An African anthropomorphic animated epic from Disney now celebrates it's 20th anniversary!

Rating: 10/10 (24 June 2014)

Back at the 1930s, a person named Walt Disney made his first company in the Hollywood industry known as the "Walt Disney Animation Studios". Then, after making a few animated shorts, they made their very first full length feature film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" based on a fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm. When it was first released, it was well-received globally from critics and audiences and started the trend, thus making the genre very successful. When Walt Disney died in 1966, however, Disney went towards the Dark Ages and were trying to find a way to get them back on track. Then, in 1989, when The Little Mermaid was released and became a hit, they started their new trend known as the Disney Renaissance with The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. However, the only Renaissance film that was considered to be the most successful was this, "The Lion King", an anthropomorphic African feature film based on the religious stories of Joseph and Moses and also based on the Shakespearean play Hamlet.
It tells the story about a young cub named Simba who's destined to become king of the jungle. However, his evil ruthless uncle Scar kills Simba's father Mufasa in a stampede of wildebeests and blames it on Simba, causing him to run away from Pride Rock. A few years later, after meeting two comic-relief sidekicks named Timon and Pumbaa, Simba grows up, away from responsibility. However, a wise baboon named Rafiki informs Simba that he has to take responsibility and return to Pride Rock to set things right.
With that said, I want to sum up this film in only one word: fantastic. Not only is it one of Disney's best since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, and so on and so forth, but it's one of the best Disney Renaissance films, period. Thanks to it's reviews on Rottentomatoes, there are a lot of good things to say about it.
The story is extremely compelling. Not only does it expand on the world it's created in Africa and it's Mythos, perfectly, but it does a great job at sending really good morals about responsibility and facing your past. Also, the mixture of comical moments along with some really dark ones (consider how this had a darker tone like "The Black Cauldron" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" two years later) are blended perfectly to make it appeal to a family audience and it shows. Oh, and I also forgot to mention that this film has a notable scene where Simba cries over the death of his father, Mufasa and I gotta tell you, it made me shed some tears. No, really. I did.
Anyway, the animation is breathtakingly beautiful. The world of Africa, Pride Rock, the Pride Lands, Scar's lair, the Elephant Graveyard, the Stampede scene, and the African Jungle where Timon and Pumbaa live are beautiful to look at even by 2D animation standards. Also, the character animation and designs are amazing and the facial expressions in them are solid.
As for the characters, they're very likable. Simba, both child and adult, is nice it made me relate to him, Nala is also a good character both child and adult as well. The comic reliefs are also good. Timon and Pumbaa are extremely funny as is their chemistry together, Zazu is a very funny bird, and the three hyenas, Shenzai, Banzai, and Ed are laugh-out-loud hilarious. The characters that standout the most, however, would have to go to Mufasa, the intimidating, but wise father, Rafiki, the also wise baboon, and Scar, the ruthless uncle with great motives that explains why he wants to rule all of Pride Rock. The voice acting is top-notch with a killer cast including James Earl Jones, Rowan Atkinson, Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and Matthew Broderick.
The third and last thing would have to go to the music score from Hans Zimmer. This is the film that introduced me to this guy when I was a kid and I listened to his other scores for future movies such as the The Prince of Egypt, the Dark Knight Trilogy, the two Kung Fu Panda films, and Man of Steel (all of which were beautiful and solid that made those movies worth it). His score here, like the films that preceded this, is beautiful and compelling. It has an African choir, it helps represent the themes perfectly and the action music is thrilling it would send chills down your spine. The songs, written by Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, are wonderful and will always be timeless. The Circle of Life opens the film very brilliantly, I Just Can't Wait To Be King is good with an upbeat tone, Be Prepared, a creepy, but spine-tingly awesome, Hakuna Matata is a pretty good comedy song that means no worries to me, & Can You Feel The Love Tonight is a solid romance song that represents Simba's relationship with Nala very well.
Overall, The Lion King has been a childhood favorite of mine and as a young adult, it still holds up along with Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and all of the other Disney films in the past. It's compelling, it's epic, it's beautiful, and it's a sight that you'll never want to miss. To those who are Disney fans, go watch it. To those who aren't, however, still go watch it. A solid recommendation! :)