Story
Adopted by a vegetarian cat called Sam (Mark Camacho), young mouse Pattie (Sonja Ball) dreams of becoming a heroine like her elderly idol, Jason (Terrence Scammell). It was Jason who led the legendary crew of the Argo on their historic adventures and brought back the Golden Fleece, ensuring the protection, prosperity and perfect unity of all who live within the city. Sam wants nothing more than to keep Pattie safe and close by his side, so he secretly sabotages her chance to travel abroad. However, the fates seem to want Pattie to have a life of adventure. When a splendid statue of Zeus is unveiled, Poseidon (Terrence Scammell) is deeply enraged. He takes the Golden Fleece and demands that they create an equally impressive statue of him, or else the entire town will be wiped off the face of the Earth. Pattie remembers an ancient map with directions to a huge, emerald-shaped trident. With the help of a seagull named Chickos (Whyatt Bowen), she makes sure that Jason sees the map and that he explains his perfect plan to the townspeople. When Chickos sees that Jason and his skeletal crew (who have been brought back from the dead) are not quite as physically fit as they used to be, he asks for Pattie’s help to sail the Argo and save the town. Terrified of losing his daughter, Sam joins the voyage too. The unusual crew face all manner of tests and trials and eventually make it to the island they seek. There they discover that the map they had pinned all their hopes on is nothing more than a Cyclops trick to lure sailors and treasure hunters to their deaths. With time running out, can Pattie and the Argonuts find a way to save their mission and the town, or will they all perish in the process?
Themes
Family breakdown; deceit; bullying and ridicule; settling for less than your dreams
Violence
Argonuts has some violence. For example:
- A character gets stabbed in the foot.
- Poseidon punches his way through a protective barrier to grab the Golden Fleece.
- Poseidon threatens the townspeople with a huge wave towering behind him and tells them that they have 7 days in which to build a statue or he will unleash his fury.
- Rats attack each other.
- A baby kraken grabs the Argo and plays with it like a toy boat. It crushes and damages parts of the ship, all the while a big goober of snot is dangling from its nose. The kraken sneezes, blasting snot everywhere. Sam falls into the snot and then violently vomits all over the boat.
- Pattie hits Sam and shoves him away, telling him that she never wants to see him again.
- A giant, robotic Cyclops throws rocks at the Argo, trying to smash and sink the ship.
- A rat threatens another character with a shard of glass.
- A band of seedy-looking Cyclops attack Jason and the Argonuts, capturing them all and taking them to their camp to be made into soup.
- Mice tie up Sam and pelt him with dried beans.
- Stranded mouselings tell how their family was killed by the Cyclops.
- A Hydra chases Pattie and Chickos, nearly biting Pattie.
- Pattie makes the Hydra run into a mallet and its heads are chopped off, but 4 more soon replace the 2 that were missing.
- Sam is knocked unconscious and captured by the Cyclops.
- A little mouse attacks Pattie.
- A Hydra tries to eat a scorpion.
- A dragon-like creature knocks mice off a bird.
- A Hydra attacks scorpions who try to stab the Hydra. They continue to stab at the heads of the Hydra, severing them repeatedly so that the Hydra is immobilised by the number of heads it grows.
- The Cyclops and scorpions fight, bashing, hitting, punching, smacking etc.
- Cyclops are crushed into the ground by a rogue mechanical Cyclops. The robotic Cyclops then crushes itself with a huge boulder.
- An angry Cyclops tries to attack the crew of the Argo and destroy what is left of the boat. He is turned into a tree by the sunlight.
Sexual references
There are no sexual references in Argonuts.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Argonuts has some substance use. For example, characters drink mugs of beer.
Nudity and sexual activity
Argonuts has some nudity and sexual activity. For example, Sam pulls down the underpants of a Cyclops, exposing the creature’s bottom.
Product placement
There’s no product placement in Argonuts.
Coarse language
Argonuts has some mild coarse language and insults. For example, ‘pipsqueak’, ‘nerd’ and ‘brat’.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Argonuts is an animated adventure, taking familiar aspects of an old story and weaving together a new but predictable plot. The film contains some crude humour featuring Cyclops bottoms, snot and vomit. The movie is not suitable for children under 3 and may lack interest for children over 10. It will be most enjoyed by children under 10 and families looking for something to watch together.
These are the main messages from Argonuts:
- Never give up on your dreams or anything you set out to achieve.
- Believe in yourself even if others don’t.
- By working together you can achieve the impossible.
Values in Argonuts that you could reinforce with your children include teamwork, kindness, helpfulness, ingenuity and determination.
Argonuts could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of the following behaviour:
- Settling for what everyone thinks you should be rather than what you want for yourself.
- Putting others down and ridiculing them.
- Lying or deceiving those you love.