It is a movie that adults to this day will claim was the primary cause for their fear of clowns. If you’re an adult in your 30s-40s, then you probably fall into that category. You probably also saw “It” when you were a young child as well.
The R ratings for films in the 90s could probably easily pass for a rated PG-13 film by today’s standards. We’ve grown to be more desensitized of adult language, violence, and adult situations. So it’s only natural that as our standards shift and change into adulthood, we will pass on those standards to our children.