# Is the " G " (US) rated movie an endangered or extinct species? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576 "2017-01-19T21:48:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/21 "2017-01-20T16:05:58Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Box Office Mojo and IMDB both list **Secret Life of Pets** as PG. Hmm. The source I checked gave it a “G”, which surprised me. I see that it is rated “G” in Canada, but I wasn’t looking at a Canadian site, and can’t find it right now. Perhaps they changed it before release, possibly by roughing up some language. I haven’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/22 "2017-01-20T17:15:27Z")
> [@bump](#): > > why is “Finding Nemo” G, and “Finding Dory” PG? > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “Finding Nemo” came out in 2003, when the studios were more willing to have a G rating on a family film. I don’t know that that’s quite what the question is. Like, what is it about the content of _Finding Nemo_ that makes it G and that of _Finding Dory_ that makes it PG? The two movies are remarkably similar in content. Or, maybe your answer is an answer, and the rating system is quite arbitrary, so Disney basically tweaked things until they got a PG because it was better for the bottom line. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/23 "2017-01-20T17:36:41Z")
It might also be that the threshold between G and PG has shifted downward, so that only _really_ innocuous (and thus difficult to make interesting for adults) movies are rated G. For instance, I recall (and confirmed at IMDb) that _Star Trek: The Motion(less) Picture_ was rated G, which struck me as surprising given that horrific oopsie with the transporter – my gut feeling is that it would definitely get a PG nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/24 "2017-01-20T18:29:33Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Like, what is it about the content of _Finding Nemo_ that makes it G and that of _Finding Dory_ that makes it PG? The two movies are remarkably similar in content. Comparing the content advisories at IMDb for [_Finding Nemo_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266543/parentalguide) and [_Finding Dory_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2277860/parentalguide) tells me that it was fairly arbitrary. The MPAA system has been bad and arbitrary for years and getting worse. (Even worse than when _This Film Is Not Yet Rated_ came out.) Secondary factors frequently cloud the judgment of the prisses on the review board. Maybe someone didn’t like that the title character was voiced by a lesbian? Who knows. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/25 "2017-01-20T18:58:04Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > It might also be that the threshold between G and PG has shifted downward, so that only _really_ innocuous (and thus difficult to make interesting for adults) movies are rated G. For instance, I recall (and confirmed at IMDb) that _Star Trek: The Motion(less) Picture_ was rated G, which struck me as surprising given that horrific oopsie with the transporter – my gut feeling is that it would definitely get a PG nowadays. When the Robert Wise Director’s Cut was released on DVD in 2001, Paramount resubmitted the to the MPAA, hoping to get what they viewed as a more commercial PG this time. They got it, due to the revamped soundtrack being more “intense”. The MPAA content advisory cites “Violence, Profanity”, both of which were present in the original G-rated theatrical cut. The movie came out when I was in high school, and we wondered how a movie that ends with a guy banging a robot got a G. Our joke was the rating board had all fallen asleep from boredom by that point and didn’t realize what was happening. I remember an interview with John Waters at the time “Hairspray” was released. He claimed to be disappointed to have gotten a PG. He said he had been hoping for a G, as he thought a John Waters-directed G movie was the most subversive thing he could think of. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/26 "2017-01-20T19:41:58Z")
IIRC, the original PLANET OF APES – where a guy is shot and killed, and another is captured and lobotomized, and a third resorts to profanity bordering on blasphemy upon realizing just how awful the situation is – was rated G. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/27 "2017-01-20T20:14:03Z")
The Andromeda Strain was G…with nudity and some grisly imagery. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/28 "2017-01-20T20:30:32Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I don’t know that that’s quite what the question is. > > Like, what is it about the content of _Finding Nemo_ that makes it G and that of _Finding Dory_ that makes it PG? The two movies are remarkably similar in content. > > Or, maybe your answer is an answer, and the rating system is quite arbitrary, so Disney basically tweaked things until they got a PG because it was better for the bottom line. Another factor to consider is that the standards for what constitutes a G and PG rated movie have changed since 2004. For example, the MPAA seems to be more sensitive about scenes that could be too scary or intense for younger children so it gave **Finding Dory** at PG to ward off potential parent complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/29 "2017-01-20T21:01:27Z")
To summarize: The creators (writers, artists, directors, producers, etc) have been realizing that material doesn’t have to be completely watered-down pablum to be suitable for children, while the ratings people have been forgetting the very same thing. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/30 "2017-01-20T21:34:59Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > For example, the MPAA seems to be more sensitive about scenes that could be too scary or intense for younger children so it gave **Finding Dory** at PG to ward off potential parent complaints. Indeed; we took my nephew (who was then 3) to “Finding Nemo,” and several of the more frightening scenes (such as the attack at the beginning, in which Nemo’s mother dies) really scared him, to the point that he was bothered by it for several days afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/31 "2017-01-21T00:30:29Z")
_Ballerina_ is rated U (UK equivalent of G, I think), as is _Sing_. How are they rated in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/32 "2017-01-21T01:03:25Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > _Ballerina_ is rated U (UK equivalent of G, I think), as is _Sing_. How are they rated in the US? _Sing_ is PG for “some rude humor and mild peril”, _Leap!_ (apparently the US title for the film you know as _Ballerina_) is not yet rated in this country. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/33 "2017-01-21T01:19:05Z")
And, yes, that proves the general thesis pretty well: G is dead, long live PG and, for films for a _general_ audience, PG-13. _Sing_ is about as innocuous as a modern movie can be: It’s an old-fashioned musical starring funny animals with a positive, uplifting message and songs they can hear on the radio. If _Sing_ is too much for a G, the rating may as well mean “infant movie” or similar. Further evidence: I am a proud uncle of a three-year-old girl. She loves the movie _Frozen_, has loved it for practically her entire life, and _Frozen_ is rated PG. _ **If a Disney Animated Canon Princess Movie is getting a PG, the G rating is too narrow to apply to any wide-release film.** _ It no longer has a commercial niche, because it can no longer apply to any films a real theater has any commercial business exhibiting. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/34 "2017-01-21T04:26:36Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > And, yes, that proves the general thesis pretty well: G is dead, long live PG and, for films for a _general_ audience, PG-13. _Sing_ is about as innocuous as a modern movie can be: It’s an old-fashioned musical starring funny animals with a positive, uplifting message and songs they can hear on the radio. > > If _Sing_ is too much for a G, the rating may as well mean “infant movie” or similar. > > Further evidence: I am a proud uncle of a three-year-old girl. She loves the movie _Frozen_, has loved it for practically her entire life, and _Frozen_ is rated PG. _ **If a Disney Animated Canon Princess Movie is getting a PG, the G rating is too narrow to apply to any wide-release film.** _ It no longer has a commercial niche, because it can no longer apply to any films a real theater has any commercial business exhibiting. Right, the new ratings: G-for babies PG–very, very minor adult themes. Stuff you would hear in grade school history class. PG-13–for general audiences, but not too much profanity and no more violence than what would be on network TV. R-anything else. The scale has skewed so far down (hell, the movie Airplane! was PG and it showed bare breasts!) as to really be only two meaningful ratings: PG-13 and R. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/35 "2017-01-21T05:03:03Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Nope. Both PG, _God Snot Dead_ for “thematic material, brief violence and an accident scene”, _Miracles from Heaving_ for “thematic material, including accident and medical images”. Gotta draw in the marks with some tasty gore, I imagine. It’s typical for religious movies to get PG anyways. Discussing religion is something that many parents want to be there for. Same idea with smoking. It’s as if they think G means kids see it alone, and PG means a parent has to be with you. When the first movie you have to have an adult with you for is rated R. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/36 "2017-01-21T05:32:11Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > It might also be that the threshold between G and PG has shifted downward, so that only _really_ innocuous (and thus difficult to make interesting for adults) movies are rated G. For instance, I recall (and confirmed at IMDb) that _Star Trek: The Motion(less) Picture_ was rated G, which struck me as surprising given that horrific oopsie with the transporter – my gut feeling is that it would definitely get a PG nowadays. Not only that, but the PG/PG-13 threshold has shifted downward. I remember as a kid, you’d occasionally get a flash of titty or maybe a few “shits” or other bad language, and quite a bit of violence in a PG movie. When was the last time anyone recalls seeing ANY nudity in a PG movie, however fleeting? Or even a PG-13 movie for that matter? It seems to be the exclusive province of R movies now. Same for foul language; I can’t remember hearing much in PG-13 in a long time. Violence seems to be the only thing that distinguishes a PG from a PG-13, and in other ways, the R movies have taken most of the mantle of language and nudity. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/37 "2017-01-21T05:32:54Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > _Sing_ is PG for “some rude humor and mild peril” > [@Derleth](#): > > _Sing_ is about as innocuous as a modern movie can be: It’s an old-fashioned musical starring funny animals with a positive, uplifting message and songs they can hear on the radio. > > If _Sing_ is too much for a G, the rating may as well mean “infant movie” or similar. Question for you or anyone else who has seen the movie: What does its “rude humor” consist of? Things like fart jokes? And, for those who can remember that far back, is that “rude humor” the kind of thing that would have been considered at least mildly shocking or surprising in a kid-friendly movie way back in the 1940s or 50s or 60s? My impression is that our cultural notions of what’s crude and vulgar have changed over the years. Nowadays we have more tolerance for scatological humor and “bad words,” but less tolerance for racial/ethnic stereotypes. But there are still enough people with old-fashioned sensibilities left around that they’re afraid to give a G rating to a movie that has anything that could be considered at all offensive by yesterday _or_ today’s standards, just because someone, somewhere, would be bound to complain. ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/38 "2017-01-21T10:20:20Z")
_Ramona and Beezus_ from 2010 was rated G. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/39 "2017-01-21T14:02:06Z")
If you want to see what movies made the top 200 all time G-rated box office in recent years, click on that IMDb link I [gave](http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic/mpaa.htm?page=G&sort=year&order=DESC&p=.htm) and click on the year column. Breakdown by year: 2016 0\* 2015 2 2014 3 2013 1 2012 3 2011 8 2010 4 2009 7 2008 10 2007 4 2006 8 Yeah, between the shift in ratings standards and studios preferring PG/PG-13, the trend is quite noticeable. - While these are based on release date and some late year release could make the list, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Despite needing only about $11M to make that top 200 list. (Vs. about $85M for PG, $130M for PG-13, $83M for R. The NC-17 list ends at 31 with $15k.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576/40 "2017-01-21T14:56:52Z")
_The Lion King_ had fart jokes, and it was rated G. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-g-us-rated-movie-an-endangered-or-extinct-species/777576.md?page=3)