Five movies that helped spawn the PG-13 rating
Comingsoon.net is taking a look back at the five films that proved to be the most influential when it comes to the PG-13 rating as we know it. Check out the picks in the gallery below!
For anyone born after 1984, the PG-13 rating has always been there. Superhero movies, big-budget studio comedies, even romantic dramas or period pieces all utilize the rating whenever possible to maximize attendance and earn the highest profits possible. (Believe it or not, PG-13 is not a restriction like R, but rather a suggestion for parents to be present—a common misconception is that anyone under 13 must have a parent with them, but this isn’t actually the case.)
For anyone who attended movies before the mid 80s, the PG-13 rating is a much newer invention. It might be hard for anyone under 35 to imagine the rating between PG and R just disappearing, but this was the reality for many, many years. Thanks to a select few 80s films, the PG-13 rating is here to stay (at least for the foreseeable future).
movies spawned pg13 rating
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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
The moment Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s Indiana Jones sequel depicted a man’s heart getting ripped from his chest, the Motion Picture Association of America knew it was time to create a new rating. The combination of this film and Joe Dante’s Gremlins proved to be deadly, and the PG-13 rating was created.
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Gremlins (1984)
In combination with Spielberg and Lucas’s Indy sequel, Dante’s Gremlins set off alarms for its exploding microwaved Gremlins, among other things. The MPAA couldn’t take it anymore—the PG-13 rating would be slapped on at the next possible opportunity.
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Red Dawn (1984)
As it turns out, that first opportunity came later in ’84. John Milius’s action film Red Dawn would become the epitome of the rating as we know it—more action, violence, and language than a PG movie, but nothing as graphic as an R-rated iteration of the same material.
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Poltergeist (1982)
Before Temple of Doom and Gremlins had the MPAA sweating, films like Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist had them wondering if the PG rating as they knew it had an expiration date. There are some genuinely scary thrills and truly upsetting themes present in this film, but it took a couple more years for anyone to do anything about it.
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Beetlejuice (1988)
Still, even with the implementation of the PG-13 rating, a few films still managed to slip through the cracks. One example is Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, which came four years after Red Dawn but features some F-bombs and other adult content despite its PG rating.
