You probably know about all the film ratings and what they mean. You likely know that PG stands for parental guidance suggested and that some material may not be suitable for children – which are the actual words.

While many family-friendly movies are rated PG, the rating was not always like that.

Below are some details I noticed about it:

1: It was the equivalent to the PG-13 rating today

Movies such as Grease and Jaws were given the PG rating, probably because kids needed guidance from their parents since those films had mature content. It wasn’t until 1984 that the PG-13 rating was introduced, which means that some content may be inappropriate for children under 13. Material like that often includes profanity, drug and alcohol use, and mild sexual content.

The PG-13 rating was created so that parents could learn more caution about what their kids would see. It was intended to expand its intention where there is content too mature for the PG rating, but not enough for the movies to be rated R.

2: Many PG-rated movies are pretty much the same as G-rated ones

When I was younger, I actually assumed that PG meant all ages. But that is the G rating.

Kid-friendly movies that received the PG rating would include material such as crude humor and mild language (i.e. calling someone a jerk). With G-rated movies, some of that content is included there too. 

For example, many Disney movies have characters call others idiots or losers. 

But a change occurred with the PG rating…

3: During the 2010s, PG-rated movies, including those intended for kids, started including foul language

I was so surprised by this. Yes, even PG-rated movies geared toward younger audiences had some language that you’d think wouldn’t be allowed in any film with a rating less than PG-13.

There are some exceptions where I understand the use of this approach. One is The Incredibles 2 from 2018. It was intended for people who had to wait 14 years after the release of The Incredibles 1. They even had a few cast and crew members explain how it’s difficult to make an animated film and what the steps are. Then they thanked everyone for their patience. This happened when The Incredibles 2 was playing in the movie theaters.

Despite that odd change, there were still plenty of PG-rated movies released in the 2010s and that were pretty much as clean as G-rated movies. But I do feel bad for parents whose kids were younger (and still are). It must have been harder for them to trust the PG rating for their children.

Conclusion

As you can see, the PG rating is versatile. If you are a parent or guardian of younger kids, my advice would be to prescreen some PG-rated movies before letting your children watch them.

Those I would suggest prescreening include:

• The Shrek movies (there is some strong language and innuendos, although the kids will likely not pick up on those)
• Disney Pixar’s Turning Red (It talks a lot about menstruation and puberty as well as includes strong language)

Those that I think don’t need prescreening include:

• Lilo and Stitch
• Inside Out 
• Madagascar

What do you think of my observations? Let me know in the comments if you’d like.