Lion King Movie Review

The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a lion cub who dreams of the day he'll be king of the jungle, just like his father, Mufasa . But he doesn't realize that in order for him to become king, his father has to die. That sad event comes all too soon, due to the meddling of his jealous uncle Scar . Mufasa perishes in an attempt to save Simba from a wildebeest stampede which was arranged by Scar to kill both of   them.   Scar lays on the guilt, convincing young Simba he has no place among the rest of the lions in the Pride Lands. Scar takes over as king, with   the help of hyenas .
Dejected, Simba heads off into the wilderness, vowing never to return. There, he meets the carefree duo of Timon ,a meerkat and Pumbaa ,a warthog who raise Simba with the philosophy of Hakuna Matata, or "no worries." But he can't live that life forever. The grown-up Simba runs into his old friend Nala . She tries to convince him to return home and end Scar's reign of terror, but it isn't until the past comes back to haunt him, literally, in the form of his father's spirit that Simba finally accepts his destiny. The film culminates in a climactic battle on top of Pride Rock, as Simba confronts Scar and finds out the truth about his father's death. He defeats Scar (who ws later killed by the hyenas). Simba takes over the throne and rules happily along with Nala.

The animation of The Lion King has always been beautiful, with gorgeous renderings of the open African savanna and more tropical jungle environments. This animation is enhanced greatly by a conversion to 3D. More than once, the clearly rendered open landscape feels like it stretches on for eternity, with only the veil of the movie screen standing between the audience and the land. The opening number, which shows the assembling of the animals for baby Simba’s birth, has always been one of Disney’s more memorable sequences. Now realized in 3D, it becomes even more memorable. The Lion King is definitely one of those movies that I...