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, include Iron 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.
BBFC U ratingBBFC PG ratingBBFC 12A ratingBBFC 12 ratingBBFC 15 ratingBBFC 18 rating

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New writers for cbbfc

Did you ever wonder who writes this website? Are they friendly? Can you trust them? Are they trying to mess with your mind? BBFC boss David Cooke, who was interviewed by Lucy and Emily last month, thought you should be told…

Earlier this year, John and Helen, for a long time the people behind cbbfc, handed over this role to Emily and Lucy. They've been working hard to make sure the site is a fun place to visit, but the question on all our lips is: Who exactly are these upstarts?

Well, like John and Helen before them, both are examiners at the BBFC. Before they came here Emily ran a small cinema in Yorkshire and Lucy was a teacher and a film journalist. At school Emily was the naughty one and gave her teachers a hard time. Lucy was usually better behaved, although she did once chose Scotch Whisky as the subject for a school essay - which caused a bit of a fuss. Nowadays, both are full of tricks and plans. Tell your Mum and Dad to watch out for the forthcoming Parentsbbfc website for instance.

As kids, Lucy and Emily cut their teeth on films such as Mary Poppins and Snow White. Now, they go for the likes of Monsters Inc and Shrek 2. Both of them are also games examiners at the Board, and you can't stop them talking about Star Wars: Battle Frontier, ICO and The Shadow of the Colossus.

Musically, Emily is an Indie girl, with faves including Elliot Smith, Wilco and The Shins. She's always putting something new on her i-pod. Lucy prefers pop to dance to, along with the classics like The Beatles and The Beach Boys, and will always spring to the defence of Bruce the Boss (geddit?).

Lucy and Emily are both big sisters, and wonder if that's why they've become examiners at the Board. But it must be terrible to be related to them. Emily was always stressing out her little sister by waking her up in the night with spooky stories and witch-like cackles, while Lucy baffled her family by claiming she wanted to be a Mummy-Acrobat-Nurse when she grew up. What on earth was that? Perhaps something to do with uniforms and costumes. At any rate, both of them like beautiful clothes now and even manage to wear some, once in a while.

Do they love animals? You bet, but for each of them it's a bird that tops the list. Lucy is absolutely potty about penguins, and says there is no feeling like holding one in your arms. (She is also partial to putting pictures of penguins on the site - see how many you can find.) And Emily has a long acquaintance with a parrot, Twit, whose habit of swearing would give the BBFC problems if you put him in a film.


What else can we tell you? Emily likes small, perfect things, like photographs and jewels, and Lucy likes big, expansive things - think beaches and skyscrapers. Both are crossword fiends and ace quizzers - so watch out for lots of new competitions and puzzles on the site. And neither of them is exactly what you would call shy. In fact you would not go too far wrong to think of them as "The Cheeky Girls" of cbbfc.

 

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