Is this movie appropriate for 8 and 9 year olds?

I think the humor in the shrek movies is a lot more physical and immature than the dialogue and situations in hairspray. I'd say it's okay for kids.
I play cards with J.D. Shelnut, chief of PO-lice! So kiss my ass, you old bastard!

i agree with you but it's a little more than that

here's a cut n paste from the imdb guide:





Sex & Nudity
EditHistory Some songs are suggestive and have sexual references. Some have double meanings, such as winning "Miss Baltimore Crabs" or getting crabs and buying a vehicle or male prostitution. Some dance moves are a bit suggestive, too.

A teenage boy mentions he uses his dance moves to attract the opposite sex. He puts his hands on/near his groin when saying so.

While talking about a female classmate and implying that she fooled around with some football players, a teenager says "I mean, please. Anyone can get grass stains all over her back!"

A woman tries to seduce a man. The man's wife then accuses and cries over thinking he had cheated on her.

A man grabs his wife's rear.

A teenage girl smacks her own rear and says she's a bad girl who needs to be punished.

A few kissing scenes.

A woman is seen in her underwear in the middle of changing clothes.

A teenage girl falsely accuses another girl for drawing a picture of their teacher with breasts, also showing the drawing, with the terms "man boobs" on the paper. It's meant to be comical.

There's a flasher who flashes a few women, however he has clothes under his coat.

After getting together with an African American boy, a Caucasian teenage girl calls herself a "checkerboard chick" and kisses him passionately. She also makes a suggestive comment, "Now I've tasted chocolate, and I'm never going back!"

A married couple sing a romantic song together, and the woman says "Oh, Wilbur..." just as the camera cuts away from them, suggesting that they may be about to do something.

A teenage girl catches the eye of a boy she likes and licks her lollipop seductively while they stare at each other.

A teenage girl on the Corny Collins Show announces that she is going to be gone for nine months, and the host jokingly refers to her as "freewheeling" before winking suggestively to the camera.

References are made to French kissing.

Violence & Gore
EditHistory Mild violence. For example, police officers push and shove African-American people for marching for integration.

There's a harsh, strict mother, who hits and punishes her daughter. She even ties her daughter to her bed and tells her that she is staying there forever. She also throws holy water at her and calls her a devil child three times.

A teenage girl hits a police officer with a sign. Later in the news, the news anchor says that she brutally savaged the police officer.

Profanity
EditHistory 1 anatomical term, 4 mild obscenities, 12 derogatory terms for African-Americans, 5 derogatory terms for weight challenged people, 1 derogatory term for Caucasians, name-calling (bum, wacky, ugly, stupid, crazy, Communist, hefty, harlot, flasher), 6 religious exclamations. A girl almost calls another girl a whore. A boy tells a teacher to "Kiss his ass"

Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking
EditHistory Two pregnant women smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol in a bar scene.

People are shown drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes in a bar scene. One man, in particular, is referred to as a "bum on a bar room stool". He waves to a teenage girl, with his eyes glazed over, and puts his head down on a table, obviously drunk. This is early in the morning.

Several teachers smoke cigarettes in a teachers' lounge at a school, while several teenage girls smoke in a girls' bathroom.

A man offers a cigarette, and someone else offers one to a woman.

Frightening/Intense Scenes
EditHistory There aren't really any particularly frightening or intense scenes. There are, however, certain racial barriers and lines drawn between people that some children may think is wrong.

Michelle Pfeiffer's character tends to be excessively mean, diabolical, and racist toward others. Her daughter, played by Brittany Snow, is the same way.