The Starving Games is a PG-13 parody that trades the genuine stakes of Panem for a relentless stream of fart jokes, slapstick violence, and pop culture references that were already stale by the time the movie hit theaters in 2013. It isn't "mature" in a way that challenges a kid; it’s just crude, lazy, and—honestly—pretty boring for anyone who appreciates actual humor.
The Starving Games is a low-budget spoof of The Hunger Games that leans heavily into gross-out gags and dated celebrity cameos (think: Psy, LMFAO, and The Expendables). While the PG-13 rating is technically accurate for the suggestive dialogue and cartoonish violence, the quality is bottom-tier. If your family wants a laugh, you’re much better off with a self-aware hit like The LEGO Batman Movie or the classic sci-fi satire of Galaxy Quest.
If you’ve ever seen Scary Movie, Epic Movie, or Meet the Spartans, you know exactly what you’re getting here. Directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer have a very specific, very profitable formula: take a massive cultural phenomenon, find a lead actress who looks vaguely like the protagonist, and then spend 80 minutes hitting characters in the crotch and referencing whatever was trending on Twitter two years prior.
In this version, Katniss becomes "Kantmiss Evershot," and the life-or-death struggle for survival is replaced by a quest for a ham sandwich. It’s the kind of movie a kid might click on because the thumbnail looks like The Hunger Games, but they’ll likely realize within ten minutes that the "jokes" are just a series of "remember this thing?" moments.
To understand why this movie is a hard skip for most intentional families, you have to look at what it considers "funny." We aren’t talking about clever satire or biting social commentary. We’re talking about:
The "Sexual" Humor (That Isn't Actually Sexy)
The movie is obsessed with low-level sexual innuendo. There are jokes about breast size, suggestive eating, and characters making "sexy" faces at the camera. It’s not graphic—there’s no actual nudity—but it’s the kind of humor that feels like it was written by a middle-schooler who just discovered what a double entendre is. For a kid who is actually a fan of the The Hunger Games books, this stuff usually lands as "cringe" rather than "edgy."
Slapstick and Gross-Outs
The violence is wall-to-wall but entirely cartoonish. People get hit by logs, blown up, and crushed, but it’s played for laughs with over-the-top sound effects. The bigger "ick" factor comes from the gross-out humor: bird droppings, projectile vomiting, and an inexplicable amount of flatulence. If your kid is in that phase where a well-timed fart is the height of comedy, they might chuckle, but for everyone else, it’s a slog.
The "Dated" Problem
Parody movies age like milk. The Starving Games relies on cameos from "celebrities" like the cast of Jersey Shore, references to Angry Birds, and a dance-off featuring a "Gangnam Style" lookalike. For a kid watching in 2026, these aren't even references—they’re ancient history. The movie loses its only selling point (relevance) the second the cultural zeitgeist moves on.
If your kid is looking for something that pokes fun at tropes or doesn't take itself too seriously, there are dozens of options that are actually, well, good. You don't have to settle for bottom-of-the-barrel spoofs.
This is how you do a parody. It’s a deep dive into Batman lore that manages to be hilarious for kids and genuinely smart for adults. It satirizes the "brooding hero" trope without needing to resort to a single fart joke.
While not a direct parody of one franchise, this movie is a masterclass in modern, fast-paced humor. It understands internet culture and "meme" energy far better than any Friedberg/Seltzer movie ever could, and it actually has a heart.
The gold standard for parodies. It lovingly sends up Star Trek and fandom culture while telling a story that actually stands on its own. It’s PG, it’s brilliant, and it has aged perfectly.
If your kid likes the "self-aware" vibe—where the movie knows it’s a movie—this is the peak. It mocks superhero origins while being the best superhero origin story of the last decade.
If your kid has already seen it (or is begging to), you don't need to treat it like a radioactive event. It's just a bad movie. Use it as a chance to talk about media literacy and the difference between a "spoof" and "satire."
The Pro-Tip: Ask them, "What is this movie actually making fun of?" Usually, they'll realize it isn't making a point about The Hunger Games—it's just wearing its clothes. Compare it to something like Airplane! or even a well-made YouTube parody. Helping them see the "seams" in lazy writing is a superpower that will help them filter out junk content for the rest of their lives.
Q: Is The Starving Games okay for a 10-year-old? Technically, it’s PG-13, but the "maturity" is very low. It’s mostly fart jokes and mild sexual innuendo. Most 10-year-olds will find the references dated and the humor repetitive. It’s not "dangerous," just a waste of 80 minutes.
Q: How much violence is in The Starving Games? It’s constant but cartoonish. Think Looney Tunes with real people. There’s no gore or "scary" tension like in the actual Hunger Games movie. Characters "die" in silly ways and often pop back up for a joke later.
Q: Does it have a lot of swearing? It has the standard PG-13 "flavoring"—words like "hell," "damn," and "ass"—but it relies more on crude situations and suggestive dialogue than actual profanity.
Q: Is it better if you’ve seen The Hunger Games? The movie is a beat-for-beat "re-telling" of the first Hunger Games film, so you won't understand the structure without it. However, seeing the original usually makes this version feel worse because you realize how much of the tension and character development was stripped away for the sake of a joke about The Avengers.
The Starving Games is the cinematic equivalent of a gas station snack: it’s cheap, it’s mostly air, and you’ll probably feel a little gross afterward. There is so much incredible, funny, and smart media out there that doesn't talk down to its audience. Skip the lazy spoofs and go for something that actually earns its laughs.
- Check out our best movies for kids list for comedies that actually hold up.
- If they want more Panem, stick to the source material with The Hunger Games book guide.
- Get a personalized movie recommendation from our chatbot
