classification of The Chronicles of Narnia

Criteria for Universal classification:
No discriminatory language or behaviour; no references to illegal drugs, unless for a clear educational/ anti-drug purpose; Mild, brief scary sequences with a reassuring outcome; infrequent use of very mild bad language; occasional natural nudity, with no sexual content; no potentially dangerous behaviour or emphasis on easily accessible weapons; mild sexual behaviour eg. kissing; sensitive treatment of thematic issues and mild violence/ threat or menace.

Classification for Parental Guidance:
Discriminatory language/ behaviour is disapproved of, or within an educational/ historical context; any references to illegal drugs must carry an anti-drug message; horror sequences should not be prolonged or intense; no detail of potentially dangerous behaviour or glamorisation of realistic/ easily accessible weapons; mild bad language only; natural nudity, with no sexual content; only implied sexual activity, but discreet and infrequent; moderate violence without detail if justified by context and where more serious issues are featured, nothing in their treatment should condone unacceptable behaviour;

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a classified PG.  We watched Aslan's death and before checking its classification on the internet, we discussed as a group and decided it was rated PG because although it did not contain any drug/sexual/bad language or nudity references there was a lot of prolonged horror and implied violence as well as imitable behaviour.


For example this is a brief emphasis on the Witches Knife, a fairly realistic weapon.


Here is an example of one of the fantasy creatures, which along with the setting is a mitigating factor in the horror. Also below is a shot of most of the evil fantasy creatures, chowing their threatening nature.


Despite the killing towards the end of the clip, this film is still classified a PG as you never explicitly see the point of impact. You only see the shot of the raised knife before:

..and the shot of Aslan's pain after..



Here is shown Aslan being muzzled, which could be seen as imitable behaviour for young children, especially as it is inflicted upon an animal, as opposed to a human. However this could then be argued that this is another reason why it is classified as a PG, in this clip, no violence towards a human is shown.

Overall, we think classifying films according to their content is a practical and necessary idea, which protects the audience and warns them of any "offensive" content so they know what to expect.