Hamlet, Prince of the Savannah

Rating: 5/10 (4 May 2004)

"The Lion King" is perhaps the last "true" Disney film and the second movie I ever saw in a theatre. I saw very few movies at all as a child and when my parents took me for my birthday one year, I was delighted. Perhaps that is why this movie means as much to me as it does. My love of "The Lion King" probably also relates to my passion for literature and enjoyment of Shakespeare's "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" on which Lion King was loosely based. A prince alone, commanded by the ghost of his betrayed father, must reclaim his kingdom and set his corrupt uncle straight: perhaps one of the most fascinating of Shakespeare's concepts.
Though I am somewhat annoyed by the "new age" views presented in "The Lion King," I have always found this film amusing, the music good, and the animation colorful. It was my young niece's favorite movie as she grew up and I hope, with its new DVD release, many more generations of children will be able to enjoy it as I and my family have.