Content lists tell parents what happened. They rarely say what it meant. This is a look at how a family film presents attraction, dating, and the body, using three films LionLens has reviewed recently — because the same element can be handled well in one story and carelessly in another.
ParaNorman (2012)
LionLens rates this some for sexuality and relationships.
Early dialogue includes a joke about watching “sex and violence” on TV. The line is brief, but it signals a slightly older comic edge than some parents expect from animation.
Read the full review of ParaNorman
Love Don’t Co$t a Thing (2003)
LionLens rates this some for sexuality and relationships.
Teen relationships are tied closely to status and desirability. A party scene and school conversations frame dating as social currency, and one line makes a direct masturbation joke: “Clearly, Alvin’s not masturbating enough. Thank God I don’t have that problem.” Parents may want to discuss how the film links romance with popularity rather than covenant love.
“She’s like a Frappuccino with hips”
Read the full review of Love Don’t Co$t a Thing
Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, The Movie (2023)
LionLens rates this some for sexuality and relationships.
Romantic tension stays mild but noticeable, with repeated crush language and a near-kiss style teen dynamic between the leads. Lines like “I would give every moment I have left… for just a glimpse of you” keep the focus on longing and attraction, so families may want to talk about modesty and wise affection.
Read the full review of Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, The Movie
What To Do With The Difference
Set the three side by side and the useful question stops being “how much was there?” and becomes “what did the story want us to feel about it?” A film can show something difficult and still treat it as difficult. Another can show far less and quietly make it look admirable.
That is the question worth teaching children to ask for themselves, long before they stop watching films with you.