Mowgli, Robin Hood Rated PG-13 by MPAA

Two classic tales hitting the big screen this year will be a little darker, more violent and more serious than expected. Warner Bros. Pictures’ Mowgli, the live-action movie based on The Jungle Book, and Summit Entertainment’s Robin Hood have both been officially rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Mowgli gets the rating for its “intense sequences of action violence including bloody images, and some thematic elements,” while Robin Hood gets it for “extended sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive references.”

Mowgli director Andy Serkis already said in an interview with Vulture last year that his version of the adventure story is “for a slightly older audience,” contrasting Disney’s family-friendly The Jungle Book that came out in 2016.

Serkis went on to say this about the film’s direction:

“It’s a PG-13, more a kind of ‘Apes’ movie, a slightly darker take, closer to Rudyard Kipling’s. It’s great to scare kids in a safe environment because it’s an important part of development, and we all loved to be scared as kids, so we shouldn’t overly protect them. Kids are so sophisticated, and that is why our ‘Jungle Book’ is quite dark.”

The legendary Sherwood Forest rogue has had a movie with a more mature slant in Ridley Scott’s 2010 version starring Russell Crowe. It should be interesting to see how exactly this latest adaptation will differentiate itself and push boundaries.

Are you excited to see grittier takes on these well-known stories? Let us know in the comments!