AIBU at the word bollocks being used in Clifford the Big Red Dog?

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

As per the title. I watched this in the cinema with my 6 and 9 year olds. I knew it was a PG and checked to see if it was suitable on common sense media as well as googling reviews, after previously making a mistake thinking Ghostbusters was okay (I didn't realise it had loads of swearing!). Nothing was mentioned at all on there. No other googling brought up this either. I know bollocks is hardly hugely offensive, but as I have an SEN 9 year old, who has great difficulties with impulse control, I am careful over what he sees. Swearing and violence is something we actively avoid.
Anyway, AIBU to think that I should have been able to find that information beforehand?
Also, is it even necessary?! It is used in a scene where Jack Whitehall says (in an American accent) "You see, if I hadn’t moved here when I was two, I would’ve grown up with a British accent. Bollocks. Rubbish. Collywobbles". I don't even know why it was necessary, but there you go!

@reallyalurker

The linguistic blog Separated by a Common Language had it as UK to US word of the year in 2012, with speculation that Americans think it just means "nonsense" and don't realise the actual meaning. Of course Jack Whitehall would know it though.

I agree with this. I'm in the US originally from Ireland. My firm opened an office in Dublin. All the americans loved going over there. Was sitting in my office with a guy who had worked there for a month or two in a specialist role and he used the word bollocks to me. I was really taken aback. It wasn't the kind of firm where anyone used any bad language at all. very New England, very polite. I think the people in the Dublin office told him it was like saying "gosh" . To me it isn't particularly profane but I think of it as meaning "balls" so if I wouldn't use balls I wouldn't use bollocks.

mind you there was a company near us in Cambridge MA called "Metabollix" which I found hilarious.

I still have a childish giggle re one of the walks I used to take along the canal near where I used to live - finished up at Bow Locks 😂

Bollocks is ‘mild language’ in my opinion. But it is unacceptable in a child’s film.

The yanks don't really recognise "bollocks" as a swear word. Same as "wanker" and even "bloody" in some areas.

The fact that Clifford was a PG at all is pretty surprising. Thought they would have just edited it out to get a lower classification.

I had a humorous time once when a Swedish former colleague of mine with excellent English got the words "buggering" and "bugging" mixed up! When a senior manager corrected him politely and told him what the words meant you could see each time he had used it at work flashing before his eyes!

The BBFC website is very useful for checking precisely what you’re going to encounter in films - describes why they have particular ratings, specifies words that are used and particular scenes etc.

Here’s the page for Clifford TBRD:
www.bbfc.co.uk/release/clifford-the-big-red-dog-film-qxnzzxq6vlgtmta2ntq0ma

Under “ratings info” it specifies eg “ Mild bad language includes of uses of 'bloody', 'bollocks', 'ass' …..”

Yanbu. The word was really awkward in the scene and felt completely inconsistent with the rest of the (very sweet and innocent) film. It felt like someone had insisted that the word be shoved into the script.

How can we teach children not to swear when film directors are shoving bad language into films for no reason at all?

Still, not as bad as the original Star Wars film with its dead bodies, severed likb and robot torture. I know several children who had nightmares after watching Star Wars.

And don’t even get me started on the Harry Potter films. In JK Rowling’s wonderful book Harry faints and as he fades away he vaguely hears a scream. So how was I supposed to know that the film version would show us the bad guy’s face in close up as he burns to ash?

Problem is lots of the people involved in film making haven’t had children yet and they just don’t get it.

@SoniaFouler

Jack Whitehall has form for this. YANBU.

Did he direct it then?

No need for bollocks in a kid's film.

I don't even consider bollocks to be a remotely rude word