Twisters get you in a spin? Check out our list of other disaster-based movies with age ratings from U to 15
From tsunamis to earthquakes to hurricanes, disasters can bring a range of emotions to the big screen. To mark the release of the new Twisters film, we’ve curated a list of thrilling disaster movies. Check out our age ratings and content advice below.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 (2013)
mild threat, rude humour and very mild language
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 is a fantasy animation sequel in which a young scientist learns that his food making machine is creating live food monsters and he must return home with his friends to save the world.
threat and horror
There are scenes of mild threat in a fantasy adventure context. In one scene, an orangutan scientist approaches a strawberry character, flicking open a knife with brief sight of the blade in close shot. The blade resembles a scientific tool. She wants to cut open the strawberry character to retrieve a USB stick. However the strawberry excretes a pile of jam from fear and inside the jam is the USB stick. There are also scenes of the main characters being chased by food monsters, such as cheeseburger spiders, but these are brief moments which provide a sense of adventure. The characters are almost always together and help each other as part of a team. There is a scene in which all the main characters are tied up and lowered towards a grinding machine, but they are rescued before coming to harm.
language
The rude humour includes a policeman farting when cutting through a cheese cobweb, a cheeseburger spider burping after swallowing the villain, and references to stretchy underpants that are 'wedgy-proof'. There is a use of very mild language when a character says 'oh crappo' when her friends are attacked by robot agents. There are also various references to a 'BS USB' stick or 'Bifurcating Systematic Universal Stop Button'. Adults may interpret use of 'BS' to mean 'bullshit', but the language itself is not used.
Suzume (2022)
mild threat, bloody images, language, upsetting scenes, sex references
A teenager has the power to stop real world disasters in this Japanese fantasy animation. It tackles a child's experience of the death of a parent, and very young viewers may be overwhelmed by passages of threat and action.
threat and horror
The teenager and her companion race against time to prevent natural disasters, by battling with fantastical columns of energy. At one point, the fate of Tokyo hangs in the balance, but each disaster is averted. There are regular scenes in which small earthquakes strike, but never causing damage or injury.
language
There is infrequent use of mild bad language ('crap', 'piss'), as well as other terms such as 'damn', 'hell' and 'OMG'.
sex
A scene takes place in a Japanese hostess bar, but this is portrayed discreetly. There is a reference to a man being a 'playboy', as well as other infrequent moments of rude humour and innuendo.
injury detail
There are infrequent bloody images indicative of minor injuries which are not shown on screen.
alcohol and smoking
An adult character smokes cigarettes.
theme
A teenager's grief for her mother, who died in a tsunami when she was a little girl, is a theme of the film. There are upsetting scenes when she recalls the day of the disaster - including scenes in which the little girl weepingly searches for her mother - but there is no visual depiction of the tsunami on screen.
Twisters (2024)
moderate threat, injury detail
A talented meteorologist with a tragic past joins forces with a charismatic storm chaser amid an increasingly erratic tornado outbreak in this US disaster sequel. Comic interludes reduce the impact of intense storm scenes.
threat and horror
People are swept away by powerful winds as tornadoes rapidly approach, resulting in their implied off-screen deaths. A tornado tears through an industrial plant, causing a large explosion. People narrowly avoid getting hit by falling vehicles and debris. Panicked civilians, including children, desperately seek shelter from an intense tornado. However, there is a focus on characters' bravery and resourcefulness throughout.
language
Mild bad language ('screwed', 'ass', 'asshole', 'shit') is accompanied by even milder terms such as 'God', 'damn' and 'hell'.
sex
A person comically tells a rival character to "blow [him]".
injury detail
A woman is shown with a large bloody gash across her thigh and a blood-stained face in the aftermath of a tornado.
theme
There are infrequent very mild upsetting scenes relating to bereavement. However, the theme is dealt with sensitively.
flashing/flickering lights
This work contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.
Geostorm (2017)
intense action disaster scenes, moderate violence
Geostorm is a US disaster movie in which a number of malfunctioning climate control satellites threaten to unleash a series of global environmental catastrophes.
violence
Moderate violence includes punches to the face and undetailed shootings. In one scene a man is pushed into the path of a speeding car.
threat and horror
There are frequent scenes of intense action and moderate threat as people face a variety of natural disasters, including tornadoes, tsunamis and extreme cold weather fronts. The disasters result in buildings collapsing, roads cracking open and spewing out molten lava, an aeroplane crashing and people being overwhelmed by a tsunami. There are scenes of panic and chaos, together with the occasional undetailed death. For example, several people are frozen to death as they run along a beach.
Other issues include mild bad language, including uses of 'asshole', 'bastard', 'bullshit', 'pissed', 'shit' and 'son-of-a-bitch'.
San Andreas (2015)
moderate threat, infrequent moderate injury detail, implied strong language
SAN ANDREAS is a disaster movie in which strong earthquakes strike the western United States.
threat and horror
People's lives are endangered when a series of earthquakes causes buildings to collapse and vehicles to crash.
language
A man refers to an object as a 'heavy mother--', but immediately cuts himself off. Milder terms include 'FUBAR', 'ass' and 'damn'.
injury detail
After a man falls into lava there is a brief image of his melting skull sinking under the surface. We see raw, red marks on a man's face after a helicopter crash, as well as blood dripping from a woman's nose.
The Impossible (2012)
natural disaster scenes, moderate injury detail and brief nudity
threat and horror
The tsunami breaks over the beach and holiday resort in which the family are staying. Although people and property are seen being washed away, there is little graphic detail. A woman and her son are seen struggling in the water before being reunited during a distressing scene, and later the woman relives the experience when she is anaesthetised before an operation. During the flashback, she sinks through bloody water and there is brief sight of floating corpses.
injury detail
Injury detail includes a woman's bloody leg wound and a deep cut under her breast. There are also scenes showing a woman in hospital vomiting as the person in the next bed briefly vomits blood. There is sight of bleeding and injured tsunami victims, although there is no emphasis on injuries or blood as the camera is often moving or the scenes are filmed in long-shot rather than close-up.
nudity
There is brief natural nudity, including a dazed and naked man wandering down a road and a naked woman's corpse. There is also brief sight of a woman's exposed breast after she has been injured and her dress is dislodged.
There are scenes showing distressed or bereaved people, which some viewers will find upsetting. There is also infrequent very mild bad language ('hell').
2012 (2008)
sustained moderate threat and one use of strong language
threat and horror
There are earthquake, tsunami and building collapse sequences. An unconscious pilot is seen to have a bloody injury to his arm and blood on his face. A character is seen to have a bloody gash on his leg. A scene in the film shows people clinging to the sides of a collapsing building. There is an assassination sequence, in which a car is blown up and crashes.
language
There is infrequent strong language ('f**k').
The Day After Tomorrow (2003)
extended scenes of peril
When the Earth enters a new Ice Age, a scientist races to save his son from the extreme climate weather hitting New York. Scenes of climate-related disaster may be upsetting for younger viewers.
threat and horror
There are frequent scenes of moderate threat when characters attempt to flea from various natural disasters. There is also a scene in which characters are attacked by a group of wolves, as well as brief sight of man freezing to death.
Language is mild with uses of 'bastard' and 'bullshit'.
Greenland (2020)
brief strong violence, threat
GREENLAND is a US thriller in which a family race to find shelter when a world-ending event is imminent.
violence
Scenes include shootings, fistfights, and a sequence in which a hammer is embedded in a man's head, although bloody detail is minimal throughout.
threat and horror
Scenes include people fleeing explosions, falling debris, and armed gunmen. There is also a kidnapping scene in which a mother and child are separated.
There is infrequent strong language ('f**k') and milder terms including 'shit' and 'pissed'.
The Wave (2015)
strong threat, natural disaster scenes
A geologist fights against the forces of nature when a mountain pass collapses and causes a tsunami. Realistic scenes showing a natural disaster are prolonged and intense and may upset younger viewers.
threat and horror
There are scenes of strong threat as a tsunami overwhelms a town. Characters are thrown around inside a car as the water sweeps the vehicle away and others are chased by a wall of water down long corridors. These scenes of threat are intense and extended. There are also scenes showing the aftermath of the natural disaster with bodies left lying around in ruined buildings and cars. One man finds a bus full of dead bodies still strapped in their seats, including a young child.
Other issues include a single use of strong language ('f**k'). Milder bad language includes uses of 'shit', 'screwed' and 'dammit'. There are some scenes of violence including a man being held underwater to stop him attacking another man.