Lion: parents' guide
Best for ages 13 and up. Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some sensuality.
A moving true story for families with young teens, about a five-year-old boy in India who falls asleep on a train, ends up adopted in Australia, and searches for his birth family 25 years later. The first half is tense: Saroo is alone and hungry on the streets of Kolkata, men snatch sleeping children, and a woman who seems kind takes him home to a man whose intentions appear predatory. His adoptive brother hurts himself and later struggles with drugs, and the ending reveals a family member's death. One bed scene implies sex, with no nudity. We suggest 13 for the child-danger scenes and the implied sex.
What's in it
Violence
MildNo fights or gore. Men round up street children by force, a boy nearly gets hit by a bus, and an adopted boy bangs his head and hits himself in distress. A child's death on the railway is revealed late, not shown.
Language
ModerateInfrequent. Common Sense lists s--t, ass and damn, and Plugged In noted one misuse of God's name. No f-words were reported.
Sex and nudity
ModerateAdult Saroo and his girlfriend kiss passionately and are shown in bed after implied sex, with a shirtless man and bare shoulders but no nudity.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateAdults drink wine, beer and champagne at dinners and parties, and some smoke. The adoptive brother's drug problem is discussed, and young Saroo passes men who appear dazed in a drug den.
Scary or intense scenes
ModerateA small child lost and alone is genuinely scary: men grab sleeping children, a stranger touches Saroo in an unsettling way, and an orphanage boy is taken away at night. Saroo's grief and guilt as an adult are intense.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a child
- Child abuse
- Self-harm
- Addiction
Worth talking about
Saroo loves his adoptive parents yet feels he must find his first family. Can someone belong to two families at once, and why did searching matter so much to him?
On our lists
Similar picks around 13+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, the MPA, Wikipedia, bbfc.co.uk, movieguide.org, Rotten Tomatoes. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.