Little Women | 2018 | PG-13 | – 3.4.2

Why is “Little Women” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some thematic elements and teen drinking.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes some mild sexual innuendo and some scenes with cleavage, people getting hurt, a fatally ill character, and a couple of scatological terms. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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Louisa May Alcott’s 1879 novel about the lives and tribulations of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March, as they move from childhood to adulthood is set in present day: with distinct personalities, each sister pursues a different path but they all face tragedy along the way. With Lea Thompson, Ian Bohen, Lucas Grabeel, Melanie Stone, Sarah Davenport, Taylor Murphy, Bart Johnson, Allie Jennings, Adam Johnson, Elise Jones, Michael Flynn, Aimee Lynne Johnson and Stuart Edge. Directed by Clare Niederpruem. [Running Time: 1:52]

Little Women SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A teen boy leads a teen girl away from a dance and through a dark hallway and stairs, she stumbles on her high heels, he gives her a drink from a flask and kisses her as she leans against a wall; he kisses her neck and presses against her and she stops him (he walks away angrily). A man and a woman kiss. A husband and his wife kiss. A teen boy and a teen girl hug goodbye. A young man and a young woman are shown leaving the altar after their wedding. A young man kisses a young woman’s hand after she cuts it on a broken bottle.
► Teen boys and teen girls dance together at a party. A young man professes his love to a young woman and tries to kiss her; she pulls away and they argue about love and their futures before he leaves in tears. A girl talks about another girl’s “frequent flirtations with the nanny” (a young man tutoring a teen boy next door). A young woman talks about going to a nunnery. A teen girl asks another teen girl to accompany her to a party and to be her wing person. References are made to a young girl having a crush on a teenage boy. A young man asks a teen girl, “Did you get a slow dance in?” when picking her up from a high school dance. A girl talks about fearing dying before she was ever in love or even kissed. A young woman talks about having such a crush on someone and another young woman says, “You had a crush on everyone.”
► A girl talks about someone stealing a roll of toilet paper and using it to stuff her shirt. A comment is made about a young girl wanting a bra. A girl talks about another girl having a “full chest” one day. A reference is made to “cross-dressing pirates.” Teen girls tell another teen girl that she is “hot.”
► Women and teen girls wear low-cut tops that reveal cleavage in several scenes. Teen girls wear short dresses that reveal bare backs, legs, to mid-thighs, shoulders and cleavage at a party. Teen girls wear revealing dresses to a high school dance (cleavage, bare abdomens, and bare legs to the upper thighs are seen). A woman is shown pregnant with twins in a couple of scenes.

Little Women VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 - A teen girl collapses off a piano bench and lies on the floor motionless; we see her in the hospital where she is diagnosed with Leukemia. A girl lies on the ground motionless after having fallen from a horse and we see blood on a nearby rock and her head and nose (we see her bandaged and recovering later). An inebriated teen boy talks to a teen girl standing next to a swimming pool and when he tries to walk past her, they both fall into the pool and other people laugh.
► A young woman topples a book rack and a gumball machine (gumballs are shown strewn on the floor) as she exits a hospital. A young woman kicks over a garbage can when she is angry and the garbage spills out on stairs (she cleans it all up). A teen girl locks a younger girl out of an attic playroom and the younger girl pounds on the door and cries (another girl lets the younger girl in). A teen girl burns a patch of her sister's hair off with a curling iron. We hear that a teen girl threw a Cabbage Patch at someone's head. A young woman cuts her hand on a broken bottle (we do not see blood).
► A woman talks to her mother about dealing with her grief and feeling angry and empty. Two women talk about death. We see people gathered at a funeral. We hear that a teen boy's parents died in a car accident and that he lives with his grandfather. A young woman is shown sick in a few scenes and she becomes pale and weak before dying.
► Two sisters argue bitterly and one throws the other's notebook into a fire (we see it burn), the other takes a fireplace poker and says, "I'm going to kill you," before their mother interrupts. Two young women argue about one of them choosing to get married before the age of 30. A teen girl yells at her younger sister and says, "We don't want you to come," when she asks if she can go to the movies with her and a teen boy. A teen girl bumps into a teen boy in a room where they are both trying to avoid other people at a party. A teen girl is startled when a man enters a room where she is playing the piano (she is in his house). A girl screams when she sees that her older sister has shaved her head (to support her sister through chemotherapy). A young woman argues with her family when they ask about a man in her life.
► Several teen, preteen and younger girls act out a play with dragons and sword play (the swords are made of sticks) and recite lines including things like, "Crush his bones into dust," and, "Bring me the skull," "She chose her fate," and "Fires of purgatory."
► A teen boy tries to interrupt a couple kissing at a high school dance and the teen girl sends him away. A woman reads a few pages of a story she has written to four men who decline interest in it; she becomes angry and storms out of the room. A woman argues with a professor about a story she has written and he agrees to help her improve it. A woman on a telephone seems to be negotiating with a creditor about an overdue bill. A young girl complains about not getting any presents for Christmas. A family talks to a man via Skype and he is seen wearing fatigues (we don't hear where he is stationed).
► After drinking at a high school dance a teen girl vomits (we hear her gag and splatter hits the ground but do not see anything). A teen boy pretends to vomit (he makes a gagging sound). A teen girl asks what color the blood is when you cut into a liver. A woman tells a young woman, "It smells like a Turkish bath in here," when she enters her room. A reference is made to someone's "kitty litter duties."

Little Women LANGUAGE 2

 - 2 scatological terms, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (selfish, stupid, dragon lady, hacks, hostile, capitalist, hopeless, brat, insane, sickening, coward, lame, immature, stupidest, weirdo home school sister, creepy, klutz, Tomboy, weird, ugly, boring, gross, Willy Wonka, scary, vampire mentor), exclamations (shut-up, what the heck, oh my gosh), 3 religious exclamations (e.g. Lord, Good Heavens, Oh My God). | profanity glossary |

Little Women SUBSTANCE USE

 - Teenagers drink champagne at a house party and several of them appear to be inebriated, a teenage girl drinks from a flask on a dance floor at a high school dance, a teen girl drinks from a flask outside a high school dance, a young man carries an open bottle of champagne, several people drink wine with dinner, and three teen girls drink wine coolers while dressing for a high school dance.

Little Women DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Sisters, family, dreams, ambition, growing up, fitting in, sacrifice, terminal illness, grace, wealth, happiness, insecurity, accepting change, disappointment, college applications, regret, tragedy, courage, jealousy, death of loved ones, competition, grief,

Little Women MESSAGE

 - The bond of sisters is unbreakable.