November 1, 1968-January 21, 1970
Bumper: On a blue background, we see the yellow words "THE MOTION PICTURE CODE AND RATING ADMINISTRATION Has Rated This Motion Picture". Below it is one of four ratings, all in a square unless otherwise noted:
- G: Suggested for General Audiences
- M: Suggested for Mature Audiences
- R: Restricted
- X: Persons Under 16 Not Admitted (in a circle)
Variations:
- On some trailers, the text and rating symbol/initials appear white rather than yellow.
- Some trailers have the bumper appear in different colors. (i.e. The G bumper was seen in white text on a green background; and the R bumper was seen in red text on a black background.)
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: None (except for the loud announcer of the film's rating on The Girl on a Motorcycle).
Availability: Extremely rare. It can be seen on MPAA-rated films in the rating system's infancy and can also be seen on trailers from the period, including True Grit, The Wild Bunch, and The Girl on a Motorcycle. The G bumper appears at the start of the Magnetic Video release of Hello, Dolly! and at the end of the 1969 reissue trailer for One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which is seen on the 2008 DVD release. The M bumper appears in yellow-on-blue at the end of the Magnetic Video release of The Only Game in Town. Look for it on 35mm screenings of films.
Scare Factor: None, though the announcer on The Girl on a Motorcycle trailer may startle those used to these rating cards being silent.
1970-1971
Bumper: Same as the first bumper, except the ratings are shown (and in different fonts, namely for the rating initials, i.e. GP):
- G: All Ages Admitted, General Audiences
- GP: ALL AGES ADMITTED, Parental Guidance Suggested
- R: RESTRICTED, Under 17 requires accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian
- X (in a square): No one under 17 (later 18) admitted.
Also, the background's black and the "Motion Picture Association of America" text and the line below the text don't appear under the MPAA logo. The rating box/initials are in color too.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Extremely rare. Look for it on 35mm screenings of films. The X version appears at the end of the Machete trailer on Planet Terror, as part of Grindhouse.
Scare Factor: None.
January 25, 1970-1982, March 6, 1987, December 6, 1991, September 7, 2012
Bumper: On a blue background, we see a white stripe. Above that stripe, we see the words "THE MOTION PICTURE CODE AND RATING ADMINISTRATION HAS RATED THIS MOTION PICTURE". On the stripe we see the following words and rating, depending on the film:
- General Audiences: G
- Parental Guidance: GP (1971-1972); PG (1972-1982)
- Restricted: R
- No One Under 17: X (the X is in a circle and the text below reads "NO ONE UNDER 17 ADMITTED" and below that "AGE LIMIT MAY VARY IN CERTAIN AREAS". The MPAA logo and text are omitted, and "THE MOTION PICTURE CODE AND RATING ADMINISTRATION HAS RATED THIS MOTION PICTURE" is replaced with "THIS MOTION PICTURE HAS BEEN RATED".)
- GP (full meaning: All Ages Admitted: Parental Guidance Suggested) was used during the early years of this card.
Trivia:
- The cover to the Queens of the Stone Age album R is inspired by the 1970 R bumper.
- In the middle of the 1981 Paramount comedy-horror film Student Bodies, the film suddenly cuts to a scene featuring a long zoom-in on a man discussing that the film doesn't have enough features to warrant an R rating (i.e.: nudity, profanity, violence), despite proven research that "R-rated films are by far the most popular with the movie-going public". He then closes the scene by giving one of the very few examples of the film's R rating (and one of the very few profanities spoken in the film) by stating that "the producers of this motion picture have asked me to take this opportunity to say..." and then swearing. After he says this, the film cuts to the 1970 R bumper, then resumes as normal.
Variations: On occasion, the words "This PREVIEW has been Approved by the Motion Picture Association of America for General Audiences." is shown on top of the bumper. The rating/initals, text and MPAA logo may appear in the center rather than to the right.
FX/SFX: None, if you don't want to count the film scratches and shakiness on some films.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Rare. Can be seen on some Disney videos, most notoriously during the Neon Mickey era. Also at the end of the film itself on the 1998 VHS of Taxi Driver and at the start of some prints of the theatrical version of Angel Heart, including the 1989 IVE VHS. An MCA/Universal VHS of Dead Reckoning (1990) shows this screen after the MTE logo. Can also be seen at the end of a 1966 trailer (which is most likely an anachronism) for The Ten Commandments on its 2004 DVD, as well as at the end of MCA/Universal's demo tape of At Play in the Fields of the Lord. It recently appeared at the end of the IMAX version of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It can appear on DVD on many pre-1984 films released by Universal (restored on most releases). It was also shown in theatres during this era. Look for it on 35mm screenings of films.
Scare Factor: None.
1974-present
Bumper: On a blue background, we see the words "THIS MOTION PICTURE HAS BEEN RATED". In a white square, either one of their ratings will be seen, along with the MPAA logo:
- General Audiences: G
- Parental Guidance: PG
- Parents Strongly Cautioned: PG-13 (Introduced in 1984)
- Restricted: R
- No One Under 17: X (1974-1990) NC-17 (1990-present)
On the bottom of the rating are the words "BY THE CODE AND RATING ADMINISTRATION". It was renamed "CLASSIFICATION AND RATING ADMINISTRATION" in late spring 1982.
Variations:
- Starting in 2004, the films feature the URLs for www.filmratings.com and www.mpaa.org.
- On red band movie trailers from 1974-1982, the bumper was on a red background.
- The text and rating symbol/initials fonts varied from 1974-1982. Also, the earlier PG text said "PRE-TEENAGERS" instead of "CHILDREN" and the earlier PG-13 text said "Parents Are Strongly Cautioned to Give Special Guidance for Attendance of Children Under 13. Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Young Children" instead of "PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED/SOME MATERIAL MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13."
- 20th century fox used a variation only on their VHS tapes from 2002-2006 where it showed a bigger version of the bumper. However for the PG-13 version contains an error that the rectangle says restricted instead of parents strongly cautioned.
- Paramount also had their own variation used from 2000-present it's the same bumper at the time but on a black background instead of the usual blue and at the bottom it says "For more information on the film ratings go to www.filmratings.org".
- Sony Pictures also used their own version of the bumper used from 2002-2013 and similar to Paramount's it was originally on a black background but in 2004 it wasput on ablue background and there's no text on the top or bottom.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Common. The 1974-1982 versions was used in tandem with the third bumper. Seen on many post-1984 Universal films on their DVDs. Even after the 5th bumper was introduced, this one still appears in theatres at the end of newer releases. Only pre-2013 Disney DVD/Blu-ray releases don't use this screen (perhaps because the Rating symbol and the box already appear on the back of the cover). The PG version surprisingly appeared at the end of the UK DVD release of Ice Age. Look for it on 35mm screenings of films, such as Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and The Sixth Sense. However, the PG version was strangely spotted on a VHS of Swimfan instead of the PG-13 version.
Scare Factor: None.
2013-present
Bumper: Same as the fourth bumper, except the rating symbols/boxes are redesigned (rating initals still appear in their original font) and the text font is different. It also shows the complete film rating description on the right of the rating box.
Variant: On Universal Studios Home Entertainment releases, such as Despicable Me 2 and Jobs, the rating symbol, the MPAA logo, and all the text have a drop shadow effect.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Current. Seen on Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases such as The Smurfs 2, Grown Ups 2, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment releases such as Turbo, and Universal Studios Home Entertainment releases on DVD and Blu-ray. This also appears at the end of a few odd theatrical releases, such as Pompeii (from TriStar Pictures). Again, this doesn't appear on post-2013 Disney DVD/Blu-ray releases.
Scare Factor: None.