The movie that broke the rating system
If you’re looking at the PG rating on the box and thinking this is a safe bet for a family movie night with a seven-year-old, don't. In 1984, the gap between a "Parental Guidance" movie and an "R" movie was a canyon, and Temple of Doom is the movie that fell straight into it. After parents complained about the heart-ripping, the child slavery, and the general mean-spiritedness of this sequel, the industry had to pivot.
This is the literal origin story of why we have a PG-13 movie rating. By today’s standards, this is a hard PG-13. It lacks the breezy, "Saturday morning serial" energy of Raiders of the Lost Ark and swaps it for something much sweatier and more claustrophobic. If your kid is just starting to explore Harrison Ford’s adventure films, this is the one where the "fun" feels the most like work.
The Short Round paradox
The best thing about this movie for a younger audience is Short Round. He isn't just a sidekick; he’s often the most competent person on screen. While Indy is being brainwashed or getting beaten up, Short Round is the one picking locks, driving cars (with blocks on his feet), and staged-managing the escape.
For a kid viewer, seeing an 11-year-old rescue the legendary Indiana Jones is electric. It provides a hook that the other films in the franchise don't have. However, that high is balanced by the low of seeing other children in chains. The film’s focus on child labor and ritualistic abuse is heavy. It’s not just "cartoon" violence. It’s a thematic darkness that can be a lot to process, even if the good guys eventually win.
Handling the "cringe" banquet and cult tropes
You’re going to hit a wall about 45 minutes in with the infamous palace dinner scene. Between the chilled monkey brains and the "snake surprise," it’s a masterclass in 1980s "othering." It frames Indian culture as a grotesque monolith of bugs and gore.
When you hit these scenes, it’s worth a pause. You can use it as a way to talk about when classic movies have problematic moments and how filmmakers used to rely on lazy stereotypes to make an audience feel uneasy. Most kids will recognize that the scene is trying to be "gross," but they might need the context that this isn't a reflection of real people or real history.
How it stacks up
If your kid is obsessed with the new Indiana Jones games or the 2026 streaming revival, they’ll eventually want to check this off the list. Just know that while the Metacritic score sits at a 57—reflecting a lot of critic frustration with the tone—the audience scores are much higher. Fans love the technical craft of the mine cart chase and the rope bridge finale, which are still some of the best practical action sequences ever filmed.
Watch this one last. Start with Raiders, move to Last Crusade, and if they are still begging for more whip-cracking action and can handle a literal descent into hell, then put this on. Just maybe skip the dinner scene.
