MovieChat Forums > Wizards (1977) Discussion > How was it PG?

How was it PG?

posted 18 years ago by bj_arni
19 replies | jump to latest

When watching the trailers on my Wizards DVD there is a voice that says "Rated PG".

How did he get away with it? The movie features Nazism, Baby killings, Blood, Nipples showing, Actual footage of Adolph Hitler and Nazis, Prostitues, People getting impailed and Demons from hell.

And the film was released in 1977.

Ofcourse it's a great film, but only PG Rated? Wasen't the Power Rangers films rated more then that?

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] harsawa 18 years ago

PG-13 didn't exist then. Also- oddly enough, they weren't as strict. Airplane! and Airplane! II (More this one) had a fair amount of nudity, now adays would probably not even get away with a PG-13, were both rated PG.

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[–] bj_arni 18 years ago

Yeah, that might explain it. Which reminds me, my copy of Trading Places was rated apporved for all ages, though Eddie Murphy is called the N word and there are a bunch of topless women in the film. But I always thought it was only the rating in Iceland. But seeing what movies passed as PG at this time, I wouldin't be suprised if it was also approved for all ages in the US.

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[–] harsawa 18 years ago

According to the IMDB, it was rated "R" in the US.
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Oh my god! You killed Fritz! You yellow stinking fairies killed Fritz!

[–] bj_arni 18 years ago

Then it's only the Icelandic rating.

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[–] MrBloom 18 years ago

but, you know what's really funny? Times have changed and the movie is still rereleased with only a PG rating, despite all of the things you stated... plus, of course, the vulgar language. Maybe just being known as a cult film and being animated let it slip under the radar.
But, really, I'd think that having an animated movie like this is all the more reason to give it a more adult rating. As an adult, I love this movie. But, as a kid, like, 8 or 9 years old, I rented this thinking it would be like Masters of the Universe or some crap... and from the first scene where the Wizard shouts "Damn it!" up to the part where the President gets shot full of holes and there's blood everywhere, it blew my young mind and I had to turn the thing off. lol.

[–] barlowe2003 18 years ago

Yep, I was 9 years old when I first watched it (I was attracted to the fact that it was rated PG, as no animated film I'd seen had been rated anything higher than G), and it blew my mind. I hadn't seen anything like it. There was cussing and violence, and cute cartoon characters that were killed. I think I was too young to be intrigued much by the sexuality (it didn't register in my mind that prostitute faeries were prostitutes), but I noted that it was there.

Since this movie is so much a part of me, I wonder now to what age group it is appropriate. I showed it to my friends and they were shocked that it was only a PG. I think Bakshi intended it to be for kids, but he didn't specify what age group. Is it for teenagers, do you think?

Anyway, I'm glad it was Wizards I saw when I was 9 and not Heavy Metal.

[–] kamisch42 17 years ago

I just saw this for the first time (that I can remember), and...I would think it'd be ok for roughly 9yr olds - depending on their ability to enjoy it. I know some 15yr olds that still wouldn't be able to enjoy it, but I saw Heavy Metal when I was 8 and liked that. It depends on the child...and the parents. The DVD I just bought still says it's PG (out loud anyway, I haven't read the case). In the commentary and interview he keeps mentioning how he was looking for an honest animated film for kids, and making comparisons with Disney, which leads me to believe he was thinking pre-teens, maybe now pre-school, but pre-teens anyway. I don't think nudity would be an issue, since it was only fairies that were naked, and Fantasia featured the same thing. Nazi images wouldn't have been a problem, since they were the bad guys and as long as you're teaching kids to hate Nazis they're ok on film (to 70s censors anyway). Some curse words were ok too, d@mn being used a few times in The Last Unicorn. ratings were just...different then. And I don't know too many movies that have had their ratings changed to meet modern standards, unless maybe if they were being shown on tv, since the tv ratings are a little different.

...that's my two cents anywa!

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] szickelb 16 years ago

The reason "Wizards" or any other movie usually doesn't change its ratings upon re-release (at least in the States) is that they are not required to submit the film back to the MPAA. In fact, studios are under no requirements to EVER submit their films to the MPAA. The reason they do, of course, is because to try to release a movie to the theatre chains w/o an MPAA rating is a guaranteed box office disaster since the chains won't show anything "unrated"

So, when it comes time for a re-release most movies don't bother to get resubmitted for a lighter rating. Besides, "Wizards" would almost certainly be classified PG-13. The only film I can think of that changed its rating when it was re-circulated was "Midnight Cowboy" which went from X to R. Maybe "A Clockwork Orange"?

[–] Camelot_2000 17 years ago

I remember I wanted to see it when I was ten years old, but the movie theater where it was playing had it rated "Adult", so I was unable to. Years later when I rented it from the video store, I noticed it had the PG rating on the box.

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[–] Wolfman316 17 years ago

In NZ when it was originally relased on CBS/FOX video in the 80's it was rated M. I think Wizards has more of a PG-13 feeling than PG. It has a fair bit of violence, battle scenes, nudity and some profanity. I think when WIZARDS is released on DVD in New Zealand, the New Zealand classification board should keep it rated M for violence, some lanauge and nudity.

[–] benbigwig-1 17 years ago

Before PG-13, G generally encompassed what would now be G and PG, and PG was more like today's PG-13.

[–] abyssus999 16 years ago

I am completely shocked that everyone seems so flabbergasted that this film is considered PG then and now. It really throws into sharp relief what a ridiculously puritanical and uptight society this country suffers. Loosen up, America.

[–] jayblue013 16 years ago

I don't think we're shocked from being so "puritanical", since most of us here are saying we liked it... I think we're shocked because today's film board is so uptight that this would end up with a hard R.

And for the record some non-Yanks have ridiculous censorship issues too. Head-butting, anyone?

[–] BalanceOfPower 16 years ago

I see an interesting ironic twist to this conversation.

Wizards was released a few weeks before Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope), which itself was also rated PG -- however, if memory serves me correctly, Star Wars was "threatened" with a G-Rating by the MPAA, a rating George Lucas did not want for his film for fear that older audiences might think it a kiddie film -- therefore he added certain shots to Star Wars in order to bump it up to PG, the dismembered arm in the cantina scene (complete with blood, a technical error/inconsistancy considering later lightsaber wounds are bloodless) and the shot of Luke's aunt and uncle's corpses shortly after he returns to the Tatooine homestead.

I would say that a PG rating was appropriate for the time (since PG-13 did not come into existance for another decade or so later).

Althought the overall tone of Wizards is more adult than that of Star Wars by comparison, it's violence was tasteful and "cartoony" -- we're not talking Saving Private Ryan here folks -- nor was the "nudity" gratuitous. And since the language of the film was rather tame, with the worst offensive word being "son of a bitch" the film was rated at PG.

Perhaps if the language were saltier, or the visuals grittier, say like the movie Heavy Metal it would have definitely been an R-rated film. As it is, the film easily flies well under the R-rated radar and inside the PG-rating standard.

[–] Forgotten_Hero 16 years ago

I think they should have gone ahead and made it R rated. It really wasn't a kid's movie and there were a number of moments where it felt that the film was toned down. Toward the begging, Avatar says "I'm getting too f- old for this." It was quite obvious that he'd originally said "too ****ing old," but that they muted the word out instead. Also, many of the early artwork for Elinore had her completely nude. Over all, it plays out as if they wanted an edgy, yet imaginative, film but then had a change of heart and censored it so that children could watch it (and possibly to avoid Bakshi being labled for his earlier R and X rated work with Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, etc.).

I may be a pervert here, but I'll be honest, I'd like to have seen nude version of Elinore in the film. I also liked the earlier character designs more than those of the finished product. Oh well. There's still Heavy Metal.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Mithrandir-Olorin888 16 years ago

Yep it amazes me as well.

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