A Wonderful adaptation of Hamlet; couldn't have been better.
Review #51Young Simba has a lot to learn if he is to become King, and fortunately he has his wise father there to guide him.
Unfortunatley, Simba's Uncle and Mufasa's brother, Scar (Jeremy Irons), was next in line to become King, but then Simba was born. Ever jealous, Scar is planning on taking the monarchy away from Mufasa and Simba.
One day, Simba is left by Scar in a gorge, and is trapped by a wildebeast stampeede. Mufasa, on alert by Scar, proceeds to the gorge to rescue Simba. Simba witnesses his father die right then and their. He is then run out of the pride lands by hyena's in league with scar. Scar is able to take over the monarchy like he always wanted to.
Scar's first order is that the hyena's, once outcasts, would join the lions to rule over the pride lands. But things only go downhill from there.
Simba runs untill he peters out and is befriended by Timon, a meerkat (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa, a warthog (Ernie Sabella). Together, they enjoy a life of Hakuna Matata (no worries) and eat not but bugs and grubs.
But things have gotten out of hand in the pride lands, and an old friend of Simba's comes around looking for help. She manages to find Simba. With help from friends of many kinds, Simba realises that he must journey back to his home, "Pride Rock," to right the wrongs of the evil Scar.
As we watch The Lion King, we see young Simba, innocent and sweet, who is not learned of the ways of life, have to deal with his father's death first hand. On top of the burden, Simba feels guilty at causing this death when in fact it is not his fault.
This movie is not so much a comedy as it is a drama; and indeed it is a powerful drama. The Lion King borrows heavily from Hamlet; in fact they are almost identical: an Uncle steals the kingdom's throne from his brother; the rightful heir fights for the power. We have the ghost in Mufasa, and we also have the Rosencrantz/Guildenstern-like friends in Timon and Pumbaa. We also have a beautiful girlfriend (Nala / Ophelia) and a Queen (although she didn't marry Scar).
This film should not be remembered for the fact that it sold 55,000,000 copies; it should be remebered for it remarkable performances, wonderful songs, and timeless appeal.
Plot:
A Wonderful adaptation of Hamlet; couldn't have been better.
Animation:
Wow. As good as Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast.
Sound:
Elton John and Tim Rice created many Great songs for this film, and they are all exceptional, including the favourtie "Can you feel the love tonight?".
Even the score by Hans Zimmer is awesome, which is why it won the Oscar.
Character Development:
Simba is young, innocent lion cub who witnesses death but then runs away from his past only to discover that he must confront the very person who created the whole situation in the first place. The development of the central characters is a most important theme in the film and it was handled perfectly.
Atmosphere: 
It's easy to get lost in agreat Disney film, and this is no exception!
Realism:
How Disney is the movie?
Warren’s Rating:
Movies it was nominated with for Best Animated Feature:
This catagory did not exist in 1995.
8.88/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
13-10-03
