The Lion King : How did this get a G-rating?

How did this get a G-rating?

I was like 3 or 4 when this came out but I remember that Mufassa`s death was traumatizing for me lol. I remember my mom was a little annoyed that they would allow a scene like that in a move for kids. Now almost all animated movies get a PG rating. Like even Frozen has a PG rating and none of the stuff in that film is as intense as this film. Were ratings just way more lax in the 90`s?

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Yes they were, but kids back then were emotionally tougher, I mean you take a look at 'The Animals of Farthing Wood', and remember, that was a kids series then.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Not everybody. In fact IIRC, most of the original animals (besides Badger and Mole or whatever their names were) who reached the park survived, it was their kids and grand-kids who took the brunt of it. None of that matters though, because the pertinent point is not the who, it's the fact that there were on-screen deaths in a children's series.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

The fact is, it was considered a kids series in the early 90s (at least in Britain, and over here in NZ), and yet on-screen deaths definitely were present, so I think it's a case of values dissonance regarding ratings.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Yep, we were much tougher back then.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?


Yes they were, but kids back then were emotionally tougher, I mean you take a look at 'The Animals of Farthing Wood', and remember, that was a kids series then.

Oh yeah, I rememeber the brutal and bloody violence of "The Animals of Farthing Wood". And there was a lot of it. And it was actually shown in a prime time for kids shows here in Norway.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I think all Disney movies have something in them that makes them PG more than a G/U. Probably why the House of Mouse is gunning for PG ratings more now, reaches a wider audience but they still don't contain anything too emotionally intense.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

They were also keen back then to do what they could to avoid the PG rating because the total box-office and critical flop, The Black Cauldron.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Check out this link and the PDF at the bottom of it for full clarification. Although the UK ratings are different to the US ones, the UK's 'U' (Universal) rating is the same as 'G' in the US.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/lion-king

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Mufasa's death is definitely a very sad scene. But really, lots of Disney movies have things that are sad, and even disturbing. Examples:
1. Lampwick turning into a donkey in "Pinocchio." *shudders*
2. Mrs. Jumbo being constrained and locked up in "Dumbo," and when she's holding and swinging him in her trunk during the song "Baby Mine."
3. Basically the whole plot of "Sleeping Beauty." Speaking of which, Maleficent would be my arch-enemy if I was a superheroine. Just felt like sharing that. LOL

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Animated films were darker back then. But that was common. No one thought it was to scary or anything. Family and children's stories had that darkness in them.

I miss that. These days parents are so easily offended, so PC and so afraid of the dark that it's ridiculous.
It's OK to show darkness and be a bit scared, it's only good for you.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I agree that, say what you want about lax ratings way back when, but they ruled! Certainly more than the Mother *beep* A$$hole$ we know them as now!!! Yep, they're no longer a Motion Picture Association anymore!!!! *beep* nauseating!!!!!

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Your first two examples really made an impact on me.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?


1. Lampwick turning into a donkey in "Pinocchio." *shudders*
2. Mrs. Jumbo being constrained and locked up in "Dumbo," and when she's holding and swinging him in her trunk during the song "Baby Mine."
3. Basically the whole plot of "Sleeping Beauty." Speaking of which, Maleficent would be my arch-enemy if I was a superheroine. Just felt like sharing that. LOL

I'm sorry if I sound condescending, but there are way more disturbing examples.

"Snow White" has it's fair share of darkness, as Snow's escape to the scary woods, the old hag and what the Queen acutally intends to do to Snow.

I was never traumatized by the donkey transformation in "Pinocchio". But "Pinocchio" does have some disturbing scenes indeed. As when Stromboli demonstrates what's going to happen to Pinocchio when he's captured.

And what about Bambi's mom? And not only that, but the demise of the dead bird in the final climax?

"Sleeping Beauty" can be fairly dark at times and let's not forget that we see the sword in dragon-Malificent's breast with blood.

And while there are various examples which we could rant about forever, but what about our friend "Hunchback"? We actually sees how Frollo kills Quasimodo's mother by pushing her to the stairs. And what about Frollo's sexual harassment of Esmeralda? And how the harasses Quasi, especially in the climax? And "Hellfire"?

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I suspect Disney had more clout and thus ability to bribe back then ;).

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

The answer is a lot simpler than some think. Those thinking it was because "we" were tougher then or films were "darker", get over yourselves. The simple answer is we live in an age of PC whiners and the ratings board had to adjust appropriately.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Even Gaston's death in Beauty and The Beast was a little like "Whoa they went there".

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Well, what's acceptable for kids to see now is ridiculous. Cough in a movie and it's too violent. It's probably a combination of over-protective parents and the media not wanting to offend anyone.

Plus, the MPAA is pretty corrupt.

It's funny, because while everything else on TV and in the movies can push the bubble of what is allowed on TV, the exact opposite is happening for kids' entertainment. Movies are rated PG for *beep* like "brief mild smoking" (no joke) and what was G just 10 years ago is now stronger PG.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

How did The Hunchback of Notre Dame get a G rating is what I'm wondering.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Mufasa's death was sad, but wasn't tragic enough for a higher rating.

All we see is him falling off the Cliff and lying there lifeless.

There is no blood or him hitting the pavement, or else there would be a higher rating.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?


How did The Hunchback of Notre Dame get a G rating is what I'm wondering.

I'm baffled by this myself.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is PG, yet Hunchback of Notre Dame is G? Crazy! LOL

RIP
Bon Scott
1946-1980

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Live Action films are hardly ever G. I remember one that I think was about African wildlife that was rated G, and that's it.

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The sun is shining... but the ice is slippery.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Seeing as how Mrs. Doubtfire is a family film but has a PG-13 rating, maybe Roger Rabbit could've been PG-13, but all the same, a PG rating was just as fitting. I believe Disney might've done Roger Rabbit and Nightmare Before Christmas under the Touchstone banner so they could get PG ratings as opposed to G ratings without there being a risk of them becoming box office flops like The Black Cauldron. EDIT: As I've mentioned before, Disney thought Nightmare Before Christmas would be too scary for children (I didn't see it until recently, 4 years ago to be exact) and Roger Rabbit, while it was a family film, had some naughty moments even if those said naughty moment would probably go over most children's heads, kind of like the adult innuendos in Rocko's Modern Life. Our generation grew up watching Rocko's Modern Life, but I can't see today's parents letting their children watching it since it has some dirty jokes.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

The Prince of Egypt got a PG rating, so Hunchback of Notre Dame definitely deserved a PG rating, especially since it was adapted from an adult novel.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I personally wonder why Disney did not do Hunchback of Notre Dame under the Touchstone Banner. As I said in another post, it was based on an adult novel so it would've made better sense. I mean, Disney has never tried to adapt Les Miserables, not even under the Touchstone banner per se. I also wonder if Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol should've been under the Touchstone Banner? Not because it was PG because plenty of children/Disney films were getting PG ratings by then, but because of how dark and creepy it was. Especially when compared to other versions of A Christmas Carol. Then again, maybe the Jim Carrey/Robert Zemeckis version of A Christmas Carol was under the Touchstone banner and I just forgot it was, but at the moment, I don't believe it was, because after all, it failed at the box office not only because it carried the Disney banner and because of how scary it was for children but also because it came out only a week after Halloween and not everyone wants to see a Christmas movie right after Halloween.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I imagine that had Disney not adapted Hunchback of Notre Dame (which as I've said before was an odd choice for Disney to adapt; Not saying it was bad, just not my favorite per se), I could've seen DreamWorks adapting it since they did The Prince of Egypt and quite frankly, it would've been more fitting for DreamWorks to adapt Hunchback than for Disney since DreamWorks tends to be more edgy than Disney. Hence why they didn't seem to have any reservations about Prince of Egypt getting a PG rating.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?


I imagine that had Disney not adapted Hunchback of Notre Dame (which as I've said before was an odd choice for Disney to adapt; Not saying it was bad, just not my favorite per se), I could've seen DreamWorks adapting it since they did The Prince of Egypt and quite frankly, it would've been more fitting for DreamWorks to adapt Hunchback than for Disney since DreamWorks tends to be more edgy than Disney. Hence why they didn't seem to have any reservations about Prince of Egypt getting a PG rating.

Perhaps. Still I doubt DreamWorks would've been completely faithful to the source material and would've added some kid elements. But DreamWork adapting Hunchback in the 90's is not completely implausible.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Back when DreamWorks was doing traditionally animated films, maybe they could have done Hunchback of Notre Dame if they were able to beat Disney to it or if Disney just plain never did it. They didn't take that many liberties with Prince of Egypt other than omitting Moses' sons and making him younger when he returns to Egypt after being in exile. There might've been more changes, but I forget. Of course, once DreamWorks got so caught up in milking every dollar out of the Shrek brand and started only doing CGI animated films, you can safely say there was no way they'd do their take on Hunchback of Notre Dame had Disney never done it.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

There is one simple reason: Disney didn't want another PG for an animated film after the public shunned their (criminally underrated) 1985 film, The Black Cauldron. I don't know about The Lion King here, but The Great Mouse Detective, Hunchback, and Mulan all received PGs originally and only got Gs on appeal.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

The MPAA system were less districting back then. Violent films were rated lower, though several critics ranted about that in reviews.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I'm surprised that Tarzan was rated G. That should have been rated PG. There were guns and some blood in that movie. I thought Rated G movies can't contain any violence at all! Even if the violence is really mild and contain no blood at all.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I'd say it's borderline PG. This website says it should have been PG-13 -

http://www.capalert.com/capreports/lionking_the.htm

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

The alternate ending was even more dark.

http://hellogiggles.com/lion-king-almost-ended-dark/

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I have read many reviews on different movies that have been produced by Disney and Pixar a more recent was Brother Bear (dont ask) and a lot of people seem to have concerns about death being allowed in movies that were meant for kids.

Were these movies meant just for kids? maybe, but there is also a lot of humor in certain Disney movies that require a more seasoned view on life if that makes sense. I agree that ratings have changed a lot since the 90's I mean i grew up in the 90's watching all of these movies and was surprised to go back and look at their ratings. However i think that just has to deal with people trying to be too politically correct and overprotecting others.

BAD things happen in life and even if Disney is showing death in some of their movies at least they try and include positive messages and life lessons.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Basically all animated kids movies of that time were getting G-ratings. G-rated kids movies today are about as rare as Halley's Comet.


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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I assume the same reason why the rest of the Disney movies got a G rating of the 80's and 90's. We are now in a different age then it was in the 90's, when Lion King came out only one Disney animated movie got a PG rating, The Black Caludron. And now Disney animated feature films are getting PG rating pretty much all the time now. The next Disney animated movie to get a PG rating didn't come until after 2000. Assuming so look at all the rest of the Disney films from the 90's, they all carry a G rating

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Come to think of it, the Back To The Future trilogy was only PG, but they all had a lot of S bombs and they said a hole when they felt like it. I miss the old MPPA. They weren't as fussy back in the day.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I also just remembered, I believe both Land Before Time and All Dogs Go To Heaven both needed to get edited so they could justify a G rating. The Land Before Time had footage that was cut because it was deemed too upsetting for children and because of the edits, it ended up being only an hour long. In All Dogs Go To Heaven, when Carface gets Charlie drunk (how did that make it into a G film?) and kills him with a car, Charlie's body is seen getting thrown into the ocean but that part was cut. Also Carface and Killer were originally suppose to shoot at Charlie and Anne Marie with a machine gun, but it was changed to a ray gun. Then you had Charlie's nightmare of being in Hell. It was originally a lot scarier than it already was in the final version. Lastly, they utter the word Damn in Secret of NIMH, not to mention, the entire atmosphere was quite dark. Yet it got a G rating. That's what I like about Don Bluth films, I enjoy how dark his golden age films were. Nevermind Rock A Doodle or Troll In Central Park, I enjoyed Land Before Time, Secret of Nimh, An American Tail, and All Dogs Go To Heaven. I know some people didn't like All Dogs, but I enjoyed it. It really scared me as a kid

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I guess so and animated movies are different today then it was in the 90's, suppose if the Lion King came out today it would have a PG rating I would imagine since just about all of them do now a days.

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

For some reason, I think Who Framed Roger Rabbit didn't need a PG-13 rating and it was fine with it's PG rating. It may not have been a children's film, but it is a family film. It wasn't all out offensive like South Park, Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or Game of Thrones to name a few and it's nothing like any of Ralph Bakshi's films such as Fritz The Cat. In a related note, Bakshi's Lord of the Rings could've justified a PG-13 rating.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

^ Bakshi's Lord of the Rings predate the PG-13 rating :/

Re: How did this get a G-rating?

I must've forgotten that. I just remembered that Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was criticized for being too dark for children and that's why we got the PG-13 rating to begin with. I believe Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was PG-13.

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?

Bakshi's Lord of the Rings was not a children's film, right? This may be a dumb question, but his other two fantasy films Wizards and Fire and Ice were not meant for children. Especially Fire and Ice since it depicted a scantly clad woman wearing hardly any clothes and having huge breasts

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Re: How did this get a G-rating?


How did this get a G-rating?


Disney.
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