— by Kirsten Hawkes
PARENT PREVIEWS –
Making Media Entertainment An Easier Choice For Families
Mia and the
White Lion
PG
OVERALL RATING:
B-
STUDIOCANAL
Released on DVD:
July 2, 2019
For additional
information on this
film’s content, visit
www.parentpreviews.com
VIOLENCE: (C) Hunks of dead animals are often thrown to captive lions. A lion is shown hunting and eating
an ostrich. Lions are shown scratching another cub and bloody scratches are shown on his muzzle. A young
girl has her arm scratched by a lion. A lion farm employee is attacked and clawed by a lion. She is injured but
the blood is only seen at a distance. A lion tries to climb a television set and then climbs on the table and
eats dinner. A lion mauls a car. A boy rushes out of a lion’s cage, falls, and hits his head. A main character hits
another man. On another occasion, he slams him into a car. A man utters threats against a main character. A
woman shoots a crossbow at a lion and a man shoots it with a firearm. The lion is shown dead but there is no
close-up view of its injuries. A girl opens wild animal cages and lets lions and other animals go free on a farm.
A girl shoots her father with a tranquilizer gun. A man yells at and throws a teenage girl. She spits in his face.
A character refers to a lion hunt that traumatized a child. Police in cars and helicopters point guns at a lion.
SEXUAL CONTENT: (B+) A man leers at a woman and hugs her even though she is clearly uncomfortable.
LANGUAGE: (B-) This movie has four scatological terms, a half dozen terms of deity, a handful of mild
obscenities, and some name-calling.
ALCOHOL / DRUG USE: (B+) Parents drink champagne at a celebratory family dinner. Wine glasses are on a
dinner table but no one is shown drinking them. A man is shot with a tranquilizer gun.
OTHER: A young girl runs away from a school field trip and hitchhikes to get back home. A boy has
nightmares and panic attacks. A girl stows away in a truck. A 14-year-old without a driver’s license drives a
stolen truck and lion across the country. She is so tired she falls asleep at the wheel. A girl walks through a
shopping center with a lion.
E
leven-year-old Mia (Daniah
DeVilliers) is unhappy. Hav-
ing grown up in London, she
has been homesick since her South Af-
rican father, John (Langley Kirkwood),
moved the whole family back home to
run the lion farm he inherited. Then a
miracle occurs and a million-to-one white
lion cub is born on their farm. Everyone
is excited – except for Mia. But Charlie
the lion cub has a charming little furry
face and they form a powerful bond.
At first, Mia’s parents are pleased
that the cub has helped her feel at home in
South Africa. But as Charlie grows, Mia
refuses to acknowledge that he is a wild
animal and can’t be a house pet forever.
When Charlie is removed from the
house and put in the pen with the other
cubs, Mia runs away from a school field
trip and hitchhikes home to be with her
lion. She defies her father’s warnings
about the dangers of wild animals and
insists that her father doesn’t know what
he’s talking about: “Rules don’t apply
to us. My relationship with Charlie isn’t
built on discipline. It’s built on love and
trust.”
When John discovers the extent of
his daughter’s disobedience and the peril
to which she has exposed herself and her
brother, Mick (Ryan MacLennan), he
decrees the immediate sale of the now
grown white lion. Learning about Char-
lie’s likely fate, fourteen-year-old Mia
decides that her only hope
is to take Charlie to a nature
reserve where he will be free
to live in the wild – no matter
what it takes.
This film may sound
like a heartwarming boy-
and-his-dog/girl-and-her-lion
story. But there are some very
troubling aspects to this pro-
duction which should give
parents pause before they buy
tickets for the whole family.
First and most obvious
is Mia’s cavalier attitude to-
wards safety around her adored
lion. Now, I don’t have any experience
with lions. But I live in bear country
and have known since childhood that all
bears are wild and dangerous and are to
be given a very wide berth.
John repeatedly tells Mia that you
can’t tame lions, but she flatly refuses to
believe him. Second, Mia seems to exist
in a world of willful delusion. She and
Mick both believe wholeheartedly in a
legend that says a white lion will come,
save the world, and bring nature back in
harmony. She is convinced that her reck-
less choices will turn out just fine because
Charlie is the incarnation of the legend.
The third issue is Mia’s constant
disobedience and disregard for her own
safety. The hitchhiking episode made my
blood run cold but her flight to the sanc-
tuary with Charlie is even worse. Pulling
this off involves Mia shooting her father
with a tranquilizer gun, stealing his truck,
driving across the country even though
she doesn’t have a driver’s license, walk-
ing through a shopping mall with her
lion, and heading off into the bush with-
out safe drinking water or adequate food
– for her or for the lion.
Mia is clearly a very flawed protago-
nist whose choices are certainly fodder
for parent/child conversations.
Whether parents want to take their
kids to Mia and the White Lion will likely
depend on their sympathy with the film’s
message. And make no mistake, this is a
movie with a message. The writers are
continued on page 60
July 2019 WNY Family 51