What was the first Disney film to be rated PG-13?

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was the first Disney film to be rated PG-13. Released in 2003, it received the rating from the Motion Picture Association for action/adventure violence, marking a notable shift for Walt Disney Pictures' theatrical releases.

The film was adapted from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean theme-park attraction, particularly its pirate setting and supernatural atmosphere. Gore Verbinski directed it, Jerry Bruckheimer produced it, and Johnny Depp played Captain Jack Sparrow alongside Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, and Geoffrey Rush.

Disney initially faced skepticism. Pirate movies had struggled at the box office, and the project was based on a ride rather than an established film franchise. The screenplay became more distinctive when writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio added the cursed Aztec gold and undead pirate crew. Those darker action elements helped push the movie beyond the studio's usual family-oriented rating.

The full title is sometimes shortened to Pirates of the Caribbean, but the canonical answer includes The Curse of the Black Pearl. The Black Cauldron and The Nightmare Before Christmas are darker Disney-associated films, yet neither was the studio's first PG-13 release.