PG (MPA)

A PG-rated film, in the United States, means people of all ages are admitted, but parental guidance is suggested for children. Parents should decide if the children should see the movie or recommend parental guidance. Films with this rating can have some violence, mild language, and brief nudity. It means: Parental Guidance Suggested - Some Material May Not Be Suitable for Children (some sources may usually say 10+).

The rating was introduced in 1972, replacing the GP rating that was introduced in 1970, which in turn replaced the M rating (introduced in 1968). The rating was subtitled Some Material May Not Be Suitable for Pre-Teenagers from 1972-1977.

Fantastic Planet was the first animated movie to be rated PG, Antz is the first computer-animated film to be rated PG, while The Black Cauldron is the first Disney animated film to also receive the rating. And Also Secret of NIMH was the first family animated movie to receive this rating.

Equivalent to: TV Parental Guidelines's TV-Y7-FV and TV-PG and ESRB's E10+.

Factors[]

(Before 1984, there was no PG-13 rating, so material that would likely be PG-13 today may be PG before then)

Violence[]

The violence allowed in a PG rated movie is usually mild but can be stronger if unrealistic or comedic^[1]. If weapons are used, they are usually unrealistic, but if realistic firearms are used, they are used infrequently and bullet impacts to characters are not shown. There are usually no blood, wounds or realistic deaths on-screen.

Bloody or disturbing images should not be detailed or lingered on.

Action or peril, if it includes violence, the violence should be unrealistic and characters are not actually harmed.

Horror should not cause extreme fear or anxiety, like heart-stopping jump scares, intense peril or disturbing images.

Sexual violence/assault is not permitted; only limited discreet non-visual references (e.g., Conclave, Leave No Trace).

Sexual content[]

There could be some innuendo, double entendre, or discreet implied sex. Nudity is allowed, but it must be brief and in a non-sexual context. Sight of female breasts should be justified by context. Genitalia is normally not allowed to be shown with a PG.

An example of brief nudity in a PG-rated movie can be Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania due to Griffin being naked. Another example is Brave which features a scene where the bare buttocks of Fergus and his army are shown when they are locked out of a castle.

Language[]

PG is the lowest rating that allows profanity (usually mild); G formerly allowed very mild terms like "damn" and "hell." Use of words such as "sh*t," "b*tch," "bastard," and "a*s" are allowed but they will not be frequent. There may be infrequent and non-sexual uses of milder sexual terms such as "d*ck."

Use of crude gestures is not allowed unless censored or implied. It can also be referenced.

Examples of recent PG films that contain moderate profanity include The Long Game, You Gotta Believe and Piece by Piece. Strong, sexual words like "f**k" or "c**t" are not allowed in a PG-rated motion picture, but the first can be featured if censored or implied.

Racial slurs like the N-word are usually not allowed, but if they are allowed to be used, but only in an educational or historical context (e.g. Disney's Glory Road). Any other use will get at least a PG-13.

One case of profanity is The Transformers: The Movie, when Spike says, "Oh sh*t! What are we going to do now?". A few PG-rated films up until the '80s included uncensored usage of "f*ck," most notably Spaceballs, All the President's Men, and Sixteen Candles, which came out in 1984. One PG rated documentary film, Red Army, included a single usage of "c*cksucker".

Drug use[]

There could be some brief and/or mild drug non-visual references, but actual use or sight of illegal drugs is not allowed.

Tobacco use or alcohol abuse should be brief and/or infrequent (unless in a historical context or negatively presented), not used by minors (unless negatively presented), and not a main focus of any of the characters (unless negatively presented) or glamorized.

PG is also the lowest rating to allow tobacco use, ever since 2007 when the MPA changed its rules to have smoking as a classifiable element. However, a lot of films that show smoking (mostly old Disney films) are allowed to keep their G ratings because they were made before 2007.

Themes[]

There could be some mature themes such as death, bereavement, bullying, disease, disaster, etc. However, these will not be particularly disturbing or upsetting, or elicit a strong sense of anxiety with some danger.

There could also be some rude humor or material.

Suicide may be briefly mentioned or discussed without detail and is not the focus of the movie.

Trivia[]

The only film produced by Screen Gems to receive a PG rating is the 2005 Christian drama film The Gospel (2005) as the rest of their films are rated either PG-13 or R.
The first 3D computer-animated film to get a PG rating is Antz.
The first Disney movie to get a PG rating is The Black Hole (1979); however. The Black Cauldron (1985) is the first Walt Disney Animation Studios movie to receive that rating.
The Incredibles (2004) is the first Pixar movie to be rated PG.
Outland is officially rated R; however, a PG certificate appears at the end of the film. This can be seen on the original rental-only VHS and Betamax release from Warner Home Video.