree crushes many. Little blood.
Language
ModerateAbout a dozen s-words plus bitch, bastard, ass, hell, piss, a few crude words for male anatomy and roughly ten misuses of God's name. Soldiers call the Na'vi savages, roaches and blue monkeys, and the hero is mocked as a cripple. No f-words.
Sex and nudity
ModerateThe Na'vi wear loincloths and little else, and the women's tops barely cover their breasts. Two characters appear nude with vines wrapped over them. The lead couple kiss and touch in a scene that implies they mate, with nothing explicit shown. Two crude jokes.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateA lead scientist smokes cigarettes in several scenes and also drinks; the film treats the smoking as part of her tough charm. No drunkenness or drug use.
Scary or intense scenes
ModerateNighttime attacks by snarling wolf-like predators, a huge panther-like beast chasing the hero, and the burning collapse of the Na'vi home tree are intense. A Na'vi chief dies in front of his daughter, and several sympathetic characters are killed.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a parent
- Animal death
- Racism
Worth talking about
Talk about why the human company treats the Na'vi as an obstacle rather than as people, and what the film says about taking land and resources from others.
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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, the MPA, moviemom.com, movieguide.org. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.