Remember the Titans: parents' guide
Best for ages 10 and up. Rated PG for thematic elements and some language.
An inspiring, fact-based football drama that works as a family movie for most kids about 10 and up. In 1971 Virginia, a Black coach takes over a newly integrated high school team, and players and townspeople have to get past their prejudice. The PG reflects racial hostility more than anything else: characters use racial slurs, a brick is thrown through the coach's window, and fights break out. A star player is badly hurt in a car crash and left paralyzed, and the story is framed by a funeral. Swearing is mild, and there is nothing sexual beyond a teasing kiss.
What's in it
Violence
ModerateFights in the locker room and a school hallway, a street confrontation that nearly turns into a riot with bottles and smashed windows, and a brick through the coach's front window. A car crash leaves a player hospitalized in bloody bandages. Lots of hard tackles.
Language
ModerateActual swearing is mild, such as 'hell,' but white characters aim racial slurs at Black players and the coach, including 'coon' and 'Sambo,' along with insults like 'sissies' and 'fruitcake.'
Sex and nudity
MildA few dates and some flirting between teens. One player plants a kiss on a teammate's mouth to needle him, which sets off a fight. Boys appear shirtless in the locker room. Nothing sexual.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
MildAlmost none. Someone jokes that a person must be high, and a closing note says a drunk driver later caused a character's death. No drinking or drug use is shown.
Scary or intense scenes
ModerateTense scenes of angry crowds and racist threats, a sudden car crash, and a hospital scene where a teen learns he is paralyzed. The film opens at a funeral, and the death behind it is explained at the end.
Sensitive topics
- Racism
Worth talking about
The players only become a team once they actually get to know each other. Ask your kids how the film shows prejudice being unlearned, and whether it happens that quickly in real life.
On our lists
Similar picks around 10+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, movieguide.org, Wikipedia, the MPA, moviemom.com. 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.