BBFC News

Shrek 2 is a 2004 USA family animation comedy by Andrew Adamson and Kelly Asbury
Starring Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz.

BBFC category cuts were required for a U rated release for cinema and home video. Later the film was passed PG uncut for 4K Blu-ray in 2022. Uncut in the US with an MPAA PG rating.

The previous BBFC category cuts for a U rating was to remove a surprise headbutt.

UK: Passed PG uncut for mild bad language:

• 2022 Universal Steelbook R0 4K Blu-ray at UK Amazon

Promotional Material

Everyone's favourite larger-than-life hero returns in the Oscar-nominated Shrek 2, which has been hailed by critics and audiences alike as even better than its Oscar-winning predecessor! "There are so many jokes and jests, not even a jelly bellied ogre could consume them all in one sitting," proclaims USA Today. Happily ever after never seemed o far far away when a trip to meet the in-laws turns into another hilariously twisted adventure for Shrek and Fiona. With the help of his faithful steed Donkey, Shrek takes on a potion-brewing Fairy Godmother, the pompous Prince Charming, and the famed ogre-killer, Puss In Boots, a ferocious feline foe who's really just a pussycat at heart!

Extra Content: SECRETS OF SHREK 2 - SPOTLIGHT ON PUSS IN BOOTS FILMMAKERS' COMMENTARIES - FAR FAR AWAY IDOL - MUSIC VIDEOS Blu-ray Exclusives: The Animators' Corner - Shrek's Interactive Journey II

The Sunday Times featured an interview with the new president of the BBFC alongside CEO David Austin. The article ran with the headline:

Natasha Kaplinsky, chief censor: where I'll draw the line on sex and gore The shining star of Noughties news and Strictly talks about her new job

Of course if you want to know where she'll draw the line you'll have to pay up. Thankfully other news sites have reported on BBFC utterances but haven't detailed any actual quotes answering the headline question of where lines will be drawn. MSN reported on the interview:

Kaplinsky told The Sunday Times Magazine that her background as a journalist will make her stronger when watching the tougher stuff she will have to view in her job.

She is an ambassador for Save the Children and president of Barnado's, and sees the BBFC role as a logical extension of her charity work. Shifting societal attitudes

As its president, Kaplinsky will be a member of the board of directors and will chair the Board of Classification, which meets monthly and oversees all matters relating to classification, including the most complex and controversial of cases.

Kaplinsky also told the magazine that being a child at the moment is very tricky due to the nature of online activity:

I definitely wouldn't want to grow up again. I'm fully aware of the influences that our children are under -- they're bombarded by this content constantly -- and yet we're able to provide a safe space for them. We've always relied on the classification system to do that.

She cautioned how online is largely unpoliced, and that's a worrying situation as a parent: you see how it influences their behaviour.

When she took on the role in September she said it was crucial that children's welfare is at the forefront of policy decision-making and this is central to the BBFC's efforts in the online safety space. She added:

The challenges that young people face now in the UK are greater than ever before -- and I am committed to giving voice to their needs.

Our Father is a 2022 US crime documentary by Lucie Jourdan
Starring Donald Cline, (archive footage), Jacoba Ballard and Debbie Pierce

Jacoba Ballard decided to take a DNA test one day, in hopes of finding one or two half-siblings with the same sperm donor. "Growing up, I felt different," she says in the documentary's trailer. But when she found seven matches, she realized that she had stumbled across a major discovery. Jacoba discovers a shocking scheme involving donor sperm and a popular fertility doctor.

The BBFC database reveals that Our Father is rated 18 for its 'sexual violence theme', but according to minutes of a recent board meeting it seems that the 'sexual violence' doesn't actually involve any violence, and both Netflix & the BBFC board think that the film should actually be rated 15. The meeting minutes read:

A Compliance Officer shared three clips from Our Father, a Netflix true crime documentary about the case of Donald Cline, a fertility doctor who fathered over 50 children by replacing donor sperm with his own. The film was viewed by the BBFC as part of its monthly audit of Netflix's self-rating decisions. The clips presented  featured reconstructions in which it is implied that the actor playing Cline is masturbating below frame before inseminating his patients using a syringe containing his own semen. The Board agreed that the reconstruction sequences constituted strong scenes of sexual violence, but that they were neither detailed nor protracted enough to require an 18 classification. The Board concurred with the 15 self-applied by Netflix, which was confirmed by the BBFC during the audit.

Mad Monkey Kung Fu is a 1979 Hong Kong action comedy by Chia-Liang Liu
Starring Chia-Liang Liu, Hou Hsiao and Kara Wai    

Always cut by the BBFC for animal cruelty.

Summary Notes

A disgraced former Kung Fu expert makes a living as a merchant with the help of a hot headed friend. When the men are harassed by gangsters, the merchant decided to teach his friend monkey boxing so they can defend their business.

Versions

uncut		US: Uncut and MPAA R rated for: 2011 Arc Entertainment R1 DVD at US Amazon #ad
cut: 28s run: 115m pal: 110m		UK: Passed 15 for strong violence, injury detail afterBBFC cuts: 2022 Arrow Film Distributors Ltd video The BBFC commented: This work had compulsory cuts made, removing a scene of animal cruelty in which a monkey was harmed. Cuts were made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines, policy, and the Video Recordings Act 1984, which applies the standards of the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937. UK: Passed 15 after 28s of BBFC cuts: 1995 Made In Hong Kong VHS

The Dirty Dolls is a 1973 US crime drama by Stu Segall
Starring John Alderman, Denise Drake and Esther Abbott    

Exists as a cut Smut Without Smut version and an an uncut version titled The Dirty Dolls.

Summary Notes

Johnny, a psychopath, puts together a gang made up of young teenage girls to commit crimes for him. Everything is going well until one day, during a diamond robbery, the girls are forced to take two hostages and bring them back to the hideout along with the loot. Furious, Johnny ...

Versions

uncut run: 72:56s pal: 70:01s

UK: Passed 18 uncut for sexual violence, strong sex, nudity, very strong language 2022 101 Films Smut Without Smut Vol. 1 [The Dirty Dolls + Smut Without Smut] (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon #ad See BBFC board meeting minutes from July 2022 [pdf] from darkroom.bbfc.co.uk : Re a scene of sexual violence from 1973 exploitation film THE DIRTY DOLLS. In the clip, a kidnapped woman is sexually assaulted by two other women, with sexualised nudity and a focus on the attackers' pleasure. BBFC Classification Guidelines state that intervention may be required at the adult category where material presents a credible harm risk to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society. This may include portrayals of rape or other non-consensual sexually violent behaviour which make the violence look appealing; reinforce the suggestion that victims enjoy rape or other non-consensual sexually violent behaviour; or which invite viewer complicity in rape, other non-consensual sexually violent behaviour or other harmful violent activities. The Board considered whether the THE DIRTY DOLLS was in breach of the guidelines, and ultimately concluded that the film's depiction of sexual violence was so lacking in believability and credibility that it did not represent a genuine harm risk requiring compulsory cuts to the film. Accordingly, in line with the BBFC's guiding principle that adults should be able to choose their own entertainment provided the content is not illegal or harmful, the Board agreed that THE DIRTY DOLLS could be classified 18 uncut.

The BBFC board meeting from July 2022 reveal a continuing policy for cuts to sex films. The BBFC minutes state:

Following recent cuts made to a sex work -- KATIE K'S TEENAGE RAMPAGE 5 -- to remove verbal references to sexual activity below the age of 16, the Board reviewed the BBFC's policy in relation of such references and confirmed that there should be no reference to sexual activity below the age of 16 in sex works.