The Lion King

The Lion King is the 32th animated movie by Walt Disney Pictures, as released on June 15, 1994.
== History ==
The Lion King is a darn good movie with a lot of history. Not only does it have the privilege of being Joel Severe's favorite movie, but it's gotten a whole bunch of awards too.
Awards:
* Two Academy Awards for its achievement in Music
*A Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
*Three Annie Awards
*1 Grammy Award
*2 BMI Film & TV Awards
*1 Kids Choice Award (Favorite Movie)
*Not to mention it got nominated for a whole bunch of others...
Cool ain't it? Yeah I know. It's also the twenty-eight highest grossing feature film. That means it made a lotta dough in the box office. $783,841, 776 wordwide to be exact, making it the most succesful film of 1994 worldwide. It was also the highest grossing animated film of all time - that is, until Disney Pixar's Finding Nemo came along. Nevertheless, its still the world's highest grossing 2D animated film. Critics absolutely LOVED the movie and it got critical acclaim. It even got a 92% rating by Rotten Tomatoes, a reviewing website with a bad attitude.
Also released was a soundtrack for the beloved movie, and another CD Rhythm of the Pride Lands which had music inspired by the movie. Songs from the movie have been featured in Disney compilation albums like Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic and Disney's Greatest Hits. Sequels soon followed this wonderful film: The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride and the part-prequel, part-parallel The Lion King 1 1/2 along with the TV series The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa which ran from 1995 to 1998. It was also adapted into a Broadway musical. Lion King characters were featured in the Disney/Square Enix video game series Kingdom Hearts.
The movie was released on VHS and Laserdisc (an old type of DVD) on March 3, 1995. These releases were discontinued in 1997. In 2002, the movie was re-released in theaters in IMAX with a new musical sequence. The movie was again released on VHS and for the first time DVD the following year, as part of the Platinum Edition line. This got discontinued in 2005 also. Yet copies of this still sell well on the internet these days. 
Disney also announced the Lion King on high-definition Blu-ray, as part of the Diamond Collection, which is basically a re-release of all the Platinum Editions, except in awesome 1080p HD and groundbreaking surround sound. This beauty will be released on October 4, and the trailer for it can be seen here. It was also announced that the film would be released on Blu-ray 3D, which is basically the same as Blu-ray, except it works as a 3D movie, which allows for you to view the film in 3D ala 3D films in theaters, with a 3DTV and Blu-ray 3D player. 
Prior to this release, the Lion King was re-released in theaters on September 16th, in 3D! How can a hand-drawn animated film be in 3D, you ask? Well then, see this film in theaters or get the 3D Blu-ray. I don't have to answer all of your questions. I'm not some sort of sage who knows everything. :/
The movie also came with some controversy. But I'd rather not state it, since I'm tired. So go figure it out yourself.
== Plot ==
The Lion King takes place in the Pride Lands, where a lion rules over the other animals as king. Rafiki, a mandrill, anoints Simba, the newborn cub of King Mufasa and Sarabi, and presents him to a gathering of animals at Pride Rock.
Mufasa takes Simba around the Pride Lands, teaching him about the "Circle of Life", the delicate balance affecting all living things. Simba's uncle Scar, who desires the throne for himself, tells him about the elephant graveyard, a place where Mufasa has warned Simba not to go. Simba asks his mother if he can go to the water-hole with his best friend, Nala. Their parents agree but only if Mufasa's majordomo, the hornbill Zazu, goes with them. Simba and Nala elude Zazu's supervision and go to the graveyard instead. There, the cubs are met by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, spotted hyenas who try to kill them, but they are rescued by Mufasa, who was summoned by Zazu.
Meanwhile, Scar gains the loyalty of the hyenas by claiming that if he becomes king, they'll "never go hungry again". Scar tells the hyenas to kill Mufasa and Simba, thus establishing his plan of regicide. Some time later, Scar lures Simba into a gorge while the hyenas create a wildebeest stampede. Alerted by Scar, Mufasa races to rescue Simba from the stampede. He saves his son but is left clinging to the edge of a cliff, which results in Scar flinging him into the stampede below. Scar convinces Simba that he (Simba) was responsible for his father's death and tells him to flee from the Pride Lands. Scar once again sends Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to kill Simba, but he escapes. Scar informs the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed and that he is assuming the throne as the next in line.
Simba is found unconscious by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat-warthog duo, who adopt and raise the cub. When Simba has grown into an adult he is discovered by Nala, who tells him that Scar has turned the Pride Lands into a barren wasteland. She asks Simba to return and take his place as king but Simba refuses. Simba shows Nala around his home and the two begin to fall in love. Rafiki arrives and persuades Simba to return to the Pride Lands, aided by Mufasa's presence in the stars.
Once back at Pride Rock, Simba (with Timon, Pumbaa and Nala) is horrified to see the condition of the Pride Lands. After seeing Scar strike his mother, Simba announces his return. In response, Scar tells the pride that Simba was responsible for Mufasa's death and corners Simba at the edge of Pride Rock. As Simba dangles over the edge of Pride Rock, Scar whispers to Simba that he killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba leaps up and pins Scar to the ground, forcing him to admit the truth to the pride. A raging battle then ensues between the hyenas and the lionesses which results in Simba cornering Scar. Begging for mercy, Scar blames the hyenas for Mufasa's death, but Simba orders Scar to go into exile. Scar pretends to leave but turns to attack Simba, resulting in a final duel. Simba triumphs over his uncle by flipping him over a low cliff. Scar survives the fall but finds himself surrounded by the now-resentful hyenas, who attack and devour him. The film concludes with the Pride Lands turning green with life again and Rafiki presenting Simba and Nala's newborn cub.
== Images ==
Lion_King_Karacters.jpg|The main characters in the series. From left to right: Shenzi, Scar, Ed, Banzai, Rafiki, Mufasa, Simba, Sarabi, Zazu, Timon and Pumbaa. Bottom right: Nala and her mother.
The_Lion_King_Musical.jpg|The Broadway Musical poster
The_Lion_King_3D_poster.jpg|Poster for the film's 3D re-release.
== Songs ==
Video:The Lion King Circle of Life HD|The Circle of Life....
Video:The Lion King Can't Wait To Be King HD|Oh, I Just Can't Wait To Be King!
Video:The Lion King Be Prepared HD|Be Prepared. I said, be prepared, boy!
Video:The Lion King Hakuna Matata|Hakuna Matata (No Worries)
Video:The Lion King Can You Feel the Love Tonight HD|Can You Feel the Love Tonight? Well, can you?
Video:The Lion King Morning Report HD|The Morning Report - Brand-New Musical Sequence
Video:The Lion King - Hula Song 720p|Hula! - When Simba needs Timon & Pumbaa to create a diversion, here's what they do.
==External Links==
*Official Website, or if that doesn't work, try this!
*The Lion King Wiki
===References===
*Wikipedia Article
Category:Articles