Jim Carrey was untouchable in 1995. He had just come off a year where he dropped The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, and the original Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. He was the biggest star on the planet. Naturally, the sequel was a massive hit. It doubled the first film's box office, raking in over $212 million. But if you look at the Ace Ventura When Nature Calls rating data from critics back then, you’d think the movie was a total disaster.
It’s one of those weird cases where the people watching the movie and the people writing about it were living in two different universes.
The Brutal Numbers: Critical vs. Audience Scores
Let's look at the cold, hard stats. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie sits at a pretty grim 33%. Critics basically trashed it. They called it "unfunny" and "diminishing returns." They felt like the rubber-faced antics were getting old. But here’s the kicker: the audience didn’t care.
If you check the CinemaScore—which is how people feel right after leaving the theater—it got a B+. That’s a huge gap. On Metacritic, the score is a 45 out of 100, which is "mixed or average." It’s basically the definition of a "critic-proof" movie. You either love Jim Carrey’s energy or you want to throw your remote at the screen. There is no middle ground.
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Why was it rated PG-13?
A lot of parents today see the cartoonish poster and think it’s a kids' movie. It’s not. The MPAA gave it a PG-13 rating for crude humor. Honestly, that's putting it lightly.
The movie is packed with scatological jokes. You've got the infamous rhino "birth" scene which, let’s be real, is one of the weirdest things ever put on film. Then there’s the spitting fight with the Wachati tribe and Ace masturbating in a hut. It’s gross-out comedy at its peak. In the UK, the BBFC actually cut nearly two minutes of footage to keep it at a PG rating. They chopped out the raccoon falling at the start and a scene where Ace points out a man’s visible anatomy.
If you're watching the US version today, you're getting the uncut, full-throttle Jim Carrey experience.
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Is the Ace Ventura When Nature Calls Rating Fair Today?
Looking back from 2026, some of the humor hasn’t aged perfectly. The "White Devil" tropes and the depiction of African tribes are... a lot. Some reviewers now find it much harder to watch than they did in the 90s.
However, many fans argue it’s actually better than the first one. Why? Because it’s less mean-spirited. The first movie’s plot twist is famously criticized now for being transphobic. The sequel, while incredibly dumb and crude, focuses more on slapstick and Ace being an idiot in the jungle.
- The Rhino Scene: This is the peak of the movie. It's disgusting, creative, and hilarious all at once.
- The Slinky: A two-minute bit about a toy on stairs. Only Carrey could make that work.
- The Monk Intro: The opening parody of Cliffhanger is actually pretty well-shot for a 90s comedy.
What Parents Need to Know
If you're thinking about showing this to your kids, keep the Ace Ventura When Nature Calls rating in mind. It's not SpongeBob.
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- Violence: It’s mostly cartoonish. Dart guns, spears, and a raccoon falling off a cliff.
- Language: Not much heavy swearing, but plenty of "butt" talk and insults.
- Sexual Content: There’s no actual sex, but plenty of suggestive jokes and that shadow-play masturbation scene.
- Gross-out factor: 10/10. If you don't like spit, snot, or fake animal births, stay away.
Final Verdict on the Rating
The PG-13 tag is accurate, but it’s a "90s PG-13." That means it pushes the boundaries of what you’d see in a modern family film. Critics hated it because they were looking for sophisticated satire. Audiences loved it because they wanted to see a man talk with his butt and get stuck inside a mechanical rhinoceros.
Honestly, the movie is exactly what it promises to be. It’s loud, it’s offensive to some, and it’s undeniably a showcase for a performer at the absolute height of his physical comedy powers. Whether you give it 1 star or 5 usually depends on your tolerance for Jim Carrey making high-pitched noises for 90 minutes.
If you're planning a rewatch, definitely check out the "Behind the Scenes" features on the Blu-ray if you can find them. Seeing how they built the mechanical rhino adds a whole new layer of "why did they do this?" to the experience. You can also compare the theatrical cut to the TV edits to see just how much of the "crude humor" gets stripped away for broadcast. It's a completely different movie when the censors get a hold of it.
Next steps for you: If you're a fan of this era of comedy, check out the 2024 retrospective on 90s slapstick by film historian David Bordwell. It goes deep into why this specific style of "extreme" performance by Carrey changed how studios approached comedy budgets for a decade. It's a great look at the business side of the "White Bat."