Animal instincts

A scene from the latest movie version of Boonie Bears.

This year, the latest movie version of Boonie Bears invited 100 teachers from kindergarten, primary and middle schools to rate the movie two weeks ahead of its theater premiere on Jan 30. The previous installment of Boonie Bears movie series also settled for a "safe release" until after more than 90 percent of the previewers deemed the 3-D cartoon movie as "suitable for all ages".

According to Song, the state administration also issued an internal notice in June 2013, asking all regional bureaus to be more strict with the examination of cartoons prior to being aired.

Chinese audiences and scholars have long demanded a general TV rating system. Du Zezhuang, founder and analyst with TV consultancy Ze Media, says that children's content especially should have viewing standards.

But he cautions: "It's easy to draw up a policy, but it always poses a problem when it isn't implemented or supervised properly."

Xu Fan contributed to this story.