The addition of the PG-13 rating

Before July 1, 1984, there was a minor trend of cinema straddling the PG and R ratings (per MPAA records of appeals to its decisions in the early 1980s), suggesting a needed middle ground. One such movie was Watership Down, released in early 1978. Although animated, there was very explicit violence, but what made the film alarming was that the targets of the violence were rabbits. This led to a preconceived notion among the public that this film was for kids; however, it certainly was too violent (but it was given the equivalent of a G rating by the BBFC despite the violence being no bloodier than films rated 12 today). Also, Disney's PG-rated Dragonslayer (1981, distributed by Paramount Pictures in the USA) alarmed parents with explicit fantasy violence and blood-letting. In summer of 1982, Poltergeist (1982) was re-rated PG on appeal, although originally rated R for strong supernatural violence and marijuana-smoking parents.

Because of such successful appeals, based upon artistic intent, many mild, mainstream movies were rated PG instead of R because of only some thematically necessary strong cursing, e.g. Tootsie, Terms of Endearment, Sixteen Candles, and Footloose. These censorship reversals were consequence, in large measure, of the 1970s precedent established by All the President's Men.[8] Had these movies been released after 1984, they likely would have been rated PG-13 because of their content.
In 1984, explicit violence in the PG-rated films Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins were "the straws that broke the parents' backs". Their complaints led Hollywood figure Steven Spielberg, director of Temple of Doom and producer of Gremlins, to suggest a new rating, PG-14, to MPAA president Jack Valenti. Instead, on conferring with cinema owners, Valenti and the MPAA on July 1, 1984, introduced the PG-13 rating, allowing in children under 13 years of age without a parent or an adult guardian, but warning parents about potentially shocking violence, cursing, and mature subject matter that may be inappropriate for children under 13; though weaker than an R rating, PG-13 is the strongest unrestricted rating. The first widely distributed PG-13 movie was Red Dawn (1984), followed by Dreamscape (1984), and The Flamingo Kid (1984), although The Flamingo Kid was the first film so rated by the board.[9][10]
It took a year for the PG-13 logotype to metamorphose to its current form, as noted below.