Great cast and beautiful animation, plus the "circle of life" story make this a winner.

Rating: Null/10 (7 September 2004)

My comments may contain some SPOILERS. I believe everyone knows the story already, but please take note, you may not want to read further if you have not seen "The Lion King."
The Lion King follows a formula similar to other Disney animated movies, like Tarzan and Dinosaur. An orphaned baby is raised by a strange species, the baby eventually grows up to figure out what his real role is, then fights and beats an erstwhile 'leader' to claim the 'leader of the pack.' In this movie, Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick) is next in line for king, after his father Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones). But evil uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons) wants to be king, cooperates with hyenas, causes a stampede forcing Mufasa to rescue young cub Simba, Mufasa dies at the paws of his brother Scar, who then tells Simba to run, assuming the hyenas will eat him. The cub eludes the hyenas through a brier patch, but almost dies in the desert, buzzards surround him, when a weasel and his warthog come along, the warthog butts the birds out of the way, yelling "bowling for buzzards!"
So, the unlikely pair befriend young Simba, and he grows up into a magnificent young lion, spitting image of his dad. (The young Dinosaur had been raised by lemurs, the young Tarzan by apes, similar themes.) Meanwhile Scar as king causes all the animals but hyenas to leave, their home becomes a desolate wasteland. Simba is lured back by his "duty" after seeing an image of dad in the clouds, challenges Scar, mates with his cub hood girlfriend, and a new cub is presented. "The circle of life." Symbolically, the moment Scar is chased away, rains begin, their homeland will become restored to its former glory, with Simba as king!