The Lion King | 2019 | PG | – 1.3.1

Why is “The Lion King” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sequences of violence and peril, and some thematic elements.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes animal nuzzling and references to love and mating, several scenes of lion and hyena attacks and chases with snarling and slashing (no injuries are seen), a hyena attack on a lion ending in death, a stampede that causes the death of a character, discussions of murder, and some mild scatological language and name-calling. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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A photorealistic computer-animated remake of Disney’s 1994 animated blockbuster: Lion princeling Simba (voiced by Donald Glover) idolizes his father, King Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones), and when Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Mufasa’s brother betrays the kingdom, Simba is exiled and has to grow up fast to reclaim his rightful place. Also with the voices of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and John Oliver. Directed by Jon Favreau. Several lines of dialogue are sung or spoken in an African language without translation. [Running Time: 1:58]

The Lion King SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A male and a female lion nuzzle in a few scenes (some are between mates and others between mother and child). A male and a female lion nuzzle; the female licks the male on the face and bats at him gently. A bird talks to two cubs about being married and that they are intended to be mates and the two cubs deny it. Animals sing about two lions falling in love.
► Lion cubs are shown being “bathed” by their mothers with long licks on their fur.

The Lion King VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 – A lion leads a cub into a gorge where it practices its roar; the cub watches a lizard eat a beetle, the ground rumbles and rocks fall as a stampede of wildebeests pours over the wall and toward the cub and the cub runs and clings to a tree branch until a lion arrives to help it to safety; however, the lion is swept away by the wildebeests, we see it climbing a wall in the distance until it reaches the top of a cliff but falls back and is trampled (off-screen) and we see the lion lying dead as the cub cries and realizes what has happened.
► Two lions fight on a tall rock after one throws an ember into the other’s face, and one falls over the ledge (it does not die). A lion clings to a rock ledge and another lion hits it with its sharp claws and then slashes it across the face causing it to fall to the ground below. A lion clings to a rock ledge, another lion hits it with its sharp claws and the first lion bites the second lion that steps back and pulls it to safety. A lion is surrounded and attacked by angry hyenas and we see it roaring and trying to break free (it is implied that the lion is killed by the hyenas but we do not see the result). A male lion attacks a female lion and slashes at it until another lion roars and tells the first lion to stop.
► Lions and hyenas fight with biting, slashing and throwing (we do not see injuries but we hear yelping); hyenas are thrown over a cliff where the ground below is in flames. A lion eats from a dead antelope or gazelle and we see the lion with blood on its fur around its mouth; after it is finished, many hyenas gorge on the remains (we see them crowd around the carcass and hear them snarling). A small rodent falls on the ground when a lion moves near it and the lion traps it between its paws preparing to eat it but is interrupted by a bird. A lion snaps at and pounces toward a bird in several scenes; it holds the bird by the tail in one scene and opens its mouth but is interrupted by another lion (the bird escapes). Several hyenas charge and snap at a bird, surround it on the ground and it gets away. A lion lunges out of brush and chases a meerkat and a warthog as they scream and the warthog is cornered; the lion is tackled by another lion and they wrestle and fight briefly (there are no injuries).
► A warthog is used as live bait and is chased by hyenas as a distraction, it is cornered and a hyena calls it “chubby,” causing it to become angry and it attacks the hyenas (several are thrown and the others run away). A lion cub runs away and hyenas chase it up rock walls and along with a hyena they fall over a rock ledge (the hyenas presume the cub is dead). A hyena lunges toward a lion cub and says, “I wonder how that bravery will taste,” until a bird steps between them and says that if the hyena attacks the cub it will start a war but the hyenas surround the three and move toward them until another lion roars loudly, swats and throws several hyenas away from the cubs (we do not see injuries but we hear some yelps).
► A lion cub walks through a desert and collapses on the cracked ground; many vultures circle overhead, land and move toward the cub until a warthog and a meerkat charge them and scare them away. A lion sneaks away from its pride and is nearly caught by another lion.
► Two lion cubs walk through an area where we see bones and remains of animals with bubbling puddles of mud and one tries to convince the other that they should leave; something moves in the shadows and rocks tumble down from a wall as many hyenas surround the two cubs and they snarl and threaten them.
► A lion lunges out from brush toward an animal that is frightened until it realizes the lion was trying to catch butterflies. Two lion cubs run among many other animals at a watering hole and try to hide from a bird that watches them; the bird panics at one point when it is unable to see the cubs. A lion cub bats at a horned beetle and climbs a rock wall to follow it, falls over the side and lands on the ground but is OK. Two lion cubs wrestle a couple of times and the female pins the male to the ground with her paw on the male’s face (there are no injuries). A mandrill on a large rock holds a lion cub high in the air to show many animals gathered below and the animals jump and make noises.
► A lion talks to other lions about a lion and a cub being dead. A lion talks to a group of hyenas and tells them about a plan to overthrow the lion king. A lion’s voice thunders from the clouds as he tells another lion to remember who he is. Two male lions argue in a few scenes. Two lions argue about responsibility. A bird raises the alarm when hyenas are spotted in an area protected by lions and a lion rushes to dispatch them. A lion convinces a cub to run away and stay away after blaming him for the death of the lion king (his father). A bird yells at a lion as it tries to sneak away from a pride and says to go back to bed. A lion talks to his young son about responsibility and reprimands him for his disobedience. A lion cub says, “Don’t we eat antelope?” when his father says they must protect them, and the father explains that it is a delicate balance. A lion says, “When we die we become the grass that feeds the antelope.” A lion cub wakes its father and asks to go on patrol to seek out “evil intruders.” A bird talks about a relative that thought it was a woodpecker; it would slam its head and became concussed. A lion tells a cub about a dangerous area and refers to it as an “elephant graveyard,” describing it as being filled with rotting bones and burning pools of oozing mud. A lion cub says, “Let’s get rid of the dodo,” referring to a bird that protects two cubs. A male cub says that he will be king and there is “no queen.” An animal tells a lion to “eat like us,” and to “not eat us.” Two animals squabble in several scenes. A lion tells another lion, “You are killing everything,” and that it is over-hunting. A meerkat says, “Life is meaningless.” An animal talks about life being a “Meaningless line of indifferences.”
► A lion looks thin and mangy with a scar across one eye. A few scenes show a variety of insects moving around on the ground and trees and flying (millipedes, caterpillars, beetles, ants, moths, butterflies, spiders, etc.). A dung beetle rolls a large ball of dung along the ground, it rolls over a ledge and it breaks into pieces at the bottom. A piglet sits in a watering hole and when it flatulates (we see bubble in the water) many zebras nearby run away (presumably from the smell). A lion and a warthog flatulate and burp a few times. Animals talk about a warthog having a strong odor. Animals eat bugs in several scenes; one caterpillar is described as having a “creamy center.”

The Lion King LANGUAGE 1

 – 3 mild scatological terms, name-calling (weird, dodo, spiteful, fools, bleak, selfish, insane, stupid, doomed, nobody, chubby, bullies, murderer, nothing, revolting scavengers), exclamations (now see here, stop that, this is not good, boom, uh-oh, oh my, you’ve got your lions crossed), 1 religious exclamation (My God). | profanity glossary |

The Lion King SUBSTANCE USE

 – None.

The Lion King DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – The circle of life, respect, family, responsibility, brain vs. brawn, power, jealousy, guilt, mercy, treachery, death of loved ones, fear, disobedience, coup, gender roles.

The Lion King MESSAGE

 – You can’t deny your destiny and you can’t change the past.