The Wolf and the Lion | 2021 | PG | – 1.4.3

Why is “The Wolf and the Lion” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “thematic elements, language and some peril.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes the killing of a lion and taking a cub from its natural habitat, several scenes of two wild animals being threatened with live ammunition and tranquilizer darts and a few where the animals are struck by darts, a plane crash (the pilot survives), several arguments, a concussion suffered after a fall, and some moderate language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A teen girl (Molly Kunz) discovers a lion cub and a wolf pup that she believes have been orphaned and raises them together in a remote cabin in order to protect them from other humans. After an accident, the animals are taken away and she embarks on a mission to find and save them. Also with Graham Greene, Charlie Carrick, Derek Johns, Rhys Slack, Evan Buliung and Rebecca Croll. Directed by Gilles de Maistre. [Running Time: 1:39]

The Wolf and the Lion SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A lion cub and a wolf pup nurse from a wolf in a few scenes.
► A teen girl wears low-cut dresses and tops that reveal cleavage and her bare back in several scenes. A woman wears a sports bra and tight-fitting shorts that reveal cleavage, bare abdomen and legs to the upper thighs. A man is shown shirtless and we see his bare chest and abdomen.

The Wolf and the Lion VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – A man loads a rifle and shoots toward a female lion (off-screen) and we assume that she was killed as the man grabs a young cub and places it in a crate labeled “circus” and takes it away in a plane. A plane flies through a storm and the pilot calls, “Mayday” when he loses control; a lion cub in a crate onboard paces and scratches at the door anxiously, and a teen girl hears the plane fly low overhead and we hear a crash in the distance. A man shoots a wolf with a tranquilizer dart and the animal whimpers and falls to the ground. A wolf bounds toward a man opening a cage holding a lion and the wolf knocks the man to the ground and the two animals run away. A man holds a gun on a man, a woman and a boy and threatens them over a lion; the boy refuses to go with the man and they talk as the man lowers the weapon and they leave. Armed SWAT members move through woods tracking a lion and a wolf and after the wolf and a teen girl swim across a lake away from the shooters, we hear many shots resounding through the woods and we understand that they are shooting at the lion.
► A man aims a rifle with a tranquilizer dart at a lion and a wolf jumps at him knocking the man to the ground but then the wolf falls to the ground having been tranquilized; the man says that the dose will kill the animal and his young son puts a pill in the wolf’s mouth that will counteract the sedative as the man limps away saying that he hurt his ankle. A man aims a rifle loaded with a tranquilizer dart at a wolf and he misses; the wolf swims away in a lake. A lion cub in a crate is perched on a tree limb after the plane it was in crashes; the cub slips out the crate door and lands in an eagle’s nest where it falls asleep until the eagle returns and the cub falls out of the tree and is caught by a teen girl passing by. A wolf caught in a trap snarls and barks, chews its way out of the net and runs away with part of the net caught around its back hips; we later see the animal stuck when the net gets caught on a branch and a teen girl cuts it loose. A teen girl finds the wreckage of a small plane in a forest and there are flames burning among the rubble; we later hear that the pilot survived and is recovering. A wolf bounds into a cabin carrying a pup in its mouth and a teen girl inside looks alarmed. A teen girl yells and chases a wolf and a lion cub when they seem to be charging toward a young girl; the teen trips and hits her head hard on a rock (she lies on the ground unconscious) and the animals sit next to her howling and roaring trying to revive her and we later see the teen in the hospital and a doctor says that she has a bad concussion. A wolf paces in a cage and a lion paces in another cage. A man prepares a sedative and injects a lion before he starts to “work with him” and we hear a whip cracking off-screen as the man yells at the animal and he tells his young son that they will have the animal’s claws removed (the boy is upset by his father’s actions). A wolf digs under the fence of an enclosure and runs away. A wolf uses a stick to try to pry a cage holding a lion open (the stick breaks). A lion and a wolf run through woods together and through the streets of a town as people run for cover. A teen girl accidentally slams a door closed on a man’s hand and he leaves yelling. A man rides away in a boat as a teen girl yells at him and the boat motor runs out of gas; the man tries to row with his hands to get back to shore and we later see him walking in the water. A lion and a wolf sneak into a grocery store after hours and the security guard sounds an alarm when the animals knock over cans of food and eat from packages of raw meat.
► A woman yells at a man on the phone and tells him, “I would let you die.” A teen girl yells at a woman for not protecting two wild animals and accuses her of exploiting them. A teen girl and a man argue about the man encroaching on her property and she tells him to leave. A teen girl and a man argue about her keeping two wild animals in her home. A teen girl becomes upset while practicing for a piano competition. A man is startled and frightened when he sees two wild animals in a teen girl’s home and he recoils saying, “They could rip me to pieces.” A man threatens another man saying that if he hurts a teen girl, he will “take a personal interest in seeing him suffer.”
► A lion cub and a wolf pup play and wrestle in many scenes as they get larger. A teen girl leaves a lion cub and a wolf pup alone in a cabin for two days and when she returns we see a great deal of damage done with things torn up and strewn around.

The Wolf and the Lion LANGUAGE 3

 – 3 scatological terms, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (nightmare, Casanova, spoiled, stupid, piece of work, traitor, crazy person, extremely dangerous, nutcase, wimp, wuss), exclamations (oh man, squat), 1 religious profanity (GD), 1 religious exclamation (Holy Jesus). | profanity glossary |

The Wolf and the Lion SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man prepares a sedative and injects a lion with it, a wolf is shot with a tranquilizer dart and falls to the ground, a wolf is shot with an excessive dose of sedative and a man say that it will kill it (a boy puts a pill in the animal’s mouth to counteract the shot). A man drinks a beer in a bar and other people in the bar are shown with drinks and beers.

The Wolf and the Lion DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Death of a loved one, maintaining a wild animal’s agency to be free, dreams, tolerance, pressure to succeed.

The Wolf and the Lion MESSAGE

 – It is our responsibility to protect a wild animal’s right to live free.