FAMILY FILMS? WHAT FAMILY FILMS?

Byline: Jerry Rice Staff Writer

``The Princess Diaries'' wouldn't normally be thought of as a unique film, but in this season of ogres, apes and dinosaurs, it has something that no other big-studio release this summer can claim: a G rating.

``It's disappointing,'' says David Walsh, founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family. ``This is the time when families can go to the movies, while they're on vacation and things are a little more relaxed. It's really disappointing that studios are putting out so few films that are really completely family friendly.''

To be sure, there are other G-rated movies being produced. The Motion Picture Association of America bestowed the mark on 18 films through the end of June. However, the majority of them - including Disney's ``The Book of Pooh: Stories From the Heart'' and ``The Little Bear Movie'' from Paramount - are set for a direct-to-video release.

Both those films are intended for very young audiences who may not yet have the patience or manners to sit though a movie in a dark theater. And because of that preschool audience, their stories must be simplistic, which means a shorter running time. Most parents and grandparents would balk at the idea of paying $8.50 for an hour-long feature.

The dearth of features sporting the least-restrictive rating is a matter of dollars, says Dan Klusmann, publisher of the theater-industry tip sheet Independent Marketing Edge.

``Everybody would like to be on record as being supportive of G-rated films,'' he says. ``But when it comes to putting money down and paying at the box office, the actual ballots they're casting that will enable more to be made, the typical family doesn't rush out when they see a G rating.''

Klusmann's theory played out last summer when four such features hit theaters. The result: one hit, three misses. ``Thomas and the Magic Railroad,'' based on the character popular with preschoolers, derailed right after leaving the station; ``Pokemon the Movie 2000'' did a fast fade, much like the craze that spawned it; and audiences avoided the wide release of ``Fantasia 2000,'' having shown a preference for the big-screen IMAX version released first. Only DreamWorks' ``Chicken Run'' managed to find success, flying the coop with $106.8 million and becoming one of the year's big hits.

While many were crowing about that success, the message of this summer is PG plays better. ``Shrek,'' the animated fable about an ogre with a heart, has been a box-office green machine with $251.9 million in ticket sales at last count.

Other movies that have scored big in recent weeks include ``Atlantis: The Lost Empire,'' ``Cats & Dogs'' and ``Dr. Dolittle 2.'' Each of them came with the tag ``Parental Guidance Suggested.''

``The PG gives parents the feeling that it's still fine for my kids, and yet it's not going to bore me to death,'' Klusmann says.

The best hope for success with G-rated theatrical films probably lies in that rarely seen hybrid of clean sophistication. Some would say that's an oxymoron, but ``Chicken Run'' and 1995 Best Picture nominee ``Babe'' showed it can be done.

Young adults and teens are important because among frequent moviegoers (those seeing a dozen or more a year), nearly seven out of every 10 tickets last year were bought by someone between the ages of 12 and 39, according to the MPAA.

As Hollywood goes after those most reliable audiences, box-office tracker Paul Dergarabedian sees a shift in the types of movies produced.

``There's a gravitation from the G films heading more into PG territory and the R-rated films heading backward into PG-13 territory,`` says Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. ``It's sort of interesting - especially in terms of G-rated fare, because there have been some huge successes, like 'The Lion King.' ''

That animated hit - which earned $312.9 million, ranking it among the top 10 of all time - was one of several to come from Disney, as the company found a way to regularly attract both kids and adults in big numbers to the same movies. The string included ``Beauty and the Beast,`` ``Aladdin,'' ``Pocahontas,'' ``Toy Story,'' ``Hercules'' and ``Tarzan.''

``Obviously, we love G-rated movies,'' says Chuck Viane, the company's movie distribution chief.

Still, he insists, there's no G-movie quota at Disney (the studio releasing ``The Princess Diaries'' on Friday), and movies cannot be guaranteed of receiving the MPAA rating the filmmakers are striving for when the project is greenlighted. ``A good movie is a good movie, regardless of the rating,'' Viane says. ``Whether it's a G through an R, I don't believe that it's anything other than this: You make the movie you want to make, and whatever the rating is, it is.''

The MPAA uses an eight- to 13-member citizen panel that views movies full time, then estimates what most parents would consider to be each film's appropriate rating. After a discussion and majority vote, a rating is bestowed.

If a producer or distributor wishes, a rating can be appealed to another board, which consists of 14 to 18 members. A two-thirds vote is required to overturn the original rating.

Interestingly, the number of G ratings issued by the board through June 30 matches the number of G's given the first six months in both 1999 and 2000. The difference appears to be that fewer are finding their way into theaters.

There's a way to change that trend, Walsh says. And that means a lot is riding on the success of ``The Princess Diaries.''

``Hollywood is a very cyclical place,'' Walsh says. ``My hope is this cycle will quickly end, and all we need are a couple of G-rated movies that will go gangbusters at the box office and then we'll get more of them. The producers always follow where they think the money is.''

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(1 -- 2) Some G-rated movies, such as ``Chicken Run,'' right, do make it into theaters, while most others, including Disney's ``The Book of Pooh,'' are released straight to video.