The Natural (1984) Parents Guide: Is the movie OK for kids?

Bontent's parent guide suggests The Natural is best for ages 12+. It's rated PG. Overall: A naturally gifted baseball player's career is derailed by a tragic encounter — and he returns 16 years later for one last chance. Robert Redford. PG rating is appropriate — a mythic baseball fable.

The Natural is officially rated PG. Bontent's independent parent guide recommends it for ages 12+.

Overall: A naturally gifted baseball player's career is derailed by a tragic encounter — and he returns 16 years later for one last chance. Robert Redford. PG rating is appropriate — a mythic baseball fable.

There is no actual nudity or sexual activity depicted throughout the film. Some scenes include romantic tension and suggestive flirting, but the content remains wholesome and firmly within the bounds of its period-piece PG rating. The focus remains on the…

A woman shoots Roy — the film's central wound. A man shot in the final game. Classic Hollywood restraint.

The film contains infrequent use of mild profanity and period-appropriate slurs that are consistent with a PG rating from the mid-1980s. Viewers will hear a few instances of mild expletives used during moments of frustration or heated sports-related tension…

There is no significant depiction of drug use or alcohol abuse in the story. While minor background details may reflect the social habits of the 1920s and 30s, such as occasional social drinking or tobacco use by secondary characters, it is never a focal…

Baseball as American mythology — the film treats the game as something sacred. Roy Hobbs as an Arthurian figure. Randy Newman's score is one of cinema's most beautiful. The ending's transcendence is earned through everything that comes before it.

The Natural runs 138 minutes, directed by Barry Levinson, released in 1984.

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