Hollywood’s remake of Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita’s 1984 cult classic The Karate Kid is under fire from an Australian children’s group, which argues that the movie is too violent for a young audience.

The Australian Council on Children and the Media wants the blockbuster remake — which stars Jaden Smith and martial arts legend Jackie Chan — given a higher classification because of the brutality of some scenes.

The remake should have been given an “M” rating — which in Australia indicates that a film is no recommended for those under the age of 15 — rather than the lower “PG” of parental guidance rating it currently totes, says the council’s vice-president Elizabeth Handsley. Handsley is urging parents to exercise caution when allowing their kids to see The Karate Kid.

“Strong violence by a sympathetic character with little or no consequences is shown,” Hadley explains. “The movie presents violence as a solution to bullying, which is absolutely wrong… Just because your 12 year old can watch the movie, doesn’t quite mean that your eight year old can too. It might be very inappropriate. No one’s saying that it’s a bad movie, but that doesn’t mean that it’s appropriate for little kids.”

Council Board member and child psychologist Dr. C. Glenn Cupit concurs, chiming in: “The violence is quite brutal and of an adult type. It is inflicted by children on other children. It’s young children doing the bashing up. Further, the violence inflicted does not show real-life outcomes of serious kicking and punching… a young audience may not appreciate what will surely result if they copy that violence.”