- Title: The Lion King
- IMDb: link
It’s the circle of life. Returning to theaters for the film’s 30th anniversary, The Lion King tells the story of young Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick) and his journey following the death of his father (James Earl Jones) and the pride being taken over by Simba’s villainous uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons) and his hyenas (Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings) responsible for Mufasa‘s death and Simba’s exile.
The highest grossing film of 1994, and the first Disney animated feature based on an original story, the film was also a critical success winning Oscars for score and original song (“Can You Feel The Love Tonight“), the Annie for best animated film, a BAFTA, three Golden Globes, two Grammys, and awards from countless critics groups (including best animated film from the Kansas City Film Critics Circle).
Part Hamlet and part African safari, The Lion King has something for everyone including power-mad villain and his wacky minions, big musical numbers such as “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata,” amusing supporting characters in Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) and Timon (Nathan Lane), Zazu (Rowan Atkinson), and Rafiki (Robert Guillaume). Not expected to amount to much (Disney creators had far higher hopes for Pocahontas) the film out performed all expectations. Three decades later it still holds up, remaining one of Disney’s most popular and successful animated films of all-time.
Watch the trailerWatch “Circle of Life”
Watch “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”
