Mia and the White Lion

Mia and the White Lion (French: Mia et le lion blanc)[4] is a 2018 family adventure film directed by Gilles de Maistre. The film stars Daniah de Villiers, Mélanie Laurent, and Langley Kirkwood. The film was released in France on December 26, 2018[5][6] and in the United States on April 12, 2019.[7]

Mia and the White Lion
American release poster
Directed byGilles de Maistre
Produced by
  • Valentine Perrin
  • Jacques Perrin
  • Nicolas Elghozi
  • Gilles de Maistre
  • Stephane Simon
  • Catherine Caborde
Written by
Starring
Music byArmand Amar
CinematographyBrendan Barnes
Edited byJulien Rey
Production
companies
Distributed byStudioCanal (France)
Release date
  • 26 December 2018 (2018-12-26) (France)
  • 1 February 2019 (2019-02-01) (Germany)
Running time
98 minutes
Country
  • France
  • Germany
  • South Africa
Language
  • English
  • French
Budget€8.7 million[1]
Box office$36.4 million[2][3]

Synopsis

Ten year old Mia Owen has her life turned upside down when her family decides to leave London to manage a lion farm in Africa. When a beautiful white lion, Charlie, is born, Mia finds happiness once again and develops a special bond with the growing cub.

When Charlie reaches three, Mia's life is rocked once again as she uncovers an upsetting secret kept hidden by her father. Distraught by the thought that Charlie could be in danger, Mia decides to rescue him. The two friends set out on an incredible journey across the South African savanna in search of a sanctuary (Timbavati Game Reserve), where Charlie can live out his life in freedom.

Cast

Production

Directed by French director Gilles de Maistre, the expansive production was filmed over the course of three years so that the film's young stars Daniah De Villiers and Ryan Mac Lennon could bond and develop real relationships with the lions and other animals that appear in the film. The scenes between the actors and the animals in the film are real and not reliant on CGI.[8][9][10] Mélanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood, Brandon Auret and Lillian Dube also star.

Kevin Richardson, a lion expert also known as the “Lion Whisperer”, oversaw the entire production process and all interactions between the lions and the children ensuring the safety of the animals, cast and crew on set.[8]

The film is based on an original story written by de Maistre's wife, Prune de Maistre, after they visited lion-breeding farms in South Africa. The screenplay is written by Prune de Maistre and William Davies. The film is co-produced by Studiocanal, M6 Films, Film Afrika and Pandora film and created in collaboration with Canal+, Cine+, M6, W9 and Film-und Medienstiftung NRW in partnership with Kevin Richardson.[11][7]

Reception

Box office

Mia and the White Lion[8] is currently the highest-grossing French production outside France in 2019, accumulating a total of 2.43 million spectators (€13 million in box office revenues) in 25 markets around the world, including 900,000 admissions in Italy (€5.62 million) and 264,000 admissions in Colombia (€625,000).

Critical response

Reviews were broadly positive. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 6.94/10.[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

References
  1. "Mia et le lion blanc (Mia and the White Lion) (2018) - JPBox-Office". JPBox-Office. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  2. "Mia and the White Lion (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  3. "Mia and the White Lion (2019)". The Numbers. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  4. Mia and the White Lion | Movie Site & Trailer | April 12, 2019, retrieved 2019-04-05
  5. "Anecdotes du film Mia et le Lion Blanc" (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  6. "Mia et le lion blanc: Les scènes où Mia joue avec le félin adulte sont à couper le souffle". Première (in French). December 26, 2018.
  7. McNary, Dave (2019-02-06). "Film News Roundup: Family Adventure 'Mia and the White Lion' Set for U.S. Release". Variety. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  8. Goodfellow, Melanie. "Buyers pounce on Studiocanal's hot EFM title 'Mia And The White Lion' (exclusive)". Screen. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  9. "Gilles de Maistre: 'Mia et le lion blanc a été acheté partout dans le monde… sauf en Afrique du Sud'". Première (in French). December 27, 2018.
  10. "Mia et le lion blanc: 'Avoir un lion comme ami, c'est extraordinaire et c'est ce qu'a fait cette enfant'" (in French). AlloCiné. December 26, 2018.
  11. McNary, Dave (2019-02-06). "Film News Roundup: Family Adventure 'Mia and the White Lion' Set for U.S. Release". Variety. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  12. "Mia and the White Lion (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  13. "Mia and the White Lion reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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