The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King poster

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

201 min · Fantasy

USPG-13UK12AAUMCAPG

50 MILD

ScoutScore

Worth a quick check before you press play.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King scores 50 on the ScoutScore, which is Mild. Worth a quick check before you press play. FilmScout maps 15 flagged scenes and 2 worth skipping.

A ScoutScore is a living number. We re-check movies against the source and raise or lower it when we find something the first pass missed, so a score you see today can differ from one you saw last month.

What FilmScout flagged

Heads up	8
Caution	5
Skip	2

Content map

How the scenes we flagged in this movie divide up by kind. These are shares of what was flagged, not a level, and not a promise about anything we did not flag: a movie with very little flagged content can still be 80% one kind.

Flagged for violence and action with scary and dark.

Scary and dark	30%
Violence and action	43%
Themes	27%
Sexual content	none flagged
Substances	none flagged
Language	none flagged
All flagged content	100%

Direction is the kind of content flagged. Reach is the ScoutScore, which is how much there is: green at the centre, yellow, orange, then red at the dotted line, which is 100. The scale has no ceiling, so a shape can cross it.

Scenes FilmScout flagged

Caution Smeagol strangles Deagol for the Ring
Heads up Gollum plots to lead Frodo to Shelob
Heads up Pippin looks into the palantir - Sauron's vision
Heads up Denethor sends Faramir on a suicidal mission
Heads up Gollum manipulates Frodo against Sam
Caution Shelob's lair - giant spider attacks Frodo
Caution Battle of Pelennor Fields and Denethor's death by fire (begins)
Caution Battle of Pelennor Fields and Denethor's death by fire (continues)
Caution Theoden's death and confrontation with the Witch-king
Heads up Sam fights Orcs to rescue Frodo

Where each one lands in the runtime, and alerts that arrive before it does, are in the app.

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Age ratings by country

AU	M
CA	PG
GB	12A
US	PG-13

Talk about it after

“Sam carries Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom when Frodo has nothing left to give. What does that kind of friendship look like in your own life, and what makes it so hard to ask for that kind of help?”

This guide tells you before. The app tells you during.

Every scene above is timed. The FilmScout app listens to the movie and taps you 30 seconds before each one, so you can skip it, mute it, or talk it through. Free to start on iPhone.

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Common questions

Is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King okay for kids?

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King scores 50 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, which places it in the Mild tier. Worth a quick check before you press play. FilmScout has mapped 15 flagged scenes in it, covering action, theme, dark imagery. The right answer depends on your child, which is why FilmScout shows you the scenes instead of giving a verdict.

What is the ScoutScore for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King?

50, which is the Mild tier. The ScoutScore is driven by the intensity of a movie's heaviest moments rather than how many it has.

What is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King rated?

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is rated PG-13 in the United States. Ratings differ by country: AU M, CA PG, GB 12A, US PG-13. A letter rating stamps a whole movie at once, so FilmScout scores it scene by scene instead.

See every scene in the FilmScout app.
Each flagged moment with its place in the runtime, plus live alerts that follow along while you watch.

ScoutScores are FilmScout's own scene by scene analysis and change as the catalog is rescored. FilmScout is independent and is not affiliated with, licensed by, or endorsed by any studio or ratings board.

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