Mia and the White Lion | 2019 | PG | – 1.4.4

Why is “Mia and the White Lion” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “thematic elements, peril and some language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of kissing scenes and a few cleavage revealing tops; several encounters with a lion cub as it grows and causes damage and some slightly bloody injuries, a scene of canned lion hunting ending in the death of a lion, a teen girl shooting her father with a tranquilizer dart in the leg, and several scenes of dangerous activities with a teen girl and a large lion cub; and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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A teen (Daniah De Villiers) moves from London to Africa with her family in order to start a conservation park and tourist destination. But when the white lion cub she befriends reaches maturity, she cannot deal with the idea of letting it go when her father wants to sell it; and so she takes off with the lion and goes looking for a lion sanctuary. Also with Mélanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood, Ryan Mac Lennan, Lionel Newton, Lillian Dube and Brandon Auret. Directed by Gilles de Maistre. [Running Time: 1:38]

Mia and the White Lion SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A husband and his wife kiss in a few scenes. A man greets a man and a woman and he kisses the woman and lingers long enough that she pushes him away; the other man tells him, “You know that’s my wife,” as the first man stares at her when she walks away.
► A man tells another man, “Get me one of those French girls.”
► A woman wears tops and dresses that reveal cleavage in several scenes. A woman wears tank tops in several scenes that reveal cleavage and the outline of nipples through the fabric.

Mia and the White Lion VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 - A girl points a gun at her father and shoots him in the leg with a tranquilizer dart; we see a bloody patch on his pant leg as he falls to the ground unconscious (he's OK Later). A lion is shot with a tranquilizer dart and taken away in a truck; we see the lion stumble out of the truck and into an enclosure, where a woman with a high-powered bow and arrow shoots the animal (we hear it roar), a man says that it is not dead so another man shoots it with a rifle and we later see a photo of the woman standing with her foot on the animal's back as it lays dead on the ground.
► We hear screaming and see that a woman (she's a member of staff) has been scratched by a lion cub while visitors were watching (we see some blood on her neck). A teen girl runs away from a man in a car, she falls, he stops and grabs her, she spits in his face (we see saliva) and runs away as a lion attacks the man (we see blood on the man's neck and shoulder later but he seems OK). A man carries a large lion cub out of a house and the lion scratches the man on the arm when they get outside (we do not see blood); the cub is put on a chain and taken to an enclosure (we see it snarling and pulling away from the chain). A teen girl and a teen boy play with a large lion cub inside an enclosure, the lion jumps on the gate when the boy leaves the area and then the boy falls on the ground and hits his head on a rock (the boy is treated by a doctor who wraps his head with a bandage and he is OK Later). A lion cub has a bloody face and we hear that other cubs were attacking it and it wouldn't defend itself; we also hear that it would not eat. A lion chases an ostrich and we hear a roar and then see the lion with the bird on the ground (presumably it killed it; no blood is shown). A large lion cub escapes its enclosure and wanders off a farm; many people with flashlights search for the animal and it is found carrying a smaller wounded animal (a water mongoose) in its mouth (we see a bit of blood and a cut on the small animal's back).
► Many adult lions are shown behind tall fencing and they pace back and forth in a few scenes. A helicopter flies over a teen girl and a lion, a sharp shooter on-board takes aim at the animal and several other trucks with armed police also take aim until a man stands between them and the lion, and the animal walks to safety. A teen girl sleeps in a tree to avoid wild animals (an elephant and a giraffe). A large lion cub tackles a teen girl from behind and the girl's mother panics thinking she's in trouble (the cub was apparently playing and we see no injuries); the mother says, "You drive me crazy." A teen girl and a lion cub wrestle and play and the cub pushes the girl on the ground and lies on top of her. A teen girl climbs on the roof of a transport truck and hides to see where a lion is taken. An elephant comes to a boy when he calls it and pushes a locked gate open. A teen girl lets wild animals out of their enclosures and we see lions and hyenas wandering around outside a house in the morning (the people inside are afraid). A teen girl walks a large lion cub through a shopping mall causing people to scatter and yell (no one is harmed).
► Two men shove each other in a few scenes. A teen girl drives a truck and falls asleep at the wheel; the truck bumps into a pile of garbage cans and the girl wakes up (there are no injuries). A teen girl is shown exhausted and sunburned after several days walking in the sun. A girl climbs out of her bedroom window, along a roof and down the side of the house on a tiered plant stand as her mother watches nervously. A teen girl at a soccer camp stands on the field and won't play; she sneaks away from the camp later and hitchhikes back home.
► A large lion cub walks through a house and we see damage that it has done (a TV is on the floor); it then climbs on the dinner table and eats from a bowl of food knocking dishes off the table. A lion cub wanders a house and tries to climb in bed with a girl, and chews on her pillow and blankets. A man carries a small lion cub into the house and family members play with it and feed it; we see it sleeping in bed with a boy and a girl in a few scenes. A girl kicks a soccer ball and a lion cub grabs it and bites a hole in it (we see several deflated balls later). A large lion cub jumps on the hood of a broken down vehicle and tears up the interior.
► A woman tells her teenage son that when he was a baby he witnessed someone killing a lion and that he never got over seeing that. A man and woman tell their teen daughter that a lion cub "has to go" in a few scenes and they threaten to sell it repeatedly; the girl pleads with them not to sell the animal. A teen girl talks back to her father about his treatment of a lion cub and he pulls her by the arm into the house, shakes her by the arms and pushes her up the stairs to her room. A girl yells at her parents and tells them that she doesn't want to be where they are and that she wants to go back to London. A woman yells at a man and a girl about wild animals living in the house. A woman tells her pre-teen daughter, "No fights and no talking back" at school. A woman tells her husband, "We got another call from school," and says that their daughter got in a fight (we see the girl later with a scratch on her face). A man tells his daughter that a lion cub is a wild animal and not a pet, in several scenes; once a character says, "Soon he'll just want to kill you." A boy has nightmares and cries out in his sleep in several scenes. A woman tells her son a story when he wakes from a nightmare about the end of the world and of a wise medicine man that made a prediction about the arrival of a white lion. A girl cries when she tries to talk to her friend on a computer and he is dismissive. A teen boy talks about seeing a psychiatrist and having difficulty making friends, and having panic attacks and nightmares. A teen girl yells and cries and tells a lion, "Why don't you just kill me, you stupid lion." Two men argue about family, a farm and a lion. We hear that a "shoot to kill authorization" has been issued and many people search for a lion to kill it. We read that lion populations have dwindled from 250,000 to 20,000 and that at that rate they will soon be endangered.
► A man and his teen daughter on a motorcycle and sidecar drive through an area where many wild animals wander; we see zebras, elephants and hippos. A teenage girl steers a truck while her father controls the gears, brakes and accelerator. A lion cub bites a chew toy attached to a rope that is pulled by a motorized scooter that a girl rides on. A boy holds a small animal and plays with it throughout the film; the animal startles a woman several times when it pops out of unexpected places (like a cooking pot or when it turns on the vacuum cleaner). A woman sprays two teens and a woman with water in the kitchen after she is startled by a small animal; they all laugh. A boy and a girl feed a lion cub from a bottle in several scenes.
► Piles of raw meat and animal body parts are shown in the back of a truck (flies buzz around them) and they are hoisted over a fence to an enclosure where several lions pile on the meat.

Mia and the White Lion LANGUAGE 4

 - 4 scatological terms, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (dweeb, scum bucket, tough kid, dumb cub, fleabag, crazy, stupid, just a kid, French princess, fool, soft in the head, pathetic, idiot, magic, pixie, enchantress, traitor), exclamations (shut-up, bloody), 7 religious exclamations (e.g. God, Oh God, Oh My God, For Christ's Sake). | profanity glossary |

Mia and the White Lion SUBSTANCE USE

 - A man is shot in the leg with a tranquilizer dart and he falls to the ground unconscious (he's OK Later). A man and woman drink glasses of champagne, and glasses of wine are shown on a table at a dinner.

Mia and the White Lion DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Moving to a new place, Africa, wild animals, parent/child relationships, coping, fear, being thankful, miracles, legends, sacred creatures, conservancy, scientific research, lying, lies, lion populations.

Mia and the White Lion MESSAGE

 - Respecting wild animals and their right to exist is critical to maintaining an ecological balance. Canned lion hunting should be stopped.