One of Disney's best animated flicks

Rating: 10/10 (26 February 2010)

The Walt Disney Company is without a doubt the biggest animation studio of all time. They created the genre back in 1937 with 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' and kept making animated movies, even until today. The company holds credit for some truly all-time classics, such as the own 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', 'Cinderella', 'Sleeping Beauty', etc. But back in 1994, when 'The Lion King' came out, it seemed like Disney was losing its touch, without the magic of the movies in former times. But 'The Lion King' changed that, showing that Disney still had it what it took to make a great movie, and they managed to make one of their best flicks.
'The Lion King' tells the story of Sinbad, a young lion, son of the village's king, Mufasa. But the brother of Mufasa, Scar, always wanted to be king, and he feels threatened once Sinbad is born, because the throne goes to Sinbad, not to him. He then performs an elaborated plan to kill his own brother and convince the young Sinbad that he did it. Now Sinbad runs away because of shame, only to be persuaded to come back already as a grown lion and try to rule the kingdom instead of Scar. 'The Lion King's story is assumed as been a crossover of 'Hamlet' and 'Bambi'. It does have lots of elements of both's story, but the movie hold its own rights by telling the story, in a very excellent manner. The character study and development is amazing, extremely well-written script, except for a few parts, where characters make stupid choices, but it's really minor and you don't realize it. One thing I didn't like is the movie's running time, I mean, of course it's a children's movie, but it could run a little longer, showing missing parts like Sinbad growing up with Timom and Pumbaa. And talking about them, these are some of the best and most charismatic characters in an animated movie. They really stole the whole show. And the charisma Timom and Pumbaa have left, the main character doesn't. I really didn't like him, and when he grows up he is just like his father, you can't really distinguish them.
The voice-acting in here is truly great. I think that the movie is quite well-cast, with some famous names like Matthew Broderick as the main character, Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, the king's adviser, Jeremy Irons as Scar, Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi, one of the hyenas, and others not so- famous names, like Nathan Lane as Timon and Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa. In my opinion, the best member of the cast is Jeremy Irons. He managed to put such a depth on the villain, Scar, which I dare to say it's one of the best performances by an actor in a animated movie. It really blew me off. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella were also great as Timon and Pumbaa. Excellent chemistry between both.
This movie was directed by two people, Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. Generally, people say that directing an animated picture is easier than a live-action one, because you can put the camera wherever you want. It's true some times, but the animation has other challenges than a normal picture, and the both directors did a good job, except in the final fight scene. The use of slow-motion bothered me, it seemed like one lame action picture. But aside from this, the rest of the movie is greatly directed and animated. As for the animation, it's simply fantastic, there's nothing more to say about it. It one one the best 2-D animation ever. All the character's moves, the background, the effects of light and shadow, the representation of Africa's nature, the effect of depth and mainly the effects of fire and water are so real, but at the same time they have a beautiful, unique style. Thumbs up for the animators and the art-director, they used the huge movie's budget to animate it perfectly.
This movie is also well-known by having one of the best soundtrack of an animated picture. It's true indeed. Elton John's and Tim Rice's songs are great for a children's film, but it's Hanz Zimmer's original music score that sets the mood perfectly. It has such a depth, such a soul to it, it's hard to imagine the movie without it. All the sequences are perfectly composed and executed, but it's the opening scene that still gives me chills every time I watch it. It's one of the best introductions to a movie of all time. That's mainly because of the perfect score and also the great cinematography, another perfect aspect about this movie. It's an animated movie, yes, but it has an excellent cinematography. There some scenes with a groundbreaking photography, the kind of thing to set the bar for others to come.
Overral, 'The Lion King' is one of the best Disney's animated flicks and one of the best animated movies off all time. Personally, been a Pixar fan, I still prefer 3-D animation, but I can't deny that the 2-D animation here is excellent, with some great effects. The voice acting is nice, and Jeremy Irons delivered an incredible performance. Hanz Zimmer's original music score is one of the best of all time, together with the cinematography. 'The Lion King' proved Dysney still had it on them to make excellent pictures, but unfortunately they didn't make anything that even comes close to 'The Lion King' after it. It's a true shame.
9/10