Mia and the White Lion (2018)

A young girl from London moves to Africa with her parents where she befriends a lion cub.

Director:

Gilles de Maistre

Writers:

Prune de Maistre (screenplay), William Davies (screenplay)

Stars:

Daniah De Villiers, Mélanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniah De Villiers	...	Mia Owen
Mélanie Laurent	...	Alice Owen
Langley Kirkwood	...	John Owen
Ryan Mac Lennan	...	Mick Owen
Thor	...	Charlie
Lionel Newton	...	Kevin
Lillian Dube	...	Jodie
Brandon Auret	...	Dirk
Elvis	...	Trevor (as Elvis the Meerkat)
Benjamin Garrad	...	Daniel
Andrew Stock	...	Theuns
Lebohang Elephant	...	Piet
Jurgen Hellberg	...	Dirk's Hunter (as Jürgen Hellberg)
Tessa Jubber	...	Enclosure Hunter
Ashleigh Harvey	...	School Teacher

Storyline

Mia is 11 years old when she develops an extraordinary relationship with Charlie, a young white lion born in Mia's parents farm, in South Africa. During three years, they will grow up together and live a beautiful friendship. When Mia reaches the age of 14 and that Charlie has become a magnificent adult lion, she discovers the unbearable truth: her father has decided to sell the lion to trophy hunters. Desperate, Mia has no other choice than to escape with Charlie in order to rescue him.

---

Plot Keywords:

singing in a car | girl lion relationship | animal in title | pet lion | white lion | 

---

Taglines:

Friendship is the Wildest Adventure of All

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, peril and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The idea of Mia and the White Lion came to Gilles de Maistre while he was making a television documentary on the unique friendship between children and wild animals around the world. In South Africa, he meets a boy whose parents had a lion farm. Under the guise of preserving them, they actually resold them for hunting in pens.

---

Goofs

Several times during the movie, there is a close-up of the white lion who seems to be purring. Lions do not purr. They can roar, which smaller cats cannot. The largest cat that can both "meow" and purr is the cougar, or panther. Lions cannot purr.

---

Quotes

[John explains to Mia why it is dangerous to play with Charlie]
John Owen: For now, he's a cub, and you want to have fun with it. Soon, he'll just want to kill you. Go past this fence, and any one of these lions will tear you to pieces in five seconds flat. It doesn't matter if you've fed them, or bathed them or cuddled them, or if you're name is Mia or Kevin or Obi-Wan Kenobi... a wild animal is a wild animal, and you can never change that, no matter what you do.

---

Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

---

Soundtracks

The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Written by Solomon Linda, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George David Weiss and Albert Stanton
Performed by Kids United Nouvelle Génération

User Reviews

Lot of feelings and no regret

Filming spanned over 3 years so, lion and childrens grew together. In return, complicity is remarkable. This story is fictional but it's hard to feel detached from animals fate and family issues. Action goes crescendo with suspense in last chapter.

Details

Country:

France Germany South Africa Switzerland Monaco USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

12 April 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mia and the White Lion

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$192,816, 14 April 2019

Gross USA:

$399,471

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$35,487,190

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galatée Films, Outside Films, Film Afrika Worldwide

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1