Disney's The Lion King took the country by storm.

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2002)

It amassed more than $100 million in just a few weeks. The songs by Tim Rice and Elton John may not be up to those penned by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken for Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, but otherwise this Lion is a charmer. Marvelous animation, and what a cast! James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Guillaume, Jeremy Irons, Madge Sinclair, Rowan Atkinson, Nathan Lane and Cheech Marin. Well, their voices, anyway.

Yes, there is a little bit of Hamlet in the plot, as Mufasa, the lion king, is done in by his ambitious, scheming, brother Scar, who wants to sit on the throne. Scar and his hyena followers then go after Mufasa's rightful successor and son, the cuddly lion cub Simba. Thankfully, Scar doesn't marry Simba's mother, and the cub's childhood sweetheart, Nala, doesn't go bonkers and jump in the river. This is Disney, after all, so you can rest assured that the tragedy will eventually find its way to a silver lining and a happy ending. There are lots of laughs along the way with the cheeky meerkat Timon (Lane) providing more than his share. He and a worm-eating warthog named Pumbaa get to sing an infectious ditty called "Hakuna Matata," which is translated as, "Don't worry, be happy." Parents shouldn't be surprised if they are called upon to see it more than once. No problem. Hakuna matata.