Last night, I stumbled across an Erik phanfic on Wattpad. In the intro, the author stated that they wrote the fic based on the 2004 move, which they expressed they dislike. Now BrendaDaaeDestler, if you are reading this, please don't get upset. If you do, please calm down. Let me explain why this user, who I will not put in the hot seat by revealing their handle, dislikes the movie and why I disagree with their reasons.

1) Christine, a female character under the age of 18 (therefore a minor in some countries), is "oversexualized." Examples of oversexualizing women in the media include wearing sexualized and/or revealing clothing, casting beautiful, skinny actresses in roles, female characters speaking and/or singing a fewer number of lines than male characters, and a male character being in love with a female character or romantically attracted to her mainly because of her physical beauty.

For me, over-sexualization happens when a female character wears sexualized/revealing clothing and/or a male character is in love with a female character or is romantically attracted to her primarily because of her physical beauty.

Casting a skinny, beautiful actress is not necessarily over-sexualization nor is a female character having a fewer number of spoken or sung lines than male characters. After all, the female character could be a supporting character. Filmmakers don't just cast actors on the basis of looks, but also acting and vocal chops (and sometimes because they're so famous or they're relatively unknown).

While the producers partly casted Emmy Rossum because she was young, beautiful, and skinny and Christine did wear costumes with revealing necklines and a ballet costume that showed too much skin, Christine was only a little bit hypersexualized on the grounds of the revealing costumes. I don't compare my body or physical appearance to that of Emmy Rossum's. I just think she's a beautiful lady who is very talented and a wonderful Christine Daaé. However, keep in mind that the Phantom was in love with Christine because of her voice and the beauty in her soul. Raoul was in love with her because he knew her since they were kids.

2) The filmmakers lowered Christine's age "for no reason."

I highly doubt the filmmakers lowered Christine's age down to 16 just for the heck of it. They had their reasons for doing it. Otherwise, they wouldn't have done it.

3) The Phantom groomed her from the time she was 7 years old.

Ok, this is a part of the movie that's open to interpretation. My interpretation is that he just started to give her lessons and wanted to be a friend to another lonely person when she was 7. When she was 7-14, I think his love for her was fatherly and mentorly. When she was 15, I think that's when he developed a romantic love for her. So no, I don't think he started grooming her when she was 7.