The Lion King

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First of all, this is (obviously) a SPOILER review. I mean, who hasn’t seen this movie yet? If by some extraordinary circumstances you’re one of those unlucky souls, stop. Spend the next hour and a half watching this animated masterpiece and come back here. I will still avoid mentioning key details because I’m just used to it, and The Lion King has so many things to compliment that I don’t really need to get in-depth on spoilers. So, in case you haven’t notice it through my Twitter or occasional mentions in other reviews, The Lion King is one of my favorite films of all-time (animated or not)!

I rewatched it for the 312358th time this last weekend, and I cried more than when I was just a child. That’s how much this movie means to me. The sense of nostalgia plus the overwhelming emotions throughout the runtime are tear-inducing aspects that I can’t simply avoid. I literally cried (waterfalls) in four (!) different scenes. The opening sequence (Circle of Life) filled my eyes with nostalgia’s tears. Mufasa’s tragic moment obviously wrecked me (one of the most emotionally powerful scenes in the history of cinema). Simba receiving the whole “remember who you are” speech from Mufasa in the clouds is incredibly inspirational and therefore worthy of some sobbing. Finally, one of the last scenes, Simba climbing his way to the top of Pride Rock with Hans Zimmer‘s score, leaving me absolutely destroyed.

And I want to pick up on that last aspect: the score. It’s one of the most crucial technical features of a film, in my opinion. It can transform an “okay” scene into something magical or something pretty terrible, depending on what kind of score it is. Consequently, it can make a “good” movie turn into a “great” one. Hans Zimmer is one of my favorite composers ever. His soundtracks are always filled with such an epic vibe. Even if the film itself isn’t that good, his scores are still able to elevate it in some w...

Certainly not one of Disney's better animations from a technical perspective - the artwork lacks the vibrancy and detail of many of their earlier stories; but the combined efforts of Sir Tim Rice, Elton John and Hans Zimmer make this an enjoyable fantasy adventure. It is told in two parts - the first sees a son "Simba" born to the king "Mufasa"; a curious little fella who, alongside his friend "Nala" is inquisitive and mischievous - a real pain in the neck to the king's major-domo "Zazu". One fan the new cub really doesn't have, however, is the king's rather unimpressed brother "Scar" who hatches a plan to depose his brother and take over the kingdom. He manages to achieve exactly this and to get the youngster to blame himself and head off, alone, into exile. The second part is much more fun; he falls in with a warthog and is soon eating colourful grubs and living a peaceful, jolly life far from home. That idyllic existence is not to last long, however - "Nala" discovers he is still alive and races to alert him of the disaster that has befallen the kingdom under the rule of his uncle and his trusty band of hyenas. The musical numbers help it build to a gripping denouement, with clever, quite witty dialogue from some good - though not great - voice talents from the likes of James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and Whoopi Goldberg to keep the pot boiling. It is an enjoyable film to watch but I wasn't captivated by it.