The Lion King tells the story of Simba and his journey from a young cub to an adult who also happens to be the heir to the throne of the “Pride Land”. As a youngster Simba is always getting into trouble until one day, a tragedy unlike no other falls upon him and with that tragedy weighing deep on his heart he leaves the Pride Land never to return until he is visited by Rafiki, an old baboon shaman and Nala (His betrothed). Both convince him to return to the Pride Land and claim his rightful place as king by beating his uncle Scar in a fight.
THE VOICE ACTORS
As with most Disney films, the voice cast is amazing and suit their roles perfectly, the most impressive, in my opinion is that Mufasa, Simba’s father, is voiced by James Earl Jones. Not one voice in the whole film is badly suited to their character.
THE ANIMATION
Africa has never looked as beautiful as it does in this film. That was a big statement considering this is an animated film, however it is true. Africa, the animals, everything looks beautiful in this film. Traditional 2D animation suits this film perfectly, if this film was made in 3D CG animation nowadays then it would lose some magic which 2D gives it.
CONCLUSION
Everyone loves The Lion King, if you don’t then you don’t have a soul. I felt myself smiling at certain parts i remembered from when i last viewed it almost 10 years ago. These traditional Disney films always make me nostalgic and turn me right back into a child without fail, however The Lion King achieved this goal straight the way with the opening song. Obviously now as a more mature person i can catch some things that went over my head as a child and unfortunately pick up on some things which i don’t like that much. Rafiki is a stereotype of an African shaman, however it was the early 90’s so Disney can be forgiven. I never realised how short this film was either, i was just starting to really get into it and before i knew it, we have the climax. The Lion King is a truly great movie, not perfect but highly recommended for people of all ages.
MY SCORE
8/10