Depiction of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances in G-rated animated feature films

Objective. To quantify and characterize the depiction of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances in G-rated animated feature films. Method. The content of all G-rated animated feature films released in theat ers between 1937 and 2000, recorded in English, and available on videocasse tte in the United States by October 31, 2000, was reviewed for portrayals o f alcohol, tobacco, and other substances and their use. Duration of scenes depicting alcohol, tobacco, or other substances; type of characters using t hem (good, neutral, or bad); and correlation of amount and type used with c haracter type and movie type were evaluated. Results. Of the 81 films reviewed, 38 films (47%) showed alcohol use (mean exposure: 42 seconds per film; range: 2 seconds to 2.9 minutes) and 35 film s (43%) showed tobacco use (mean exposure: 2.1 minutes per film; range: 2 s econds to 10.5 minutes). Analysis of time trends showed a significant decre ase in both tobacco and alcohol use over time (both corrected for total scr een duration and uncorrected.) No films showed the use of illicit drugs, al though 3 films showed characters consuming a substance that transfigured th em and 2 films showed characters injected with a drug. Analysis of the corr elation of alcohol and tobacco depiction revealed several scenes in which a lcohol and tobacco were shown in use in the same scene and that bar scenes in these movies depict a significant amount of drinking, smoking, and viole nce. Three films contained a message that a character should stop smoking b ut none contained messages about restricting consumption of alcohol. Conclusions. The depiction of alcohol and tobacco use in G-rated animated f ilms seems to be decreasing over time. Nonetheless, parents should be aware that nearly half of the G-rated animated feature films available on videoc assette show alcohol and tobacco use as normative behavior and do not conve y the long-term consequences of this use.