Parents' Guide to

Leo the Lion

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Horrible animated tale about a bullied vegetarian lion.

Movie NR 2013 77 minutes
Leo the Lion Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Leo the Lion Movie: Scene #1

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 9 parent reviews

Lebron12James3
Lebron12James3 Parent
February 26, 2022
age 18+

EXTREMELY GRAPHIC AND BRUTALLY VIOLENT

THIS MOVIE IS EVEN TOO VIOLENT FOR AN NC-17 RATING! THERE IS SO MUCH DEATH, VIOLENCE AND MASS DESTRUCTION. THIS IS NOT SUITABLE COR FHILDERN!
MagooCheswick
MagooCheswick Adult
July 9, 2020
age 2+

Leo puts the Beef in Vbux

Better than Hamilton. I thought the animation in Hamilton was a bit overrated. I enjoyed the story, but sometimes the 3D effects were distracting. Where was the money? And how come he was wearing his underwear on the outside?

This title has:

Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 9 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Leo the Lion (Daniel Amerman) is a vegetarian and is therefore shunned, bullied, and ridiculed not only by his fellow lions but also by many other species in the jungle. But he does have some friends, including an elephant mother who has just given birth to two babies. While the evil Maximus Elephante plots to become king of the elephants and the jungle as a whole, the baby elephants believe that Leo is their father. Leo must take these elephants, along with a monkey, a cheetah, and a zebra, home to their mother, but along the way, they must avoid human poachers and jungle predators such as hyenas and vultures.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (9):
Kids say (30):

This movie is so insufferably bad that it seems reasonable to suspect that the meat industry bankrolled it in the hopes of turning off anyone who might be considering becoming a vegetarian. The animation is subpar at best, the voices are annoying, the songs painful are to listen to, and even the pro-vegetarian message is confusing -- apparently Leo is a vegetarian because he is nice and, according to the song at the movie's end, he prefers cheese, ice cream sundaes, and bananas to, say, zebra meat.

Which raises the most glaring problem with this movie. Lions are obligate carnivores. Even if they were capable of choosing a wedge of provolone cheese to the prey they chase, kill, and eat in their natural habitat, they must eat meat to obtain the nutrients they need to survive. Furthermore, they're incapable of digesting any meal-size portions of vegetables. With so many omnivores and herbivores in the world, why would a lion -- a lion who looks underfed with its ribs sticking out -- be chosen to be the torchbearer of a vegetarian lifestyle? This inaccuracy alone undercuts any pro-vegetarian message this movie might convey, but even if a viewer could go that far to suspend disbelief, this is still a shoddy and just plain bad movie.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about vegetarianism. What are some reasons not to eat meat? Do you know any vegetarians?

  • What are some of the messages this movie attempts to convey? Do you think the movie makes its point? Why, or why not?

  • What are some of the ways in which this movie attempts to copy Pixar movies?

  • If you could remake this movie, how would you improve it?

Movie Details

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