Is 8-Bit Christmas Ok For Kids? Parent Movie Review
GenX parents will absolutely love the idea of reliving Christmas as a kid in the late 80s. But as one 8-Bit Christmas quote from Jake says, “It was the 80s! Stuff got real.” And that goes as a solid reminder that this movie is rated PG and feels more like an 80s PG than a 2021 PG. Is 8-Bit Christmas Ok for Kids? This parent movie review will help you decide if this movie is safe and kid-friendly for your family.
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About 8-Bit Christmas
How far would you go to score the ultimate gift? Watch the new holiday classic #8BitXmas on November 24 with the whole family, streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
From New Line Cinema and HBO Max comes “8-Bit Christmas,” a humorous and heartfelt look back at the adventures of childhood. Set in suburban Chicago in the late 1980s, the story centers on ten-year-old Jake Doyle’s herculean quest to get the latest and greatest video game system for Christmas.
Watch the 8-Bit Christmas trailer here.
Is 8-Bit Christmas Ok For Kids? Parent Movie Review
8-Bit Christmas is rated PG, which may have some parents asking if this one is safe for their kids.
Honestly, it’s an 80s nostalgia film that feels like an 80s rated PG movie, especially when it comes to language. So keep that in mind!
In this parent movie review and guide, we’ll break down the language, violence, action, and adult content in Encanto 8-Bit Christmas to help you decide if this one is ok for your kids.
Here’s what you need to know to decide if 8-Bit Christmas is kid-friendly for your family!
As always, you know what your kids can handle so this information is simply a guide.
Is 8-Bit Christmas Ok For Kids: Language
This one has a lot of questionable language for a kid’s movie and why we say it feels like an 80s PG vs a 2021 PG movie.
None of it is shocking, exactly, just a lot of unkind name-calling and use of borderline bad words.
In 8-Bit Christmas, you will hear h@ll, d@mn, d@mnit, g-d d@mn, crap, frickin’, sucks, poop, nerd, jerk, idiot, dumb, stupid, and other unkind taunts.
Buttface and shut up are also used.
There’s potty humor including a song and at one point the phrase, “video games make you fat” is said.
Just overall, it may be a more harsh block of language than most kids are hearing in the PG realm of movies these days.
Violence in 8-Bit Christmas
The movie relies heavily on slapstick comedy.
A dad slips and falls on ice for example. There’s a violent barfing scene as well. More gross than anything.
There’s not a lot of violence in the sense of weapons, but there are some questionable moments where injury could occur in real life. Road rage, destruction of property, and an injured animal all occur in the movie.
Bullying is a theme in this one and kids do get into fistfights.
Sex and Nudity in 8-Bit Christmas
Boys talk about a nudie magazine and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, but there is no actual sex or nudity on screen.
One teacher mentions that she should have kept dancing in Vegas, but it’s not explained what kind of dancing that might have been. Younge kids will not clue in on this one.
Parent Loss Trigger Warning
Be aware that if you or a child in your household has lost a parent this year, the end of the movie may impact you significantly.
It is generally a light movie up until the last 10 minutes or so when you can feel all the things, especially if there’s been a recent loss.
What Ages Are Appropriate for 8-Bit Christmas?
We know it sounds like there’s a lot of flags being thrown down in this one, but overall 8-Bit Christmas is safe for kids to watch.
We’d set the age rating at 8 and up, but parents might need to explain a lot of the 80s jokes that are thrown out.
You’ll laugh, the kids may be confused, so it’s a good time to pause and explain how very different things were “way back then!”
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Patty Holliday is a parent movie reviewer, writer, and podcaster living in the Washington, DC area. Her goal is to bridge the gap between casual fandom and picky critic with parent movie and television reviews. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
