US rating for films age 10+ — parental discretion advised for some material, but guardians decide. Less restrictive than PG-13.
The PG rating — this is your middle ground in the US rating system, between G (General Audiences) and PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned). Practically, this means on set and later in distribution: the film contains material that may be potentially inappropriate for children under 10 — but it's not so explicit or intense that parents must fundamentally keep their children away. The MPAA doesn't dictate here; it's a parental decision rating.
In day-to-day production, we make the distinction between PG and PG-13 very concrete: with PG, you can be more careful with violence, more lenient with language than with G, but significantly more restrained with sexuality. For example, if you're shooting an action sequence — a chase, light scuffles — you can show it, but you must refrain from bloody close-ups or prolonged combat. The blood splatter budget is low. Conversely: a PG-13 film can allow for significantly harder hits, as well as more intense emotional-psychological moments. With PG, you stay more child-friendly within the emotional spectrum, even if the story becomes more serious.
Linguistically, it works like this: mild profanity and a single damn, hell, or similar can be included — we see this in family dramas. The one F-word or sexual innuendo — risky, a cut note will quickly be recommended. Nudity is practically excluded; that's G-level or at most a veiled suggestion. Sexual innuendo yes, visual depiction no.
For a long time, the rating was relevant for children's films with occasional larger scenes — think adventure blockbusters of the 80s and 90s, where it wasn't animation-based, but where real tension and mild danger had a place. Today, PG has become less common: studios tended to go either G (animation, gentle stories) or PG-13 (more target audience appeal). The gray area of PG applies to projects intended to appeal to families plus older children — not the boy/girl films of the 2000s or fantasy epics.
In editing and distribution, you get clear points from the Motion Picture Association: your scenes must be reviewable, the editor works with you on whether the pace of the action, the duration of an injury consequence, the camera proximity in critical moments lean more towards PG or already PG-13. This is not a hard line, but negotiation — which is why there are review processes before the rating decision is made.