U stands for 'Universal', meaning the film, video or DVD is suitable for anyone. Examples include Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang and The Princess & the Frog.
PG stands for 'Parental Guidance', which means that some parts of the film might not be ideal for younger children. Parents ought to think carefully before letting them watch. Examples of PG films are How to Train Your Dragon and Tooth Fairy.
12 is now only ever seen on videos and DVDs. As with the 12A, it tells parents that the content is best suited for those aged 12 and above. Examples, both of which were certified 12A for cinema, includeIron Man 2 and Avatar.
12A is only for films released at the cinema. It tells parents that the film is best suited for those aged 12 and above. Parents can take along under 12s if they choose, so long as they go with them! Examples include Iron Man 2 and Avatar.
15 means that the film, video or DVD is really only suitable for those aged 15 or above. Only people aged 15 or older are allowed to view a 15 rated film at the cinema or buy or rent a 15 rated DVD, video or game.
18 means that the film, video or DVD is only suitable for adults (people aged eighteen or over). Only adults are allowed to view an 18 rated film at the cinema or rent or buy an 18 rated video, DVD or game.
Swallow Falls' sardine canning factory closes and the townsfolk are in trouble until Flint Lockwood invents a device that turns water into food. However, when it's turned on, it goes flying into the sky and the town is besieged by cheeseburger and spaghetti weather.
'Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs' is an animated film for children about a young inventor creating a machine that makes food fall from the sky. The film contains one use of mild language and scenes of mild comic threat.
The mild language occurs as one character utters the phrase 'holy crap balls' after being surprised by a gang of man-sized, moving roasted chickens. There is quite a lot of background noise in the scene so the phrase is only partially audible and it was felt that within the context of a highly comic film about unlikely situations such an expression of surprise would not cause undue offence.
The film contains several scenes which are not really scary but put some of the main characters into situations where they are in some danger. However, the nature of the danger, from huge flying pieces of food or waves of leftovers, is deliberately silly and every moment of very mild threat is quickly overcome with an ultimately happy and reassuring outcome.
The film also contains a scene where a monkey is seen putting an electric plug from a machine in his mouth (although it is not connected to any mains outlet) and another scene in which the principal character is given a brief electric shock after connecting his own invention to a power grid. Both scenes are silly and slapstick in nature and not likely to be copied by young children. Another scene also shows the monkey throwing around some brown lumps while everyone around him is having a snowball fight with ice cream. A woman at first thinks that he is throwing chocolate ice cream but pulls a face when she realises he is actually throwing around his own droppings. It is a very brief scene and highly comic in tone.
'U' stands for Universal, which means that we think the film is suitable for audiences aged four or older.
The film is released in both 2D and 3D versions, both of which are passed 'U'.
