Rating of
3.5/4
I would be "lion" if I said this was a bad movie
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/02/08
The "Pride Lands of Africa" is ruled by "Mufasa" (voiced by James Earl Jones), a lion. His wife, "Sarabi" (voiced by Madge Sinclair), has given birth to an heir named "Simba," and his brother "Scar" (voiced by Jeremy Irons) is not happy that now he is second in line to the throne.
"Scar" so wants to be king that he would do anything to get rid of his brother and nephew. He conspires with three hyenas (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings respectively) to kill the cub (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas). He then comes up with a plan to trap his nephew, and kill his brother.
When "Mufasa" is killed in the trap, and "Simba" survives, "Scar" gets the young cub to believe that his father's death was his fault, and gets him to run away. "Scar" then informs the pride that both were killed.
While in the unwarranted exile, "Simba" is befriended by "Timon" (Nathan Lane), a meercat, and "Pumbaa" (Ernie Sabella), a warthog who is a little slow at times and has a problem with gas. The two raise the young cub into an adult (voiced by Mathew Broderwick) with the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata" ("No Worries" in Swahili).
One day, a lioness comes into their area, and it happens to be "Simba's" childhood friend "Nala" (voiced by Moira Kelly, and as a cub by Niketa Calame). "Nala" recognizes "Simba," now a spitting image of his father, by his eyes and tells her old friend what his uncle "Scar" and the hyenas have done to their home.
Now, "Simba" must forget his past, and fight for what is rightfully his -- the throne.
The first thing you can't help but notice is the amazing animation Disney was once known for. The colors are vibrant, and the motion of the characters are as closer to perfect you can get. All the characters are wonderfully designed, and are full of life. Even the backgrounds are wonderful.
Like in other Disney animated movies, there is lots of wonderful musical numbers. The songs are catchy, but not enough that they'll get stuck in your head when you least expect it.
Every performance in the film is wonderful. Every performer makes their character their own, and brings them to life.
There is some violent scenes in the film, but none are gory and filled with blood. These scenes may be too intense for younger viewers. Also, the scene where "Mufasa" dies may not be appropriate for younger viewers.
There are a lot of comedic scenes in this movie, which will make you laugh out loud. There are some puns in one scene which will make you chuckle and groan at the same time.
This is one movie that should be on your "Must See" list, and would be a wonderful addition to your video library.
