A Crowning Achievement for Disney

Rating: 10/10 (30 September 2009)

From the amazing sunrise for Simba's birth to the incredible and breathtaking climax, Disney's The Lion King is not just an amazing animated film, it is one of the greatest movies ever made! It is the story of a young lion cub named Simba (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas from "Home Improvement") who is destined and "Just Can't Wait to be King" of the jungle. After his father and king at the time Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones from "Star Wars", "Field of Dreams"), is thrown into a wild stampede of wildebeests and killed by his evil uncle Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons from "The Time Machine"), Simba is thrown into exile by him and believed to have been killed by the hyenas. Then, he meets two hilarious characters that provide the comic relief to this dark film; a zany meerkat named Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane from "Mouse Hunt") and his kind warthog companion named Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella) and he adopts the "Hakuna Matata" lifestyle, while forgetting his true destiny; go back to Pride Rock, defeat Scar and restore the Circle of Life. Along the way, he reunites with childhood friend Nala (voiced by Moira Kelly) and meets a wise old baboon named Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillame) that remind him of his true destiny and leads to one of the greatest climaxes you will see in any film. The Lion King has everything an animated feature should have: great story, nice songs, dynamic music score, amazing animation, memorable characters (my favorite is Pumbaa), an edge of your seat ending, and a life lesson that anyone can apply to their life. This movie also has in my opinion the best voice cast for any animated film. Lion King is a film that everyone should see and own for you and your family to enjoy (I still have my VHS Copy of the film). Not my favorite animated film (the honor goes to "A Goofy Movie") but definitely in the top 5! Rating: A roaring 10/10!