Up poster

Is Up OK for a 6 Year Old?

Up (2009) · the answer, age by age

Written by FilmScout, reviewed by Ben Fedyniak · Updated September 8, 2026

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40

ScoutScore · MILD

For most 6 year olds, Up is a yes, and the scene parents actually need to prepare for is not the one with the villain. It scores 40 on the ScoutScore, in the Mild tier, and most of that comes from Charles Muntz, who sets a house on fire, sics armed dogs on a boy, and falls to his death at the end. The wordless opening montage, which moves through marriage, loss, and grief in a few minutes, carries more emotional weight than any of it and is the part that tends to catch parents off guard.

A ScoutScore is a living number. We re-check movies against the source and raise or lower it when we find something the first pass missed, so a score you see today can differ from one you saw last month.

Age by age

Under 6 DEPENDS

The opening montage is sad rather than scary, and most small kids move past it faster than their parents do. Muntz's dogs and the fire beneath the house are the moments that genuinely frighten this age.

Ages 6 to 8 LIKELY FINE

The target age. The villain's menace reads as adventure-story danger, and the ending reward, Carl finally letting go, lands as intended, with Russell's earnestness keeping the tone warm even during the chase scenes.

Ages 9 to 11 LIKELY FINE

Easy, and the opening montage starts to land as the emotional centerpiece it is meant to be rather than just a sad scene to get through.

Ages 12 and up LIKELY FINE

Nothing to manage. Frequently rewatched at this age for the opening alone, and old enough now to appreciate what the whole house-and-balloons metaphor is actually doing.

By the year

The same verdicts, by the exact age you are asking about.

4 year old	DEPENDS	The opening montage is sad rather than scary, and most small kids move past it faster than their parents do.
5 year old	DEPENDS	The opening montage is sad rather than scary, and most small kids move past it faster than their parents do.
6 year old	LIKELY FINE	The target age.
7 year old	LIKELY FINE	The target age.
8 year old	LIKELY FINE	The target age.
9 year old	LIKELY FINE	Easy, and the opening montage starts to land as the emotional centerpiece it is meant to be rather than just a sad scene to get through.
10 year old	LIKELY FINE	Easy, and the opening montage starts to land as the emotional centerpiece it is meant to be rather than just a sad scene to get through.
11 year old	LIKELY FINE	Easy, and the opening montage starts to land as the emotional centerpiece it is meant to be rather than just a sad scene to get through.
12 year old	LIKELY FINE	Nothing to manage.
13 year old	LIKELY FINE	Nothing to manage.

Where the big moments land

The three scenes below are the villain's escalation, from the fire beneath the house to the airship rescue to his fall. Together they run about twenty minutes and are best watched in one sitting rather than paused.

1:06:36	Mute	Muntz captures Kevin and sets fire beneath the house
1:19:40	Mute	Airship battle - Carl and Dug rescue Russell and Kevin
1:23:54	Mute	Muntz falls to his death

These three are a sample. The full scene map, and live alerts that arrive before each scene while you watch, are in the FilmScout app.

This guide tells you before. The app tells you during.

Every scene above is timed. The FilmScout app listens to the movie and taps you 30 seconds before each one, so you can skip it, mute it, or talk it through. Free to start on iPhone.

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The bottom line

Up is a house carried by grief and helium alike, and the wordless opening does more to a parent than anything that follows. Say yes at six, and know the balloons are the easy part; the montage is the one to be ready for.

Content map

How this movie's flagged content divides up. These are shares of what was flagged here, not a level: a movie with very little flagged content can still be 80% one kind.

Violence and action with scary and dark.

Scary and dark	33%
Violence and action	49%
Language and substances	0%
Mature themes	18%
All flagged content	100%

Direction is the kind of content. Reach is the ScoutScore, which is how much there is: green at the centre, yellow, orange, then red at the edge.

Scout every scene in the app.
Up mapped moment by moment, with alerts that follow along while you watch.

Full scene report for Up

More age guides

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Is Frozen OK for a 5 year old?

Every age guide

Quoting this page? Writers, bloggers, and fellow parents are welcome to quote these verdicts with credit to FilmScout and a link back here. Scores change as movies are rescored, so please link rather than hardcode a number. Boilerplate and assets are in the press kit.

ScoutScores are FilmScout's own scene by scene analysis and change as the catalog is rescored. These verdicts describe how movies tend to land by age. You know your family; the final call is always yours. FilmScout is independent and is not affiliated with, licensed by, or endorsed by any studio or ratings board.

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