A true original Disney classic!

Rating: 10/10 (22 September 2007)

I remember watching this movie when it first came out on video as a little kid. Now I'm grown up and much older, but my feelings about this movie remain the same. It's terrific. One of the first movies I really came to love. Little kids and parents will both enjoy this classic kid's movie from Disney, despite being an older movie.
It's easy to understand The Lion King's success if you look at the cast. It's got Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Madge Sinclair, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, etc. These are great actors, and they do all of their parts well. The comedy was pulled of well, the dramatic scenes were awesome, and the songs are just plain wonderful. I honestly wish Disney made more stuff like this, since I feel some of their recent stuff is horrible. This movie had the plot, scenery, and dialog of a truly great kid's movie.
The story is that Simba is a young prince, son of king Mufasa, and heir to the pride-lands. The pride-lands are the beautiful plains where many peaceful animals live. Scar, Mefusa's brother, is outraged that Simba is before him in line for the throne. Scar's corrupt soul only desires to be ruler, so he plots with the outcast hyenas of the out-lands to kill Mefusa and Simba. During the scheme, Mefusa dies while Simba escapes. Simba, however, thinks he's responsible for his father's death because of a chat with Scar. Scar becomes ruler, and his hyena henchmen take over the pride-lands and devour everything.
Meanwhile, Simba is rescued and befriended by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog who live carefree lives in a beautiful land away from the pride-lands. Simba learns to live without responsibilities or worries, and puts his past behind him. Then he runs into his old best friend, Nala. Nala tells Simba of what has happened to his homelands, and with some counseling from a baboon named Rafiki, Simba returns home. Accompanied by Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, and even Rafiki, Simba fights scar and takes his place as king.
I still have my original VHS copy of this movie, and I still watch it to this day. It is a truly great combination of drama, comedy, life lessons, and musical songs in a Disney movie. This movie is one of the best of all time. Get a copy if you can. You will not be disappointed.