Some background first...

The Board announced in September 2000 that it would look at the possibility of making the '12' cinema category advisory, like 'U' and 'PG'. This was in response to complaints from parents - particularly whenever a new James Bond film came out - who felt that they were better placed to decide which films their under 12s could cope with.

In 2001 the Board carried out a pilot in Norwich allowing under 12s to see the '12' rated films showing during the eight week pilot period.  The outcome was that the public was only in favour of making the '12' cinema rating advisory if under 12s were accompanied by an adult throughout the film, and if information about the content of the film, for instance, 'Contains a single use of strong language and moderate violence' - Consumer Advice - was available on publicity material and was included in local cinema listings.  The Board then carried out a national survey in May 2002 and got almost identical results with over 70% of people supporting the introduction of '12A', as it is now known, provided children under 12 were accompanied by an adult and Consumer Advice was available to help them make informed decisions about what their children could watch.

Once the Board was satisfied that the film industry was including the Consumer Advice for 'U', 'PG' and '12A' on publicity and that the cinema exhibitors were including '12A' Consumer Advice in cinema listings, the new category was introduced on 30 August 2002. All '12' rated cinema films automatically became '12A', although the video rating remains '12'.

Spider-Man had been passed '12' in April 2002, in spite of a request from the distributor for a 'PG'. The reason for the '12' was that the film contained a level of personal violence and a revenge theme that went beyond what was acceptable under the 'PG' Guidelines -'Moderate violence without detail..if justified by its setting'.

The decision proved to be unpopular with the under 12s who had collected the Spider-Man merchandise, toys, lunch-boxes etc, which were specifically marketed at young children. The BBFC received many letters from disappointed children and some surprised parents, questioning the decision. However, the Board defended the '12' decision. 

There was also public pressure on some local authorities to issue a local licence for the film with a 'PG' classification, and between 20 and 30 local authorities issued either local 'PG' or 'PG12' certificates with the condition that all under 12s must be accompanied by an adult. (The responsibility for classifying cinema films lies with the local authorities, but in practice these powers are rarely used.  The local authorites are, except in exceptional circumstances, happy for the BBFC to carry out the role on their behalf.)

The distributor of Spider-Man decided to re-release the film immediately after the introduction of '12A' so that young fans in parts of the country where local authorities had not changed the rating had the chance to see the film at the cinema.  The decision to introduce '12A' had nothing to do with Spider-Man or the pressure from parents and children who wanted to see the film.  The Board had announced its decision to consider changing the category in September 2000 because it recognised that children were growing up faster and that parents were better placed to decide what their children should watch.  For the record, the first '12A' film was The Bourne Identity.

Find out more:

Local Authority Decisions

Press Release: 'Spider-Man 2 - Uprated to 12A for IMAX cinemas'