The Lion King Fan Reviews

Disney and The Lion King

The Lion King Fan Reviews

A young lion cub is tricked by his power hungry uncle into believing that he is responsible for the death of his father, the king of the Pridelands. At his uncle’s urging, the cub runs away and abandons his rightful post as the next king, fearing that the rest of the kingdom would blame his as well. As a grown lion, he eventually returns to claim his rightful place when he hears of the hardships his uncle, now king, has brought to his former home. What can I possibly say about THE LION KING that hasn’t already been said? I mean, it is regarded by many (including myself, a huge fan of the genre) to be, not only the benchmark in Disney’s storied past, but the greatest “mainstream” animated film of all time, with the box office and VHS sales to prove it. This isn’t going to be easy, so I’ll keep the review short and focus on the new additions that make this DVD truly shine. Sure, I could focus on the fact that the animation in the film was unlike anything we had seen before it, or that the music was so good that it even garnered praise from Oscar himself. But instead, I want to touch briefly on what I think truly made this film stand out and endear itself to the masses.

Although it was a significant departure from the standard “fairytale” fare that viewers were accustomed to seeing from the house of mouse by the early 90’s, and despite the fact that the film used elements of the now typical (and freely copied) “Disney formula”, that had made its most recent predecessors like BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE LITTLE MERMAID and ALADDIN so universally popular, THE LION KING succeeded, and continues to succeed, on a completely different level. It does this, in part, by tapping in to a range of realistic human situations and emotions that viewers can learn from and empathize with, even though they are watching them being played out on screen, not by humans, but by a cast of exotic animals. That’s no small task. Dealing with such real-life issues as coping with the loss of a loved one, to lessons about facing your fears and owning up to your mistakes, this film can help to instill those lessons and values in our children, or even serve as a reminder to those of us so-called “grown-ups” who may have forgotten some of those valuable lessons along the way. That is the underlying power of this film, and why I believe it stands out from the crowd.

As usual, the voice talent that Disney assembled for this film was impeccable, lead by an impressive Jonathan Taylor Thomas ranging from playful to somber as young Simba and Matthew Broderick’s usually soft and coy vocals taking on a confident edge as an older Simba returns home to face off against his uncle. James Earl Jones provides the larger than life king, Mufasa, with a larger than life voice that resounds with the confidence and knowledge that you would expect a king to possess, while Jeremy Irons gives the main villain, Scar, a mischievous and commanding tone that, early on, even invokes a minute amount of empathy for his character that is rarely seen in the good vs. evil world of Disney. Comic relief is actually provided throughout by just about every character in the film, but is anchored by the perfect casting of Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella as the unlikely Meerkat and Warthog duo of Timon and Pumbaa. Video: The film is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions, but that’s pretty much where the comparisons to the original end. This is one of the most beautiful and brilliant digital presentations I have ever seen, animated or otherwise. The lines are crisp and the colors pop off the screen in a clean and vibrant palette that far outshines the already remarkable original. After watching the film, check out some of the special features that showcase scenes from the film. For the most part, they are still in their original form, and you’ll be amazed at the remarkable difference. Picture perfect!

Audio: Audio options include the original (and still exceptional) Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, as well as the All-New 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theatre Mix, which is the overwhelming result of sound mixer Terry Porter’s rework of the original for a more immersive home theatre experience. This track puts you smack dab in the middle of the colorful action! Superb. As is now pretty much standard with Disney DVDs, the film is THX Certified to boot. A French DD 5.1 track is also available as are English subtitles for the hearing impaired.

Where do I start? There are simply too many extras included with this set to get into a detailed rundown of each individual feature, so I’m just going to break them down by disc and topic, and give you an overview of the good, the bad and the strangely absent.

Disc 1:

Disc 1 includes an excellent commentary track with director’s Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers along with producer Don Hahn, in which they recount (in surprising detail, I might add) the entire process of making the film, from the story’s origins, to the importance of the musical contributions of Tim Rice and Elton John. Lots of fun, with lots of great info! Also included on the first disc are: a brief look at 3 deleted or abandoned scenes; a featurette on the making of the newly included scene, Morning Report; a few set-top games; 3 music videos; and trailers for some upcoming Disney productions including one for the upcoming sequel, THE LION KING 1 ½. Probably the niftiest thing to note of on disc one (especially for those of you with kids) is the inclusion of a sing along track that flashes up the words to all the songs while the film is playing. Good stuff.

Disc 2 :

First of all, let me just say that the “customized” navigation experience on the 2nd disc, which allows you to access the special features either by continent (Asia, Australia, Africa, etc.) or by topic (Story, Film, Music, Stage, etc.) is not only redundant, but at times confusing and ultimately annoying. I personally preferred the second option of browsing by topic (although I only realized this after I had confusingly explored each continent first!) Browsing by topic allows the user to select individual features within the sections one by one, or watch all the features in that section continuously, by choosing the Begin Journey option. Not many of the featurettes run much longer than 5 minutes each, so some DVD buffs who are looking for detailed, in-depth features like the ones that can be found on previous Disney Platinum Editions like TOY STORY 1 & 2, may be a little disappointed, but there is still enough here to make it worthwhile. Also, notably absent from the extras is any kind of features about, or with, the cast. No interviews, no clips, no nothing. Very odd! Here’s how the sections break down:

Story: This journey takes a look at the origin and influences behind the film through the featurettes: Story Origins, Timeless Themes and The Story Comes to Life.

Film: One of the more robust sections, this journey explores the inspiration for the look of the film, all the way through to completion, including the features: Origins, Production Research Trip, Art: African Influence, Reflections, Storyboard Process, Production Design, Computer Animation, Character Design Featurettes and Galleries, and more.

Stage: As you might have guessed, this section deals with the massive undertaking and evolution of bringing The Lion King to Broadway and includes lots of interesting and eye opening facts about adapting it for the stage through segments like: Musical Origins, Screen to Stage, Musical Texture, Setting the Stage, Leaps of Fantasy and more.

Music: Lots of great stuff here including interviews with Hans Zimmer, Elton John, Tim Rice and Lebo M. mixed throughout the features: Music Inspirations, Landmark Songwriting, Orchestral Color, Scoring Emotion, Music: African Influence, Audio Sequel, Full Circle, and more. There are also 3 music videos to choose from as well.

Animals: This section outlines Disney’s longtime relationship with the animal kingdom and kicks off with an introduction by Roy Disney and features informational segments about the animals of the Lion King, including: Lions, Meerkats, Warthogs and Hyenas. Mostly for the kiddies, but some adults will get a nostalgic kick out of seeing clips from old Disney nature shows in the Disney & Animals featurette.

Virtual Safari: One of the most innovative segments on the disc, The Virtual Safari is a 3D set top game (that features full 5.1 surround, no less), in which you ride along with tour guides Timon and Pumbaa (even though you make all the navigational decisions), either in a boat or a jeep, through some pretty treacherous terrain. Fun stuff to keep the kids occupied for an extra hour or so.

Despite being a little light on the in-depth special features (although there is quite a bit to choose from), this disc ranks as one of the best of its kind, simply for its superior sound and visuals. On a level, this DVD could easily propel THE LION KING beyond its status as one of the greatest animated films of all time to simply being one of the greatest films of all time, period. Whether you have kids of your own, are still a kid at heart, or know anyone that may stop by with their “little monsters” in tow, there is no reason not to have this DVD in your collection.

The Lion King, Disney’s first feature-length animation not based directly on an existing story, remains one of the studio’s best to this day. It has now been given a new lease of life on the big screen – the really big screen – as it gets a worldwide release in IMAX cinemas.
The film tells the story of Simba, a lion cub who’s dad is King Mufasa, the lion who reigns over the kingdom around Pride Rock. One day Simba will be king, unless his evil Uncle Scar can stop him and become king himself. After an accident that leads to the death of Mufasa, Simba flees the Pride Lands, convinced that he was to blame and he is no longer worthy to be king.
Even though there have been huge advances in CGI since 1994, the animation is still awe-inspiring and on the IMAX screen you can see the work of the animators close-up. The spectacular set pieces really come to life as they are scaled up, in particular the opening Circle of Life sequence and the wildebeest stampede.
The script is terrific, with the perfect mix of drama and comedy. The death of Mufasa is second only to that of Bambi’s mother in terms of tear-enduing sadness. Timon and Pumbaa border just on the right side of the line between funny and irritating.
There are some first-class voice performances from an a-list cast that includes Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg, Matthew Broderick and James Earl Jones.
Most highly praised, however, must be the music. The award-winning songs by Elton John and Tim Rice coupled with the score by Hans Zimmer bring Africa and the emotional baggage of Simba and company out of the screen and right into the heart of the cinema. The re-recorded version of Circle of Life, created specifically for the IMAX release somehow manages to top the intensity and power of the original.
The Lion King seems to transcend the ranks of Disney lovers and Disney haters, being a little darker than standard Mickey Mouse product but at the same time harbouring the best bits of a Disney cartoon inside. It features some spectacular animated set pieces that bring its African setting vividly to life. In the IMAX setting, it excels beyond any West End musical. A must see

Experience the power and majesty that is The Lion King! With its unforgettable story, Academy Award®-winning music, breathtaking animation and beloved characters, you’ll be inspired by the tale of Simba, the feisty lion cub who “just can’t wait to be king,” and his journey to claim his place in the “Circle Of Life.”

Now, in this dazzling 2-disc Special Edition, “there is more to see than has ever been seen” with an all-new song, never-before-seen animation, plug specially created bonus features that transport you into the work of The Lion King.

Movie Review

I remember going to see this movie 5-times in theatres when it was first released. It’s no surprise to me that it was the most successful animated film of all-time. The story is original, but does seem to have been influenced by a few biblical stories. It’s even mentioned in some of the extras that stories from the Old/New Testament inspired parts of the story.

The Lion King has a powerful story that’s told not only through animation, but also through the scripting, the musical score, and the voice acting. It’s not hard to see why this picture is the most celebrated animated film of the past century.

I’m sure there is no need to go into details about the story itself, because I’m sure there are not very many people in the world who haven’t seen this film or the stage show. I’m sure The Lion King will go down in history as one of the top films of all time.

Crave Factor – 10
By far, my favourite animated film.

Menu

Fly along with Zazu as he invites you to Pride Rock. The menu then pans out over the plains where you see various jungle creatures traveling across the screen and standing in the background. The river flows as rays of sunlight shine down from the sky. A portion of the films score accompanies the film.

Scene Selection – There are 3 scenes per screen with a total of 24 to choose from.

Set Up – You have three audio tracks for the Special Edition (5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theatre Mix, and English and French 5.1) and the same goes for the Original Theatrical edition of the film. You can also select the audio commentary from here. Captions are available in English for the hearing impaired. Of course there is a THX Optimizer included as well as the DVD Credits and Register Your DVD.

Play – Selecting play automatically starts the Special Edition of the film. You must navigate through the Set Up to choose which edition you’d like to watch. (I would have preferred an option after you click play to choose the OT or the SE like the Full Screen or Widescreen options on most DVDs)

Sneaks – The Lion King 1½ , Brother Bear, Sleeping Beauty: SE, George of the Jungle 2, Finding Nemo, The Santa Clause 2, Mary Poppins: SE, and one for Walt Disney World.

Disc Two Preview – It’s basically a trailer for the second disc. I don’t know why they put this here.

The bonus feature titles are all across the bottom of the screen. You’ll be able to see what there is in the next section. There is one option that brings you to a list of all the features and that is INDEX.

Crave Factor – 8
Other than Zazu, it’s a great menu.

Extras

filmmakers patting themselves on the back. “And we never knew it would be such a success...everyone thought Pocahontas was going to be the big blockbuster...but when you get a film like this that has such magic...” Sure, I agree with them, but come on. How many times do we need to hear this?

The bonus features could have been meatier and more in depth, but what’s here is still more than I could have expected to ever see or hear about The Lion King.

Disc One
Disney uses a cool concept for the titles of the extra menus. Using the areas that the movie takes place to categorize them.

Grasslands
The Making of “The Morning Report” – A discussion on how this new song came to be.

The Lion King Personality Profile Game – Well, I’m most like Rafiki. Who are you most like?

Tree of Life
“Circle of Life” Music Video Performed by Disney Channel ”Circle of Stars” – There is a pop version of the highly popular song from the Lion King. Members of the “Circle of Stars” are: Orlando Brown, Hilary Duff, Tahj Mowry, Kyla Pratt, Raven, Christy Carlson Romano, A.J. Trauth, and Anneliese van der Pol.

The Making Of The Music Video – Wow, behind the scenes stuff… umm – ya.

Sing-Along Track – By choosing this option all the words for the songs will appear on the screen for you to sing along with.

Jungle
Timon’s Grab-A-Grub – Fun for kids. Snag up bugs for Timon to eat.

Pumbaa’s Sound Sensations – Animal sounds play and you must decide which animal makes that noise.

Elephant Graveyard
Here is where you’ll find the Deleted Scenes & Abandoned Concepts for The Lion King. There are 3 of them.

Disc Two
When you first pop in the second disc you may be a little confused with so many menu options right in front of your eyes. The extras have been laid out into two categories – Continents and Journeys. You can access all the extras from the Journeys category, which makes more sense to me, but having two different ways to access them is a unique concept.

We’ll skip the Continents navigation and look at the Journeys, which each have their own little submenus with short documentaries running under 5 minutes.

Story
The Lion King is one of the few animated features that Disney has produced that is not based on a novel. Here, you get to find out their inspiration for the film by watching three short featurettes (Story Origins, Timeless Themes and The Story Comes to Life).

Film
There is some surprising info in these featurettes. Who would have guessed that Disney wasn’t too keen on The Lion King and expected Pocahontas to be their cash cow. Well, surprise surprise looks like The Lion King got the final say. This is the heartiest section with the following featurettes: Origins, Production Research Trip, Art: African Influence, Reflections, Storyboard Process, Production Design, and Computer Animation.

Stage
My wife and I went to see the Broadway musical based on the film last summer, and we enjoyed it immensely. It was nice to go behind the scenes a little and see how this came about. The costumes and ideas for bringing the story to life are incredible and haven’t really been matched yet. The featurettes in the section are: Musical Origins, Screen to Stage, Musical Texture, Setting the Stage, Leaps of Fantasy, and Stage Musical Publicity Gallery.

Music
This is probably the best feature of the bunch. There is no doubt in my mind that without the score the film wouldn’t have had the success it did. The opening number (“Circle of Life”) set the tone for the film wonderfully and it didn’t slow down from there. Here’s what you’ll find in this section: Music Inspiration, Landmark Songwriting, Orchestral Color, Scoring Emotion, Music: African Influence, Audio Sequel and Full Circle. There are also the original music videos for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?", "Circle of Life", and "Hakuna Matata."

Animals
There could have been so much more in this section even as fun as it stands now. Without human characters they could have gone deeper into the animals that helped create the wonderful world of The Lion King. Here’s a look at the featurettes that feature our main animals that are in this section: Lions, Meerkats, Warthogs, Hyenas, Disney & Animals, and another Introduction.
There is still one more fun feature on this disc and that is the Virtual Safari with Timon and Pumbaa. Choose between three different safaris’s that allow you to have some input on the way you’d like to go. It’s actually quite unique and fun.

Crave Factor – 8
Just a little disappointing.

Video

WOAH! This has to be the best video I’ve come across for an animated feature. Actually, it may be the best video on a DVD release yet. I know… it’s hard to believe. And some of you are saying – “What about Star Wars?” “What about Fifth Element Superbit?” I think you’ll be hard pressed to find anything with the same level of clarity that has been achieved here. I noticed no artifacting, no noise, and no edge enhancement. That’s right, let me repeat that… no edge enhancement. The colors are bright, rich and vibrant. There is no bleed through and darks are spot on.

Crave Factor – 10
I’d give it an 11 if I could.

Audio

Disney has included two great audio tracks. First, is the original theatrical 5.1 mix, which sounds exactly as you’d expect. The second is an Enhanced for Home Theater Mix, which takes everything we know about surround sound and throws it right out the window. There are no surrounds and no fronts, but a complete set of five speakers and one powerful subwoofer.

The sound track immerses you right into the movie with kick-in-the-face audio. The enhanced mix is more dynamic and creates a much more special sound experience. You’ll wonder why they even bothered including the original track.

Crave Factor – 10
King of all audio tracks.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts

Dang, this is a long review, but I guess with a release like this you kind of have to expect it. I’m extremely impressed with the quality of this DVD. The creation of the Home Theater Enhanced Mix adds something to this DVD that will make it standout for some time. The pristine video has to be the best I’ve ever seen. The extras could have been better, but they’re not substandard in any way. This is a must own for everyone.

+ I can’t come up with anything else to describe this supernumerary DVD.

- I’ve already said it.

"Experience the power and majesty that is The Lion King! With its unforgettable story, Academy Award-winning music, breathtaking animation and beloved characters, you'll be inspired by the tale of Simba, the feisty lion cub who 'just can't wait to be king,' and his journey to claim his place in the 'Circle Of Life.'" -- The Lion King DVD liner summary

The Lion King doesn't do a lot for me, and yet I like it, I like owning it, and I enjoy talking about it. I can intellectualize the film's delights without feeling offended by my numbness to them. The day The Lion King came out, during the summer of Gump, I bought a ticket for Wyatt Earp instead, convinced that I would be more satisfied by its three hours than The Lion King's hour and change. Nobody remembers this now, but back then, the trades were counting on reunited Silverado collaborators Lawrence Kasdan and Kevin Costner to deliver the sleeper hit of the summer; although back then everybody peripheral to the production tried to pawn the film's failure off on the growing cult of Tombstone worship, the fact is that Wyatt Earp is, if not the most tedious movie ever made, perhaps the second-most. Still, when a friend rolled up his sleeve for me a few weeks later to reveal four fingertip-sized bruises he sustained from watching The Lion King with his girlfriend (she white-knuckled her way through the wildebeest stampede 'til his arm went to sleep), I remained unconvinced that Disney's latest blockbuster cartoon, which had grossed over $200M by that point, was worth the price of a ticket, having been taken for a ride by the prestige surrounding Beauty and the Beast.

So I never did see The Lion King in a theatre, though I meant to when it was re-released on IMAX screens earlier this year. I've viewed it twice on LaserDisc and twice on DVD, and I suspect it fails to grab me by the throat in part because at home it's not occupying my periphery: in a cinema, the aforementioned stampede, executed with brilliant attention to depth, must catch a little of the lightning that caused audiences to duck in a silent film that showed a train barrelling towards the camera. Sans scale, that leaves me with no less handsome animation, annoying songs, trite pop-culture references, an uneven line-up of vocal talent, and some ripe symbolism to appreciate--everybody got up in arms up over a cloud in the movie that dissipates into the word "sex" (yet another subliminal discovery made by people with apparently so little to do, they should be forced into community service), but the parade of hyenas goose-stepping to a Nazi march passed completely without controversy! The film is almost courageously subversive, with the famous opening number " Circle of Life" (which has always reminded me, as Pauline Kael once remarked of the enchanted meeting between two churches from The Color Purple, of a fire drill) immediately followed by the smushing of a mouse and the villain, Scar, purring with Jeremy Irons' inimitable rasp, "Life's not fair, is it?"

Like the majority of Disney's animated features, The Lion King bills two directors, but this is the first time it feels as though there were irreconcialiable personalities at the helm. The film's tone pinballs more wildly than usual from tragic to manic, its art from naturalistic to expressionistic, its palette from wheat tones to garish Vegas hues (colourist Chris Sanders took his inspiration from splashy African textiles rather than the landscape of the film's setting, the Serengeti plains), its narrative from pure drama to pure comedy... Even the Elton John/Tim Rice tunes veer from gospel hymn ("Circle of Life") to shower jingles preaching blissful ignorance ("Hakuna Matata"), with a sense of the dogmatic their only throughline. It's a miracle not that the film achieves unity (it doesn't, though it's so symmetrically and allegorically plotted that it coheres), but that the incongruent elements, individually often charming, don't trample one another--although a sequence in which audience-faves Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabello) imitate Carmen Miranda and Travis Bickle, respectively, dispels too much of the climactic tension, and it paved the way for intrusive topical references in subsequent kid flicks, such as Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Lion King's huge take bronzed its blunders along with its charms.

The third DVD in Disney's "Platinum" line (after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the undeserving Beauty and the Beast), a work-in-progress that will eventually total ten titles, The Lion King deserves all the fanfare it's been getting for the quality of its THX-certified audio-visual presentation. Through seamless branching technology, you can choose to watch either the original film or its extended edition, which, like 2002's IMAX re-release of Beauty and the Beast, augments the film's running time by one ditty, in this case the inconsequential "Morning Report." (In the meantime, invoking a statute of limitations on grief, it scraps a pre-logos dedication to the late Frank Wells in favour of a redundant title card appended by the phrase "Special Edition.") A note on the sensational anamorphic widescreen transfer, windowboxed at 1.70:1 (we measured ourselves): it was struck from elements enhanced for The Lion King's "large format" engagement, thus there are times when the original cels did not stand up to scrutiny in IMAX and had to be rephotographed, digitally scrubbed, or, controversially, reanimated altogether.

Whether this means that colour and composition generally vary from the 1994 theatrical version remains unconfirmed by Disney and other sources, but it would certainly make for an interesting case study. Astoundingly, the DVD's sound is even more dazzling than its picture, specifically the Dolby Digital "5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix," which is--according to re-recording engineer Terry Porter elsewhere in the package--fairly representative of the audio stems that were prepared for the IMAX re-release. Though calling the film's original 5.1 track "conservative" (as Porter does) might seem absurd to owners of The Lion King LaserDisc, long the demo of choice for those with AC-3 systems, there's no denying that the '94 mix (included on the DVD for posterity) is enfeebled by comparison to Porter's handiwork. And don't think that Porter sacrificed nuance for pyrotechnics, either: the intense rumble that announces the onslaught of the wildebeests gradually eases up as the herd closes in on us, a fantastically logical decision if you possess a rudimentary understanding of how sound travels.

Although Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Sleeping Beauty DVDs are two of the format's major highlights for 2003, The Lion King continues the "Platinum" tradition of having drab supplements arduously arranged. Disc 1 houses the film, a shockingly bland commentary with producer Dan Hahn and co-directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff exclusive to the theatrical edition, and a smattering of add-ons. Under "Grasslands," find "The Making of Morning Report" (3 mins.) and "The Lion King Personality Profile Game." "Tree of Life" umbrellas a horrid rendition of "Circle of Life" by Disney Channel's Circle of Stars, the making of that abomination, and access to a sing-along track, while "Jungle" is where you'll locate the remaining set-top games: "Timon's Grab-a-Grub" and "Pumbaa's Sound Sensations." The "Elephant Graveyard" patches us through to three very brief conceptualizations for deleted scenes or abandoned concepts, one of which is Pumbaa warbling "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?". A text index, a preview of the second platter, trailers for The Lion King 1½, Brother Bear, Sleeping Beauty - Special Edition, George of the Jungle 2, Finding Nemo, The Santa Clause 2, and the Mary Poppins Special Edition, and a commercial for "Walt Disney World" round out the first disc.

Disc 2's bonus material falls under continental and film-themed categories with little regard for where any of it actually belongs. Let's break this down in the order that's intrinsic to the main menu--over which Scar provides instructions, by the by.

ASIA
Leaps of Fantasy (4 mins.)
A cursory glance at Garth Fagan's choreography for the hit stage show based on The Lion King.
Multi-Language Reel (4 mins.; with 1-minute intro)
Rick Dempsey, "Senior VP of Creative Disney Character Voices," sets up a montage of "Hakuna Matata" carefully dubbed in a variety of languages. Click on the sunburst icon when a new country's name appears and you'll leapfrog to that nation's favourite scene from the film in the appropriate tongue. Best not to consider how much time each country took deciding on their most cherished moment from The Lion King.

International Release (4 mins.)
The challenges of overhauling an English-language movie for a foreign audience are given lip service; isn't the subject of universality vs. cultural specificity--something that has intrigued me since it was broached on the Spirited Away DVD--worth a few more minutes?

"Stage Musical Publicity," "International Soundtrack Covers," and "International Large Format Release" galleries cap off our trip to Asia.

AFRICA
Music: African Influence (4 mins.)
Lebo M. asked what the movie was about, and then wrote his legendary opening chant in a matter of hours. We also learn that most of the film's musical talent--John and Rice excepted, of course--came directly from John G. Avildsen's apartheid drama The Power of One.

Audio Sequel (4 mins.)
A nice clarification on the purpose/motive behind "Rhythm of the Pride Lands," a Lion King album rife with selections that were fresh to the film's fans.

Production Research Trip (2 mins.)
The animators reminisce about their two-week getaway to Africa, a research trip they continue to celebrate with anniversary parties.

Character Design

Mufasa (1 min.): Animator Tony Fucile on creating the character for which he was responsible.
Simba (2 mins.): Mark Hann made incorporating the facial gestures of Young Simba's pipes-lender Jonathan Taylor Thomas into his rendering of the character a priority, a road less traveled except by Alex Kupershmidt, who transparently modelled his hyenas after the actors vocalizing them.
Scar (2 mins.): Andreas Deja, one of my favourite Disney animators, raises the dilemma of giving expressiveness to a character without hands.
Rafiki (1 mins.): James Baxter on humanizing a mandrill, the freakiest of all baboons.
Timon & Pumbaa (2 mins.): "They're like George and Lennie from The Grapes of Wrath," say Mike Surrey and Tony Bancroft. Should someone tell the pair they meant Of Mice and Men?
The Hyenas (1 min.): See above.

Art: African Influence (4 mins.)
The African influence was gradually weeded out of The Lion King's visual style, the filmmakers concede.

Instructional videos on lions (3 mins.), meerkats (3 mins.), warthogs (3 mins.), and hyenas (2 mins.) labour to de-fictionalize the habits of The Lion King's Mufasa, Simba, et al. Meanwhile, the Multi-Language Reel and International Release featurette are recycled, and the galleries receive an addition in the form of "Film Character Design." The video for "Hakuna Matata" rounds out the Africa section.

AUSTRALIA
Here, the funny trailer for The Lion King 1½ (in DD 5.1) as well as another portal for the galleries.

EUROPE
Landmark Songwriting (3 mins.)
The Lion King , we discover, was not initially a musical. Perish the thought!

The Multi-Language Reel, International Release featurette, and galleries again, plus videos for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" and "Circle of Life."

NORTH AMERICA
Who knew that North America consisted of Disney's four outposts of operation?

BURBANK
Disney & Animals (6 mins.)
A vacuous recap of Disney's history with talking animals.

DVD Sound Design (5 mins.)
See DVD details.

Reflections (5 mins.)
Disney prez Thomas Schumacher speculates that child viewers of The Lion King in 1994 will now foist the movie on their own kids. Finally, an upshot to teen pregnancy!

The International Release featurette is also contained herein.

ORLANDO
Find glorified commercials for Disney's new theme park ("Animal Kingdom" (4 mins.)) and resort hotel (the "Animal Kingdom Lodge" (2 mins.)). Oh, and "Disney & Animals" reappears here.

NEW YORK
Musical Origins (4 mins.)
The roots of The Lion King's compositions.

Screen to Stage (3 mins.)
Give Michael Eisner credit--Schumacher does--for having the loony inspiration to transform The Lion King into a live-action, night-on-the-town spectacle.

Musical Texture (3 mins.)
How the ethnicity that was squeezed out of the film got restored for Broadway, a means of giving the play some bourgeois legitimacy.

Setting the Stage (2 mins.)
Julie Taymor's breathtaking puppetry paraded before our hungry eyes.

"Leaps of Fantasy" returns, as does the Stage Musical Publicity gallery.

GLENDALE
Production Design (2 mins.)
Production designer Andy Gaskillon more or less aims to justify the picture's aesthetic disunity, arguing that the whole picture has scope. That it does, that it does.

Storyboard Process (2 mins.)
Circa '94, Allers and Minkoff discuss what goes on in the storyboard room.

Computer Animation (4 mins.)
You can tell this one's pretty old, too, from Scott F. Johnston's protest that "almost everything we do is still drawn by hand." The fascinating program he demonstrates, which 'taught' digital wildebeests not to bump into each other, would become the basis for the battle generators Peter Jackson used on The Lord of the Rings.

Storyboard to Film Comparison (4 mins.)
For the "Circle of Life" sequence.

SOUTH AMERICA
Déjà vu: "Stage Musical Publicity," "International Soundtrack Covers," and "International Large Format Release" galleries, in addition to the Multi-Language Reel and International Release featurette.

That's it for the continents. Now, onto:

STORY
Story Origins (5 mins.)
Surprise, surprise: myth, Shakespeare, the Bible's Joseph--all credited as influences on the narrative. The TV series "Kimba, the White Lion"? Not.

Timeless Themes (4 mins.)
An expansion of the previous segment, wherein "responsibility" is credited as The Lion King's key theme. Unfortunately, only the production team engages in critical analysis; had they asked Christopher Vogler or others like him to participate, perhaps this could've come off as less self-congratulatory.

The Story Comes to Life (3 mins.)
Allers remembers that his father passed away at the start of the production, a resonant tidbit indeed.

FILM
Origins (6 mins.)
At last, the existence of Jeffrey Katzenberg is acknowledged! (In an oh-so fleeting shot of the über-producer toe-tappin' to an unheard beat.) This is where we hear that The Lion King was thought of as B filler to the "A" picture Pocahontas.

The rest is rerun fodder: "Production Research Trip"; "Art: African Influence"; "Reflections"; "Storyboard Process"; "Production Design"; "Character Design"; "Computer Animation"; and the "Film Character Design" gallery.

STAGE
The "New York" branch of the "North America" section, whole-cloth.

VIRTUAL SAFARI
For the kids, mostly, and hosted--in voice only--by Timon and Pumbaa.

MUSIC
Musical Inspiration (3 mins.)
Self-explanatory, I hope.

Orchestral Color (4 mins.)
Composer Hans Zimmer illuminating his central weakness: "I never do any research, I just rely on my imagination."

Scoring Emotion (3 mins.)
Zimmer on the challenge of "scoring for animals."

Full Circle (2 mins.)
Elton John on winning an Oscar, about which he is as enthusiastic as ever.

The featurettes "Landmark Songwriting" and "Music: African Influence" return here, positioned next to videos for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?", "Hakuna Matata," and "Circle of Life."

ANIMALS
Nothing new here save an introduction from Roy Disney in which he marvels at the hand-carved, 14-story (!) "Tree of Life" at Disney's Animal Kingdom. It looks surprisingly diminutive on camera.

This DVD sells itself--shame that philosophy is evident in a lacklustre batch of extras, but you couldn't ask for a better-looking/sounding DVD in the pre-HD era. Also available in a gift set with five lithographs and a book.-Bill Chambers

Lion King roars loudest in Disney's jungle
Larry McMahan - Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 28, 1994 issue
Click here to print

When "The Little Mermaid" emerged on the screen in the beginning of this decade, I thought no more sap could be sucked from the tree of melodrama and tender, touching moments. But because the kids I was babysitting had decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, I decided to give it a shot. It was sappy, but good sap. All the sentiments were there, the good winning out against evil, love conquering all and all that stuff -- but, hey, it's a Disney movie. The mermaids were versatile, the visuals amazing and the supporting roles amusing. Never again would I turn up my supposedly cinematically mature nose to animated features.

Since "Mermaid," Disney's feature-length cartoons have not only gotten better, but also have become more accessible to the over-11 crowd. They're complex, sometimes violent, sometimes a little bit sexy and faster paced than a Nike commercial. Financially, each film since "Mermaid" has outdone the last. "Aladdin" set an all-time world box office record for animated movies by topping the $220 million mark.

Disney's most recent animated feature, "The Lion King," should be no exception to the trend. It is by far the most visually complex. Since the technological breakthroughs in computer animation first seen in "Jurassic Park," animation has taken on new levels and "The Lion King" is its witness.

Its originality rests in its being the first Disney film to be based on original source material, and being set in an environment populated entirely by animals. An animated Africa provides the stunning backdrop, accompanied by a soothing yet slightly irritating soundtrack by Academy Award winning lyricist Tim Rice and pop legend Elton John.

The story revolves around Simba, a future lion king who frets around his father's kingdom impatient about becoming the king of the jungle. His father, King Mufasa (played with the regal voice of James Earl Jones), teaches his son, somewhat incorrectly, about the Circle of Life ("we eat the antelopes, but when we die we dissolve into the soil and then the antelopes eat the grass that rises from it" -- basically saying that the antelopes are a kind of predator -- wrong!). Conflict starts when the power-hungry brother of Mufasa, Scar (played with the pretentious voicing of Jeremy Irons) starts planning the death of Mufasa and Simba so he can rule the kingdom. Scar teams with some hyenas, played hilariously by comedians Cheech Martin and Whoopi Goldberg, to complete his goal. In a breathtaking scene of stampeding wildebeests (here can be seen the contributions of computer animation), violence corrupts the picture-perfect world of Disney. Simba is spared, but he leaves the kingdom out of guilt for the impetuous situation.

While on the run, Simba meets two sidekicks, a meerkat and a warthog, who teach him the rules of a worry-free life. When an old friend appears on the scene to point out Simba's responsibility to be the new king, Simba returns to the kingdom to settle the score with Scar.

All of this is pretty exciting, especially for a Disney film. Despite the violence that may disturb the young viewer, the film is solid.

Note to the little kiddies: there are a couple of deaths in the film, one tastefully done, one not so tastefully implied, so be forewarned. Yet, they're not that bad. Life is not a bowl of cherries, and a Disney film need not necessarily be one either. There are only five songs, yet, according to film critic Terrence Rafferty of the New Yorker, they "provide ideal opportunities to take the kids to the bathroom, the candy counter or the shrink." The opening song sounds a lot like the African tunes of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (who has worked a lot with Paul Simon) if it's not really them, but I think it is, so they're not too hard to swallow.

"The Lion King" is a film that takes off from a moving start. Despite some ecological "paintings of accuracy" -- all these animals dancing around to honor the birth of Simba, are in fact, prey, you know, lion FOOD, the movie is actually pretty solid, animatedly speaking. Also with Matthew Broderick, Robert Guillaume (television's Benson), and "With Honors'" Moira Kelly.

Lion King, The

Movie Info:

(7/10) Runtime: 89

Public Rating: 9.32 (111 votes) Director: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff

Your Rating: MPAA Rating:

Genre: Drama/ Adventure / Comedy Year: 1994

Writer(s): Irene Mecchi and Jonathan Roberts

Reviewed by: Alex Kocan

Review:

This is a story about growing up the hard way. Simba, a lion cub, is born to Mufassa and Sarabi, King and Queen of the Jungle. Simba was protected from other animals because of their fear of his father. Therefore Simba, and his friend Nala, could play anywhere in their kingdom except for the elephant graveyard. This was the home of the evil hyenas and was a very dark and dangerous place.

Unfortunately, early on in the film, tragedy strikes. Simba is tricked into believing that he had committed a deathly sin. He was told by a relative, I won't disclose who, to "run away and never come back". The experience of living as a pauper allowed him to make many new friends who were also outcasts. Simba's journey took him from being a child to adult hood. In the oasis, where he ran to, he met two very comical characters by the names of Pumba and Timon. They are a warthog and meerkat, whose voices are provided by Ernie Sabella and Nathan Lane. They are a fantastic double act.

As a result of Simba leaving the Pride Lands are corrupted by evil forces. Will he take his rightful place as king of the jungle?

This Disney film was one of the first to use computer-generated animation. The scene, which benefited most from this, was the stampede scene. By duplicating the number of animals running, the onscreen atmosphere was significantly increased.

This film has an unmentionable amount of guest actors supplying voices for the animals. To name several Jeremy Irons as Scar, Matthew Broderick as the older Simba, James Earl Jones as Mufassa and Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, Mufassa's feathered servant. Strangely the King and Queen in this film are played by the same actors as in "Coming to America". A young Jonathon Taylor Thomas, formally of Sitcom "Home Improvement", also features as the voice of the young Simba. This movie helped to launch him as a star, even though it sadly wasn't to last.

Directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff did a fantastic job creating a warm and yet dangerous atmosphere for this magical animated movie. It also contains a sound track that was successful in its own right. Many of the songs were created by Sir Tim Rice and Sir Elton John. Tim wrote the lyrics and Elton the tunes. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" and "Circle of Life" are possibly the two most famous examples.

This movie is a timeless classic. It is in the same league as "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs" and "Mary Poppins". Don't miss it.

The Lion King DVD Review

What's better than snagging a cool, classic flick for your DVD collection? How about snagging a cool, classic flick with tons of cool extras and a never before heard song! Disney has released a special edition DVD of their amazing animated movie The Lion King. Check it out!

The Lion King DVD Goodness
The Lion King Special Edition DVD is like no other DVD in your collection. First off, it's got two versions of this hit movie. There's The Lion King that was in theaters and available on VHS, and then there's the special edition version of The Lion King which features an amazing new song, Morning Report, and a whole new animated sequence to go along with it! But you know what? Disney's Lion King DVD goodness doesn't stop there! There's so many special features you'll be as giddy as a hyena.

The Lion King DVD Special Features
You can check out deleted scenes, like Bug Football and Warthog Rhapsody or you can watch an exclusive interview with Sir Elton John (the piano playing dude who wrote all the cool songs). Then there is the really cool Animal Journey where you get to see how real animals inspired the animated ones. For more hands-on fun check out the Virtual Safari featuring your two fave goofballs, Timon and Pumba.

The Lion King Special Edition DVD Bottom Line
This DVD will have you singing Hakuna Matata at the top of your lungs. It's a great score for Disney collectors, animated movie lovers, and people who just want something fun and cool to throw into the DVD player on a rainy day.
Rating:

The Lion King - Special Edition
Walt Disney Home Entertainment - 1994 - 88 minutes

Reviewed by Thor van Lingen Review Date: November 9, 2003

FOR STARTERS

PHOTO GALLERY

« PREV | NEXT »

Zazu keeps an eye on the cubs
One of the most highly acclaimed animated movies of all time, and arguably the one that started the current landslide of adult/kid combination entertainment, 1994’s The Lion King finally makes it home for DVD nuts. Disney’s “Platinum Edition” lineup has come to mean top-notch video transfers, enveloping audio tracks, and a lion’s share of supplements. This release is no exception. From opening frame to closing credits, The Lion King delivers what all fans of the movie have been waiting for. Complete with two versions of the film--I chose to view the original release and peek at the added number--old and young alike will roar for this title.

The story--in case anyone was under a rock in 1994--revolves around Simba (voiced at different ages by Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick), a lion cub whose destiny is to take his place as king of Pride Rock when his father Mufasa (James Earl Jones) passes on. This fact of lineage immensely bothers Mufasa’s brother Scar (Jeremy Irons), whose all brain no brawn existence leads him to plot his young nephew’s demise early in the story.

Scar’s little plot succeeds, and with the help of some underhanded hyenas, has soon driven young Simba from the pride lands and established his new rule as king of Pride Rock. His new kingdom creates an unwelcome alliance between lion and hyena that quickly destroys the region. Simba is clueless to these new developments, as he is too busy snacking on grubs with his new meerkat friend Timon (Nathan Lane) and his warthog sidekick Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella), as they sing something about “Hakuna Matata”. Pleased with his new life without worry, Simba is content to frolic in the jungle the rest of his days.

That all lasts until his childhood friend Nala--now a well-established lioness--happens upon him. With old Rafiki’s (Robert Guillaume) help and an inspirational storm cloud visit from his dead father, Simba realizes that he is the only one that can save his beloved pride lands. With his new friends in tow, Simba returns to Pride Rock and squares off against his deceiving uncle Scar. Does Simba take his place as king? Do Timon and Pumbaa receive “get out of being eaten” free cards from the new royalty? For the two people on Earth that haven’t seen the movie, I will leave this a mystery. For everyone else, enjoy The Lion King all over again on this fine DVD.

VIDEO

As mentioned above, Disney’s “Platinum Edition” means top-notch video transfers. A true gem for a non-CGI film, The Lion King gets the royal treatment. Color saturation is fantastic, as the variety of hues in the pride lands come to life on your home theater. Contrast is superb, with nary a video defect to be found. The overall picture delivery is so clean, and the opening sequence in particular will really blow you away. The fun splashes of color in some of the musical interludes like “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” give the old color wheel a twirl.

AUDIO

This THX-certified Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is excellent. The Disney enhanced 5.1 home theater mix may be even better. As far as the differences between the two, the Disney enhanced track just seems to have more punch. The LFE is tighter and more frequently engaged. Separation on the two tracks sounded fairly equivalent to me, though the rear channels did seem marginally more engaging on the enhanced track. The wonderful--and award winning--score by Hans Zimmer and the Tim Rice/Elton John songs all are beautifully conveyed with all but the maximum deployment of all speakers. This is another borderline demo-quality audio offering from Disney.

SUPPLEMENTS

Instead of “Platinum Edition” on the cover, it should say “set aside a weekend”. Thank goodness for the full-color pamphlet that accompanies it, or one would be found wandering in circles--particularly on disc two--for days. For the math and engineering types, the “Disc 2 - Bonus Feature Index” is the place to start to view the possible excursion vectors for this one. This veritable pride of extras has countless two to three minute clips of everything from storyboards and audio workshops to kid’s games and music videos. Though I must admit I didn’t have the stomach--or the time--to investigate everything, what I did peruse was quite good. The interactive ride style of the Virtual Safari is a nice extra that feels an awful lot like a few very popular rides at Disneyland. Give them a spin, you’ll see. The multi-lingual “Hakuna Matata” is funny to watch, though I don’t think Disney can claim that as an original feature. I only scratched the surface of this undoubtedly very deep chasm of features. Enjoy!

THE BOTTOM LINE

Without a doubt a very fine third installment in the Disney Platinum line, the two-disc special edition of Lion King is a winner. A solid release like this has me waiting in anticipation for the October, 2004 release of Aladdin.

In short -- it's just as wonderful on the big (70mm) IMAX screen as it was on a conventional (35mm) screen. Too many years have passed since I viewed the 35mm print; but this one still looks smashing to me. Rich in color and color scheme contrasts, rumbling with rhythm, music, humor and deep emotion. I cringe at the site of Scar, smile at Rafiki and rise to believe in Simba - breathing in deeply the encouragement his story has for all of us.

Actually, about a year ago, I'd seen the stage play of "The Lion King" in Los Angeles. I think I enjoyed this IMAX version slightly better than even that. They both have their moments of magic -- but that wildebeest scene in the film -- that's cinematic greatness.

Having spent one wonderful year in Kenya myself, the peppering of Swahili in the script is certainly great fun to hear again. "Hakuna Matata" really does mean "No Worries," and Simba is the Swahili word for lion. Rafiki (the baboon) means "friend." And the later scene when Rafiki is swinging in the trees laughing "Asanta Sana Squashed Banana" -- "Asanta Sana" means "Thank you very much."

The Lion King in IMAX. Copyright © 1994/2002. Rated G.
* Starring the voices of Jonathon Taylor Thomas/Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Moira Kelly/Niketa Calame, Earnie Sabella, Nathan Lane, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi/Cheech/Jim, Madge Sinclair.
* Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff.
* Screenplay by Mecchi, Roberts, Woolverton. Produced by Don Hahn at Disney. IMAX.

Grade..........................A

The Lion King (1994)
Not every movie works in IMAX form. Even a four-star delight like Beauty and the Beast feels oversized on such a tremendous screen because of its intimate feel and confined interior settings. What the IMAX presentation calls for is grandeur — a film with sweeping vistas, dynamic cinematography, and extensive depth-of-field. A film like The Lion King. Now digitally restored and reformatted in a special edition specifically for IMAX release, Disney's musical drama is simply breathtaking when expanded to mammoth scale.
Still holding the title as the most successful animated feature ever made, The Lion King also broke home-video-release records, sparked an award-winning stage production helmed by Frida director Julie Taymor, won Oscars for both Best Score (by Hans Zimmer) and Best Original Song ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"), and remains on the list of the 10 top-grossing movies of all time. It is, without question, the most popular film in the entire cartoon canon — quite an accomplishment, when you consider the competition.
The Lion King is, at its heart, a father-and-son drama about passing the torch from one generation to the next, as told through the eyes of a lion cub named Simba (first Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and later Matthew Broderick). Heir to the African Pridelands territory, the youngster is in awe of his majestic dad, King Mufasa (James Earl Jones), and oblivious to the devious plottings of his jealous uncle, Scar (Jeremy Irons), who wants to become ruler himself. When the scheming Scar manipulates his brother to a violent death — a terrifying and wrenching scene in which Mufasa is trampled by wildebeests — little Simba feels guilty for his father's demise, and the predatory uncle encourages his nephew to run away rather than face retribution.
Upon Simba's departure, Scar takes control of the kingdom, and it's only after the cub grows to adulthood that he learns of the devastation his uncle has brought to the land. With the help of lively friends Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) and his betrothed, the lioness Nala (Moira Kelly), the prodigal Simba returns home to reclaim his throne, restore the Pridelands to their former health, and avenge his father's murder. It's a simple story that lacks the sophistication and variety of a masterpiece like Beauty and the Beast, but it's tightly constructed with universal appeal.
Visually recalling Sleeping Beauty's chilling sorceress, Maleficent, Scar is a slinking, Shakespearean villain, and the tragedy that unfolds at his whim recalls Hamlet. When The Lion King was released, Mufasa's death stirred quite a bit of controversy due to its intense emotional impact, and even today, it grabs viewer heartstrings and rips them to shreds. While too extreme for very young kids, Simba's story becomes all the more powerful because of the loss of his role model, leader, and friend. "Hakuna Matata" may be the film's signature catchphrase, but that "no worries" philosophy really serves as contrast to the film's deeper, more important themes of accepting personal responsibility and becoming an adult.
At the same time, The Lion King is immensely funny. Directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little 2) demonstrate great facility with juggling tones, moving from stirring drama to burlesque humor and gleeful warbling with ease. Timon and Pumbaa are, of course, the main comic relief with their back-and-forth banter, odd-couple personalities, and hammy performances, but Mufasa's right-hand bird, Zasu (Rowan Atkinson), is equally hilarious with his self-indulgent punsmanship: "The leopards are in a bit of a spot," "I told the elephants to forget it," "I always say, cheetahs never prosper." And Scar's trio of hyena minions (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings) manage to be ridiculous as well as frightening. The film is a veritable potpourri of one-liners and snappy comebacks: Simba: "When I'm king, what'll that make you?" Scar: "A monkey's uncle."
What small-screen Lion fans may have forgotten in the eight years since the film's theatrical run is how incredible its animation is. On a six-story IMAX screen, the opening sunrise is utterly amazing, and each new African landscape appears in what feels like actual size. The film is full of swooping camerawork, craggy canyons, leafy jungle passages, vast skyscapes, and vibrantly hued musical numbers that just leave one speechless. The newly restored image is pristine, with digitally enhanced details enlivening corners that would go unnoticed on a mere television screen. At times, the sensation even borders on overwhelming. And there's no aural experience that compares to the bone-rumbling sound and feel of stampeding herds as projected through the six-channel IMAX audio system.
After the impassioned opening number, "Circle of Life," played at this preview screening, the audience erupted with exuberant applause. It's rare that a visual sequence could elicit such a heartfelt response, and if that's not a recommendation for family holiday viewing, I don't know what it is. If you're lucky enough to have an IMAX theater near you, by all means, experience The Lion King on the large-format screen. There's simply nothing like it.
— MARY KALIN-CASEY
Parents' Note: The Lion King contains several scenes of emotional intensity and violence — including death by trampling — as well as several generally scary sequences involving Scar and his gang of vicious hyenas. Though deaths happen off-screen, small or sensitive viewers may find the experience traumatic, particularly on such a large scale. Age 7 and up recommended, however, younger kids familiar with the story from home-video viewing should be captivated.

There's a small number of a films that I admire too much to attempt to review them. My writing certainly won't do justice to the greatness of them, so rather than struggle with superlatives and words that won't satisfy me in the way the film does, I'll pass almost altogether on reviewing The Lion King. Nonetheless, the status of the film and the nature of this site both call for me to review this Platinum DVD release.
Suffice it to say that The Lion King is the best Disney film that I've seen, and I've seen a bunch. The numerous highlights include a riveting score which blends Hans Zimmer and African choruses featuring Lebo M, some of the most wonderful and catchy songs to ever be recorded on film, energetic performances all around from a talented voice cast, vibrant and colorful animated scenery, and incredibly effective and cinematic direction and style.
On the off chance that you're one of the few people who haven't seen this wonderful film, it is about a young lion cub named Simba, whose father Mufasa happens to be the king of Pride Rock. Throw into the mix his jealous uncle Scar, best friend Nala, free-spirited roamers Timon and Pumbaa, and the tale of Simba's development is filled with adventure, comedy, music, and a variety of life lessons

THE DVD: Introduction

Long-awaited, The Lion King, both the all-time top-selling videocassette and Disney's highest-grossing animated classic, finally arrives on DVD over six and half years after the launch of the format. It is third in the studio's Platinum Collection, a series which features a new 2-disc set of one of their ten best-selling video titles each fall. (Starting in March 2005, the rate will be increased to bi-yearly releases.) The distinction between their Platinum Edition DVDs and other multi-disc sets seem to mean less and less, though, as they issue apt sets for Sleeping Beauty and next January's Alice in Wonderland with similar design but no "Platinum" moniker. Both follow-ups to the premiere Platinum Edition, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (released October 2001) have lowered the bar on in-depth and insightful making-of supplements and raised the bar on inconsequential fare that is somehow supposed to appeal to today's youth.
In that regard, this 2-disc Lion King set is the most disappointing Platinum release. Rather than produce some new features that enhance one's understanding and appreciation of both the film and its creation, Disney has spent money on remixed song music videos, childish set-top games, and a new musical number (an addition they foolishly feel is necessary to get people to repurchase the movie on a new format). Of course, the brunt of spending was assigned to marketing the DVD release, something that Disney has heavily done in the past several months.

.

A NOTE about the film's "ORIGINAL THEATRICAL CUT"

When The Lion King was released to IMAX theaters last December, changes were made. None of these changes were really necessary or affect the movie significantly by themselves. Since IMAX theaters use such a large screen, and Lion King was animated for regular theatrical release (and well, it was fine for 70 mm showings as well), Disney decided to add detail to the film's existing animation. In theory this is a cross between harmless formatting and George Lucas revisionism, but it would seem to be a non-issue when Disney announced that The Lion King DVD would contain both "the original theatrical cut" and a new Special Edition featuring newly-added musical number "The Morning Report."
Those of us who follow Disney closely had our suspicions that the DVD wouldn't really have the original 1994 theatrical cut. After all, Beauty and the Beast's "Theatrical Cut" had a number of changes made.
Now we know for certain that Disney's dubious marketing of The Lion King can be labeled as "false advertising." Because the original theatrical cut of The Lion King is now relegated to the bootlegged "Asian imports" that will likely fall into the background at the second-hand online marketplaces, with a legitimate studio DVD released.
Some of the changes to the original theatrical cut include:
- new black & orange Disney opening logo, in place of the blue castle logo

- re-animation of Mufasa's appearance in the clouds
- re-animation of the dust that flies up when Simba plops down on the cliff (which supposedly carried a hidden acronym or word of sorts)
- re-animation of the waterfalls in the "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" sequence (thanks to Pher for screencap comparison)

- re-animation of the supporting character crocodiles in the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" musical number
Theatrical Cut, as seen in Elton John Music Video:

"Original Release" on the DVD:

While the individual changes are small enough to go unnoticed by some, there's a number of things that are troubling about this practice, which I and others have pointed out on our site forum. To paraphrase things I have stated on the forum, here's why the lack of the original theatrical release is disappointing, in spite of the nature of the changes:
1) It's wrong to screw around with the theatrical cut of a film, if you're not going to provide the original theatrical cut. I felt this way about E.T., which in spite of all expectations, Universal properly presented on DVD in its original form. I feel this way about the Star Wars movies. Essentially, the original theatrical release of a film IS the film. I have no problems with filmmakers revising their works if they want to. They made the film, and authors are free to add onto or revise their books. Under no circumstances, though, should an original form be allowed to disappear or go unreleased. Think ahead, 41 years from now, when a 50th Anniversary of The Lion King arrives on some kind of format. Are people going to want the film that was re-edited 8 years after theatrical release, or the original theatrical presentation?
2) It's wrong to advertise something as containing an original theatrical cut, when it plainly does not. There's no misinterpretation here - Disney's original press release clearly stated it. In a September 4 USA Today article, the film's producer Don Hahn insisted that the original 1994 theatrical cut would be included:
How far back into its library will Disney go to make "improvements"? Would the studio do this to The Jungle Book? Snow White? When should a movie be left alone?
Disney's answer: Not to worry. It's all about options. The original version of The Lion King, with no remixing, no tinkering and no new song, will also be included in the DVD.
"The purists out there can see the movie exactly as it was in 1994," Hahn says. "Those who enjoy seeing new innovations can sing a new song."
False advertising is wrong, and often illegal - so I'm not sure why this is permitted, particularly from a studio that has sued other studios (Columbia Pictures) for using the phrase "from the creator of Scream." (DVDs of the film with the offending line in the trailer - I Know What You Did Last Summer - had to be recalled, in spite of the fact that Kevin Williamson indeed wrote the screenplays for both horror films.)
3) It sets a terrible precedent. If arguably their most popular film isn't available in its original form (maybe ever again), who's to say that it won't happen for other animated classics that are due to be released on DVD later this decade - films like Aladdin, The Jungle Book, and others. They CAN improve the dinosaur sequences in Fantasia with animation like Dinosaur - but what's the point?
Before you counter with the intuitive "it doesn't make a difference, it's just little changes" argument, think about it. By the very same argument, if it doesn't make a difference, why do it? Wouldn't the time, effort, and money be better placed making a half-way decent documentary or some supplements with substance for their biggest animated films?

VIDEO and AUDIO
Last year's Platinum Edition Beauty and the Beast was unfortunately matted to 1.85:1 for DVD presentation. Disney's animated films have been animated in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio for well over a decade now, and DVD has become the only medium to see the entire animated frame; both matting to 1.85:1 for theaters (or DVD, as in the case of Beauty and the Beast) and cropping to 1.33:1 for video offer small but noticeable compromises in composition.
The good news is that The Lion King is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.66:1...almost. The actual ratio is 1.71:1, but it's close enough and undoubtedly favorable to both matting or cropping. The film has always looked great, but the digital transfer makes that visual greatness shine through with nary a distraction. This is a most impressive video presentation that displays the array of nature's colors flawlessly. Think of any term used negatively in DVD reviews and throw it out the window, because it doesn't apply here. Undoubtedly, the film was in terrific shape to begin with, and as it is less than a decade old and surely kept in optimal condition. Not to mention the fact that it comes from computer files, and quality was overseen for last December's IMAX re-release.
There are two primary choices for audio - the film's original 5.1 Dolby Digital mix, and a new "Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix" intended to raise potency and widen the soundfield of the film's sounds. The EHT track attempts to duplicate the audio format the film was converted to for exhibition in the high-tech IMAX speaker system. It's not DTS, and that may disappoint the devoted followers of the format, but the remix serves its purpose, and the original 5.1 mix is sufficient for its purposes, and wisely provides the film's original audio (well, mostly)...certainly more so than the video of the "original theatrical cut."
There really is nothing but praise for the audio presentation. The EHT remix makes full use of directionality and soundfield to create a more interactive sound experience. The musical sequences burst with life, which makes the dialogue and calmer scenes stick out with their quietness - but while there are noticeable differences in volume, it's not to the point where you have to adjust the volume from scene-to-scene.

EXTRAS
Onto supplements, the area where a studio really decides to sink or swim with a DVD release. Unfortunately, as stated earlier, the supplements on The Lion King DVD are disappointing both for their lack of depth ("immersive" - the word to describe Snow White's extras is rightfully nowhere to be found here) and their terrible method of presentation - through repetitive, unorganized menus, and split into segments that never run beyond 6 minutes.

DISC 1
As can be deduced from the praise I've given to the audio and video quality, there were no compression issues as with the content-heavy first disc of Beauty and the Beast. Surely, both cuts of The Lion King could have been included and interweaved, with applicable, running under 3 hours between them and maintaining a high level of quality as seen from the first disc of A Bug's Life: Collector's Edition, which mixes an incredible digital presentation with a number of supplements and offers two viewing formats.
Alas, it wasn't meant to be - but Disc 1 is still pretty skimpy on the supplemental features. The menus open with a shot of Rafiki's outline of the lion and proceed with an incredibly pointless 3-dimensional flyaround tour of the film's locations with an awkward-looking computer-animated Zazu. There's about a minute of this, which can fortunately be skipped. Once we get to the actual menus, which are quite plain and free of recognizable characters or images from the movie, you can either access the enigmatically-titled various sections or skip it all and go to the "Index" which lists all the features on Disc 1 over a couple of screens.
First and foremost, though given only passing, non-specific mention on the Press Release, buried placement in the menus, and nary a listing on the back of the DVD case is the Audio Commentary ported over from the 1995 laserdisc. This commentary features producer Don Hahn and directors Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers. The trio of filmmakers are inspired and easy-to-listen to as they discuss the film's design, its influences, the cast, and various changes made over the course of production. Even if it is not a new feature, it is an excellent commentary and one of the highlights of the set.
There is a truly insidious remix of "Circle of Life" performed by what Disney has shamelessly called the "Circle of Stars" - a bunch of rich teenagers who star in a Disney Channel original series - or in the case of Tahj Mowry, starred on a WB show that has been syndicated on Disney. I don't know what is going through the minds of these kids as they perform - none of them save for Christy Romano and Hilary Duff have really anything like a singing career. The real reason it's here is that airing bits of this on the Disney Channel encourages its audience to buy the DVD. Likewise, those who bought the DVD are subliminally encouraged to watch the Disney Channel. It's a terrible pop rendition of a song put to excellent use in the opening of the film. But Hilary Duff seems to share the Disney exec mode of thinking, "We're pretty much staying true to the original song but just adding a little bit of flavor of each of our voices to it."

Incredibly, the 4-minute music video is accompanied by a 4-minute "making-of the music video" featurette - at this point, a supplement is constituted as a behind-the-scenes look at a thing that has little to do with The Lion King.
The Sing-Along Track provides subtitles for the film's musical numbers.
Then there are the games. You won't find "Rafiki's Three-Gourd Monty" here; although it was in retailer's material for some time, it was ditched, surely because Disney maintains a high level of quality in their games. Actually, there are three set-top games here:
- Timon's Grab-a-Grub, in which you use the direction arrows to grab grubs (it's a poor man's version of the fun bonus rounds from the old Genesis video game and you have to wait a few seconds after every grab)
- Pumbaa's Sound Sensations, an animal sound identification game, which is moderately fun
- The Lion King Personality Profile Game, which is short and interesting. You answer questions based on your behavior and they tell you what character from the movie you're most like.

The Making of "The Morning Report" is a 3-minute featurette which explains and attempts to justify the addition of a new musical number as something other than a blatant effort to increase revenue on DVD sales. The number adds nothing to the film, but producer Don Hahn and others, including the president of the home video division, throw acclaim onto it, and we see the falsetto-voiced young boy who replaces Jason Weaver as the singing voice of Simba for this new sequence.

There is actually something besides the Commentary (and the movie) of substance on Disc 1 - the section of deleted scenes & abandoned concepts. "Bug Football" is 20 seconds of Timon and Pumaa plays football with a bug, and 20 seconds of Don Hahn explaining it. "Hakuna Matata" has a 25-second introduction from Hahn, then provides some of the beginning of the film's Hakuna Matata sequence in storyboard film and progresses to a verse by Timon (in the style of Pumbaa's "When I was a young warthog" verse that tells the meerkat's story; the scene itself runs for 2 minutes and is a neat addition. Finally, there is an alternate rendition of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" in which Timon and Pumbaa sing most of the song, in addition to the parts they take in the actual movie. It runs 1 minute and 44 seconds, 40 seconds of which is archive footage of Tim Rice and Elton John explaining the number's progression.
A number of sneak previews play at the start of the disc - The Lion King 1 1/2, Brother Bear, George of the Jungle 2, Finding Nemo, The Santa Clause 2, and a nauseating spot for Walt Disney World. In addition, previews for Sleeping Beauty: Special Edition, and Mary Poppins: Special Edition (coming next August) are accessible from the Sneaks menu.
Finally, there is a 54-second preview of Disc 2's contents, which emphasizes the Virtual Safari feature, which underlines the priorities this DVD has.

DISC 2
We move to the second disc, whose basic menus deceptively house the same extras again and again in various sections. What's worse is that not a single feature runs longer than six minutes, so the closest thing to documentary is playing the "Journeys" which include some but not all of the features from a specific section. Speaking of the sections, I shall now break them down.
Story covers the film's inspirations, from Shakespeare's Hamlet (plot) to religious epics like Ben-Hur (style and direction). There are three brief featurettes, which run 11 minutes 50 seconds in total and mix a heavy amount of fullscreen film clips with new interviews with the writers and other filmmakers, and some on-set footage. These segments are among the more insightful bonus features on the DVD, analyzing the film as allegory for humans and fitting the archetype of timeless myths. It also describes the progression the film made from being referred to as "Bambi in Africa" to its changing level of Hamlet awareness.

The second journey would appear to be the most important one - Film. It is here in the "Origins" featurette that the film's place at the studio is discussed - labeled as a B-picture to their overlapping project Pocahontas. The "Production Research Trip" which runs just under 2 and a half minutes, is one of the nicest features on the disc - it shows animators and designers (including production designer Chris Sanders, who has since gone on to direct Lilo & Stitch) traveling to Africa to observe the scenery and culture. There's photographs and some taped footage, but what comes across here (and not in just about any other feature) is an enthusiasm and passion for what they do. There's no hook to this featurette, no encouragement to buy a direct-to-video sequel or to go to a park or play. This brief section is probably the most human of all included and it's so short.
"Art & African Influence" details the look of the film, and its influence from African landscapes, wildlife, and culture. "Reflections" is kind of a general lookback at the film - something that you might hope to have more of. The two problems are it's short-sighted (most of the comments are from Disney execs) and it's short (running 5:10). Overall, the Film journey runs 17 minutes and 25 seconds. But there's more...
Not played as part of the journey but also listed under Film are some more content pulled from the laserdisc. In general, this is all noticeably superior to the newly-produced content. "Storyboard Process" is a 1994 feature which is dominated by directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, something you wish to happen more often, but it only runs 1 minute and 55 seconds. "Computer Animation" (4:20) is pretty similar to what was covered in the 1994 half-hour documentary, it might even be pulled directly from there. It's an interesting little piece about how the wildebeest stampede scene was done. Art Director Andy Gaskill is enlightening and a very good speaker and in the 2-minute "Production Design" featurette from the laserdisc, he discusses the different stylistic paths the filmmakers considered, cartoonish, National Geographic-like, and something more in line with David Lean's epic films.

Also from the laserdisc are the Character Design clips, which run a minute or two on each of the following characters: Mufasa, Simba, Scar, Rafiki, Timon & Pumbaa, Zazu, and the Hyenas. The effects of casting and the actual animals are both noted in the development of the characters. "Film Character Design Galleries" provides between 15 and 40 drawings for each of the previous characters plus Sarabi, Nala, and Miscellaneous Characters. At the start of each gallery, the narrator gives a short introduction of what to notice in the development of the characters, and who worked on each one.
Stage is a collection of well-presented features on the popular Broadway musical that spun off from Disney's film. Ultimately, very little of this section has anything to do with the movie. The five featurettes run 16 minutes and 14 seconds, and detail the jump from animated film to lavish and overdone Broadway production. We learn that Lion King filmmakers essentially laughed off Disney CEO Michael Eisner's suggestion that it be made into a musical. Eisner explains that he told them, "If you don't figure out what to do, then I'm just gonna go do it."
Much time is spent singing the praises of Julie Taymor, who served as the play's director, costumer designer and a variety of other tasks and whose 2002 film Frida won Oscars for Disney's Miramax branch. The other topics include how to transform animal characters and vast African landscapes to fit a human cast and a New York stage and how the 'audio sequel' Rhythm of the Pridelands by Lebo M and Mark Mancina was incorporated into the musical score by Tim Rice and Elton John. In spite of all the praise and awards it's received, watching this, I'm glad I've eschewed seeing the musical. There is also a Stage Musical Publicity Gallery that contains 11 posters and documents that advertise the play in various languages and countries. All of the features in this section conclude with a note about where to see Disney's Lion King and Beauty and the Beast on stage.

With all that's gone into promoting the Virtual Safari feature, which is given its own section and is highlighted on Disc 1's preview of Disc 2, you'd expect a lot more. Essentially, it's a computer-animated first-person tour by land or water, with "witty" comments provided by Timon & Pumbaa. The "Virtual" part isn't that you're not really travelling around in Africa seeing the animals - it's that the animals are virtual too, which makes this feature virtually pointless, but addictive enough to continue through. You choose which way to go, and you'll encounter a stampede, snakes, monkeys, and occassionally a big drop to what seems to be death, but apparently poses no real harm to the meerkat and warthog, who end up just fine and show you the out-of-focus virtual "photographs" of your virtual safari.
Each tour lasts about 10 minutes or so, I'd guess, and although you make a number of choices throughout, each one takes you to the same place after the instant alteration. So, it's not like it's different every time you play or anything. In addition to the jeep and boat tours, there's an "Under Construction" section, which of course promotes something, in this case it's promoting more Virtual Safaris on next year's DVD releases of The Lion King 1 1/2 (the trailer is again provided here) and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (due for a re-release August 2004, though it doesn't say that here).
The Music Journey contains 7 featurettes and runs 24 minutes and 15 seconds total. Music is one of many areas where the film excels, with input from lyricist Tim Rice, writer/composer/vocalist Elton John, composer Hans Zimmer and African choirs led by Lebo M. Much of the good stuff presented here is taken from the laserdisc - Hans Zimmer talks about his collaboration with Lebo M, of his original plan to use just percussions (as he did when he first worked with Lebo M on 1992's The Power of One), his personal influences that helped him make the music, and scoring the stampede scene. The "audio sequel", Rhythm of the Pride Lands, a 1995 popular CD follow-up compiled by Lebo M and Mark Mancina, is covered in one of the vignettes. Elton John talks about the thrill of winning an Oscar for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"

The second page contains three music videos from the laserdisc - "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" (4:00) and "Circle of Life" (4:50) performed by Elton John, and the Rhythm of the Pridelands version of "Hakuna Matata" (3:56) by Jimmy Cliff and Lebo M. These are a nice inclusion.
Animals, as you can guess, covers the real wild animals that inspire characters in the film. This journey begins with an Introduction by Roy Disney (1:30), which weaves in thinly-veiled promotion for Disney's Animal Kingdom before setting up the relevant nature content to follow. Brief vignettes on Lions (2:50), Meerkats (2:40), Warthogs (2:50), and Hyenas (2:20) compare and contrast the characters in the movie and the real life animals who inspire them. In spite of a narrator who sounds like he's presenting for children, these have pretty wide appeal and provide some interesting facts for those who aren't already an authority on African animals.
The journey wraps up with "Disney & Animals" (5:45) which appears repeatedly throughout Disc 2. Naturally, the featurette is too short to go into detail, but it briefly discusses projects that Walt worked on that showcased animals. It eventually begins to just roll off movie titles and degrades into a promotional featurette that again pushes Brother Bear and the Animal Kingdom park. Altogether, Animals runs 18 minutes and 15 seconds.

In addition to the aforementioned six 'journey' categories, there are six continents listed which repeat nearly everything that's been covered in the other categories. All six continents include galleries of 16 International Soundtrack Covers and 11 International Large Format Release artwork (though this includes some International posters from the 1994 release, as well). The six continents also include a Multi-Language Reel which after a 40-second introduction from Senior VP of Creative Disney Character Voices (whose human name is Rick Dempsey) plays the 4-minute "Hakuna Matata" sequence in a variety of languages, including Italian, German, Dutch, French, Korean, Finnish, Mandarin, Swedish, Hebrew, and Zulu. When the language name and accompanying logo are displayed you can press pretty much any button to see a "country's favorite scene" in that language - though I'm not sure how official any of the rankings are, most of them seem to focus Timon and Pumbaa. In case you're wondering, Antarctica is given short shrift and is the one continent not listed in the menus.

The menus are surprisingly low-key and don't really show off anything specifically Lion King (something that can be said for many, if not most, of the extras, too), except for instrumentals of songs from the film. Of course, in spite of the simple nature of the menus, the layout and design is excessively complex and the booklet's information (which is supposed to be like a Zoo Guide of some sort) is little help.
What's as important as what's included here is what is NOT. The deluxe laserdisc and videocassette sets both included the fantastic 25-minute documentary, "The Making of The Lion King" which is noticeably missing here. Hosted by Robert Guillaume (the voice of Rafiki), the 1994 documentary covered a variety of aspects of the film's production (some only briefly touched on this DVD), including voice casting, African inspirations, using computers to aid the wildebeest stampede, and the animation and style of the film. Some clips that were used in this are scattered here and there, but it's most effective in documentary form. It makes absolutely no sense why Disney chose not to include this terrific piece - surely disc space was not an issue, as the bonus disc contains less than two hours of content. Rights would also appear not to be an issue, as it was released on two home video formats already, and most of what was on the laserdisc was directly ported over. Had Disney created a new documentary for the DVD, this feature's absence might have made the slightest bit of sense. But they didn't, and it's most disappointing that they opted to give us a Disney Channel stars music video, and lots of content that was either promotional or not directly related to the movie and NOT the existing "Making Of."

Another disappointing exclusion is one of the most basic and readily found supplements for a movie. Nine times out of 10, if a movie is released to DVD with just one feature, it's the original theatrical trailer. Within these two discs, there isn't a single trailer for The Lion King. Now surely a trailer is promotional in nature, and I've complained about the promotional element of the supplements that were included here. But there's a distinction - the thing that trailers are advertising, you already have. It isn't Disney telling you to go out and see this or buy this; a trailer is more of a historical document, a time capsule that shows you what moviegoers and TV viewers saw 9 years ago as their first impressions of the film. While the entire "Circle of Life" sequence was used as a preview in some places, there also existed a number of theatrical trailers for the film, in addition to the Fall 1994 re-release, trailers from its record-shattering 1995 home video release, countless TV spots, and even last year's IMAX previews and TV ads.
While Disney has shown a befuddling resistance to including a film's theatrical trailers on its DVD, the exclusion here is most absurd. The closest thing to a Publicity gallery doesn't contain most of the theatrical posters or print ads. For a film that reigned as the highest-grossing animated film for 9 years, you'd think they'd care to show us. Instead, we get less than the single trailer we got on Lion King II: Simba's Pride.
Missed opportunities abound on this set. None of the talented voice cast, many of whom have reprised their roles in direct-to-video sequels, were approached to lend insight. There are no Oscar speeches. No new feature that runs longer than a few minutes by itself. Had Disney not broken down all of their featurettes into smaller, more focused segments (of which they actually padded the running times for the booklet listings), they might have been able to put together a decent 1-hour documentary or so, but instead they chose small fragmented pieces to make it look like there's more here than there really is, to support Joel Siegel's half-baked quote that "the king of animated films is now the king of all DVDs."
There is some worthwhile material included on the bonus disc, but it's just not nearly as insightful, in-depth, or well-organized as one would hope, especially considering the amount of time that could have gone into producing this DVD, and the two years that Disney claims did. Much of the bonus material seems to be designed to sell Disney - its parks, plays, and other movies. It's really disappointing that they made this DVD a loosely-related marketing vehicle rather than a collection that documents the making and impact of the film.

CLOSING THOUGHTS
The Lion King is an outstanding film and illustrates how effective an animated production can be when all the elements come together just right. It truly sets standards for other Disney films to hope to reach: visual impact, a malicious villain, presenting drama, making musical magic that stays with you, perfectly-realized comic sidekicks, a likeable protagonist with a reasonable arc and human challenges. In fact, The Lion King sets a standard that all film can hope to achieve - it shows you just how much fun and entertainment movies can be.
The 2-disc DVD release presents the IMAX cut of the film with remarkable audio and video quality. Unfortunately, in terms of bonus features, substance is lacking, as is a sensible layout and design. It's just disappointing that some material wasn't carried over from the laserdisc. Nonetheless, there are a number of positives to this presentation (most notably the laserdisc supplements that WERE ported over), and the film is certainly not one to miss.

The Lion King

Disney // 1994 // 90 Minutes // Rated G
Reviewed by Appellate Judge Michael Stailey // March 29th, 2004

• View Appellate Judge Stailey's Dossier
• E-mail Appellate Judge Stailey

• Buy the DVD at Amazon

post to del.icio.us post to digg

The Charge

Feel the Love

Opening Statement

In an age of marketing overexposure, when a company takes too much of a good thing and runs it right into the ground, it is invigorating to return to the original source and rediscover the magic. Since the rebirth and subsequent renaissance of Disney Feature Animation following the release of The Little Mermaid in 1989, the Michael Eisner-led Disney marketing machine has taken every single animated property and bled them dry. Half-baked direct-to-video sequels, cut-rate television series, over produced stage shows, mass merchandising, and cheesy product tie-ins have combined to hit us over the head 24 hours a day with everything Disney. You can't escape it or avoid being affected by it. While good for the company coffers, it dilutes the inherent value of what once was considered to be something quite special. How refreshing it is then to cleanse the palate and return to a classic like The Lion King with a fresh perspective.

Facts of the Case

The Pridelands: a small slice of heaven on Earth, where nature exists in peace and harmony, under the benevolent rule of Mufasa, the Lion King. Yet all wise beings know the circle of life will call upon them to complete their tasks and move on to the next world. Mufasa tries to impart this wisdom to his son, Simba, but the young cub is too preoccupied with life and all its potential to hear or comprehend. Like most youngsters, they must learn their lessons the hard way. In a nurturing and supportive environment, this is generally not a bad way to educate oneself. However, the world can be a cruel place, even within a loving family.

Enter Scar, Mufasa's brother. Scar has lived his adult life self-exiled, in the shadow of his better looking, more successful, universally adored sibling. Instead of using their differences as a source of inspiration and betterment, he has chosen instead to brandish them as an excuse for his failures and shortcomings, sharpening them as a weapon to be used at the most opportune moment. Capitalizing upon Simba's youthful exuberance and reckless abandon, Scar manipulates his nephew into playing the key role in his ascension to power—his perceived entitlement to the leadership of the pride. Believing these events to be all his doing, Simba flees from his home and family in shame and disgrace, never to return.

Following years of abuse and neglect under King Scar, the Pridelands have been decimated to the point of being uninhabitable. The lionesses have been forced to hunt outside their boundaries in order for the pride to survive. It is one such young lioness, Nala, who discovers the exiled Simba and triggers the next part of his journey, one which will force him to face the ghosts and demons of his past, to save the ones he loves.

The Evidence

For all its acclaim and notoriety, The Lion King was one Disney project nobody wanted. Billed as Bambi in Africa, the assignment was shunned by all of the studio's A-list talent in favor of Pocahontas. As such, the B-Team was called in. Most had little or no prime-time experience, giving the project a very family-like atmosphere. Through rewrites and concept changes, they developed an underdog mentality, setting out to prove everyone wrong. It must have worked because the result is an animated masterpiece.

The Lion King is without question one of the most successful Disney films of all time—the perfect blend of story, design, acting, music, and direction. Yet with this success has come controversy. Some detractors claim the film is a blatant rip-off of Osama Tezuka's Jungulu Taitei, a highly regarded 1950s manga series, later adapted into anime form. Others feel the story tracks too closely to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Regardless of your position, one cannot argue with the passionate response this film generates. Even now, ten years later, the power these characters possess is clearly evident.

Mufasa is the loving father, always doing what is best for his family and his world. Drawing upon both Native American and Buddhist philosophies, he walks tall, carrying a big stick, and showing the utmost respect to every element of the world in which he lives. In the end, he makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the life of his son, and with him the hope for a better future.

Scar, damaged by the failings of life's promise, has chosen to define himself by these events. Focused solely upon himself and his wants, needs, and desires, he is oblivious to the impact his actions have on the animals and the environment that surrounds him.

Simba represents the majority of us, thrown into a world that is both unfamiliar and invigorating. Unspoiled by the hardships of life, every day is filled with limitless adventure and unending possibilities. Yet his naïveté and trusting nature leaves him vulnerable to those who seek to force others to share in the pain and suffering to which they themselves have fallen victim.

This triad represents life, death, and the potential each of us holds in making a positive impact on this world. Some choose to embrace it, others run from it, and still others spend an entire lifetime being inert and indecisive for fear of making a mistake or an incorrect choice, when in truth, there are no right or wrong answers. The only failure is not making a choice at all. Simba could have lived his entire life in the jungle, happy and carefree alongside his surrogate family, Timon and Pumbaa; and yet, by doing so, he would never achieve the purpose he was brought into this world to fulfill.

As a young cub, Simba thrilled at the thought of being king, but the pitfalls of life caused him to forget. We all have gifts to share. Sometimes we just need a gentle whack on the side of the head to remember we too can make a difference.

People should walk away from The Lion King with a renewed sense of self-worth. We are the only ones responsible for the choices we make in life—and it's never too late to change.

So ends today's philosophy lesson.

In animation, the artist contributes as much to the acting ability of the character as the voice talent. Mark Henn and Jonathan Taylor Thomas combine to give Young Simba a strong dose of naïve courage and indestructibility that gives way to an overwhelming sense of guilt and remorse, while Ruben Aquino and Matthew Broderick follow the through-line to its natural conclusion of internal conflict and explosive resolve. The transformation is fluid, seamless, and without question. Michael Surrey and Nathan Lane, along with Tony Bancroft and Ernie Sabella, give the film its heart and comedic relief, effectively balancing the intense drama that bookends the picture. While these three are the focus of the film, we must also give credit to the exceptional work turned in by James Baxter and Robert Guillaume as Rafiki, the wise simian sage; Ellen Woodbury and Rowan Atkinson as the kingdom's ever-watchful grand vizier Zazu; Tony Fucile and James Earl Jones as the majestic and benevolent Mufasa; and the magnificent pairing of Andreas Deja and Jeremy Irons who practically steal the film with their insidious Richard III portrayal of Scar. It's unfortunate that AMPAAS does not evaluate these types of performances for Oscar, since several of them were certainly worthy of consideration.

Presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen, Disney has outdone themselves once again with another sparkling, Platinum Edition transfer. While not as awe inspiring as the restoration done on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty: Special Edition, this ten-year-old film, enhanced by today's digital technology, looks brand new. The colors and textures are richer and more clearly defined, evoking a more encompassing jungle, foreboding elephant graveyard, and desolate Pridelands. Nowhere are the colors more vibrant than the "Pink Elephants on Parade" inspired Can't Wait to be King sequence. In contrast, the blacks are most powerful in the heartfelt discussions between Mufasa and Simba during Under the Stars and He Lives in You.

Enhanced by the glorious operatic score of composer Hans Zimmer, Mark Mancina, and the incomparable Lebo M, the team of Elton John and Tim Rice redefined the Disney musical. Gone are the cheesy kids tunes such as Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, replaced with compelling and timeless lyrical tales of life, love, and loss. As Howard Ashman and Alan Menken elevated Disney Feature Animation to filmmaking respectability with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, Rice and Sir Elton have kicked up the art form's level of significance ten-fold. The Dolby 5.1 Enhanced Mix proves this out in resplendent fashion, adding depth and breadth to an already robust world. From the echoes in Scar's cave to the hum of jungle insects, your room will be instantly transformed.

True to previously defined Platinum Edition standards, this two-disc collection is bursting with bonus materials. Interestingly enough, there is equal parts entertainment for the kids and enlightenment for the adults.

Disc One

As we look out over a beautiful and active CGI Pridelands, Zazu enlightens us on the many opportunities that await.

• Two Versions of the Film
First up is the enhanced Special Edition, including a newly animated, Elton John/Tim Rice musical sequence—The Morning Report—adapted from the Broadway musical. This two and a half-minute segment overlays and expands existing action from the original film in which Mufasa teaches Simba how to pounce, using Zazu as his practice prey. The second version is the original 1994 theatrical release pristinely presented with an enhanced 5.1 audio mix.

• The Making of Morning Report
A brief behind-the-scenes peek at the work that went into creating this new sequence.

• Personality Profile Game
Quickly becoming a standard on Disney animation releases, viewers answer a series of questions to determine which Lion King character their personality most closely resembles. For the kids.

• Timon's Grab-a-Grub Game
A cursor-driven diversion in which users help Timon select a delectable repast. Think whack-a-mole. For the kids.

• Pumbaa's Sound Sensations
Test your audio reflexes by aiding Pumbaa in determining which inhabitants of the Pridelands are hiding just out of sight in these beautifully rendered backgrounds. For the kids.

• Deleted Scenes
Several abandoned concept pieces, including "Warthog Rhapsody"

• "Circle of Life" Music Video
The Disney Channel kids (Hilary Duff, Raven, Christy Romano, and more) are at it again, this time recording a new version of the Elton John/Tim Rice classic specifically for this Platinum Edition DVD release.

• The Making of the Music Video
Can you say filler? I knew you could. Up next: The Making of "The Making of the Music Video."

• Sing Along Track
It's not like the kids will ever get bored by this film, even after repeated viewings, but to spice things up you can activate these musical subtitles for the kiddies to karaoke with their favorite songs.

Disc Two

Jeremy Irons introduces viewers to a unique worldwide, multi-path adventure that awaits them. You have the option of taking self-guided tours through features separated into each of the six major continents or partake in one of the six safaris that have been prepared for you. Utilizing a near-abusive approach to content reuse, similar to the one used on Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty: Special Edition, this release makes it an art form.

• Safari: Story (12 min)
The production team looks back on the origins of "Bamblet" (Bambi in Africa) and the various twists and turns the concept took before ultimately becoming the film we see here.

• Story Origins
• Timeless Themes
• The Story Comes to Life

• Safari: Film (17 min)
The underdog mentality of this rag-tag crew shines through as they discuss their research trip to Africa and the many influences that brought the film to life.

• Origins
• Production Research Trip
• Art: African Influence
• Reflections
• Storyboard Process
• Production Design
• Character Design
• Computer Animation
• Film Character Design Galleries

• Safari: Stage (16 min)
What began with laughter and skepticism rapidly became a worldwide phenomenon, through the driving creative inspiration of Julie Taymor and Lebo M. Learn how the film translated to the stage and how many of the original artists joined forces to make it happen.

• Musical Origins
• Screen to Stage
• Musical Texture
• Setting the Stage
• Leaps of Fantasy
• Stage Musical Publicity Gallery

• Safari: Music (24 min)
Would you believe The Lion King was never intended to be a musical? It's true. The first concept was done in National Geographic and Wild Kingdom style. Credit Tim Rice for making the suggestion and bringing in Elton John to create the music.

• Music Inspiration
• Landmark Songwriting
• Orchestral Color
• Scoring Emotion
• Music: African Influence
• Audio Sequel
• Full Circle
• Music Video: Can You Feel the Love Tonight
• Music Video: Hakuna Matata
• Music Video: Circle of Life

• Safari: Animals (18 min)
It's an Animal Planet inspired look at the real animal inspirations for the characters that populate The Lion King, as well as a look back at Walt's fascination with the animal kingdom.

• Introduction
• Lions
• Meerkats
• Warthogs
• Hyenas
• Disney & Animals

• Virtual Safari
Join Timon and Pumbaa on two wild and crazy journeys through nighttime Africa. If you prefer water, we have "The Boat Adventure" (think WDW's Jungle Cruise) or, for land lubbers, "The Jeep Safari." Either way, you're in for one comedic, cursor-driven escapade.

With respect to the "Continents," the individual features have been grouped according to their geographic influences on the film. For instance, The Lion King 1 1/2 was developed by Disney's Australian animation team. Thus, the trailer for the new film can be found under Continent: Australia. Elton John and Tim Rice are from England. Thus, "Landmark Songwriting" can by found under Continent: Europe. Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is located at Walt Disney World in Florida. Thus, "Animal Kingdom Lodge" can be found under Continent: North America > Orlando, FL. Make sense? Again, there is a tremendous amount of redundancy here. My guess is people will intuit where to find specific items differently, hence the multiple locations. While the bonus featurettes and galleries are extremely well assembled, finding and cycling through them can become somewhat cumbersome. Consider it a quest.

• Continent: Asia

• Leaps of Fantasy
• Multi-Language Reel
• International Release
• Stage Musical Publicity Gallery
• International Soundtrack Covers
• International Large Format Release

• Continent: Africa

• Music: African Influence
• Audio Sequel
• Lions
• Meerkats
• Warthogs
• Hyenas
• Production Research Trip
• Character Design
• Art: African Influence
• Multi-Language Reel
• Music Video: Hakuna Matata
• International Release
• Film Character Design Galleries
• Stage Musical Publicity Gallery
• International Soundtrack Covers
• International Large Format Release

• Continent: Australia

• The Lion King 1 1/2 Trailer
• Stage Musical Publicity Gallery
• International Soundtrack Covers
• International Large Format Release

• Continent: Europe

• Landmark Songwriting
• Multi-Language Reel
• International Release
• Music Video: Can You Feel the Love Tonight
• Music Video: Circle of Life
• Stage Musical Publicity Gallery
• International Soundtrack Covers
• International Large Format Release

• Continent: North America: Burbank, CA

• Disney & Animals
• DVD Sound Design
• Reflections
• International Release

• Continent: North America: Orlando, FL

• Animal Kingdom Park
• Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Disney & Animals

• Continent: North America: New York, NY

• Musical Origins
• Screen to Stage
• Musical Texture
• Setting the Stage
• Leaps of Fantasy
• Stage Musical Publicity Gallery

• Continent: North America: Glendale, CA

• Production Design
• Storyboard Process
• Computer Animation
• Storyboard to Film Comparison
• Deleted Scenes
• Early Presentation Reel
• Character Design
• Art Design Galleries

• Continent: South America

• Multi-Language Reel
• International Release
• Stage Musical Publicity Gallery
• International Soundtrack Covers
• International Large Format Release

Lion King: Platinum Edition, The US - R1

Back Comments (4)
Some things personify Disney. The Jungle Book, Snow White, staggering VHS/DVD releases much to the public’s annoyance, massive theme parks and of course, the sort of sickly sweet cheer and joy that people often need to escape reality. Add to this list, The Lion King – a film that has made Disney more money than they know what to do with. It has had multiple VHS/DVD releases, has been made into a show at the theme parks, and on the proper stage which was received with critical acclaim and don’t even start on the toys and paraphernalia spawned from this film which includes, another film! Oddly enough, the Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride was released over here before it was in the States on DVD, and even before the first film was released!

The Film
A new dawn is approaching and loyal subjects gather around Pride Rock to witness the presentation of the Kings first born. A hush descends on the gathered crowd and then the infant is held aloft by the Kings advisor for all to see, amid rapturous applause. However, it is not humans, but animals that perform this event. The revered lion, King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) has had a son and all the animals of the pride land have gathered to catch a glimpse of this royal announcement. However all is not well. This new child is now next in line to the throne and this means the King’s brother, Scar (Jeremy Irons) – a weaker but cleverer lion, will never be king – unless something were to happen to Simba and Mufasa. Scar plots against the two lions but knowing he has not the strength to defeat Mufasa, he enlists the help of the motley hyenas as company.

His plan executed, Simba and Mufasa are no longer in the picture and Scar and the hyenas take over the pride land, laying it to waste. Simba does not know this as he wanders alone, banished. He makes friends with a pair of sidekicks – Timon (meercat) and Pumba (gassy warthog). The three become great friends. Timon and Pumbaa share their live philosophy with Simba – Hakuna Matata – it means No Worries. This helps Simba forget who he is and what he has left behind until he stumbles upon a childhood friend. She convinces him (with the help of a baboon!) to return and accept his responsibility as the King.

And that in a nutshell is the story of The Lion King. As with other Disney flicks, this features a lot of music, with a few tunes penned by the wig wearing glitter ball himself, Reginald Kenneth Dwight (or Elton John, if you prefer) including Can You Feel The Love Tonight and Circle of Life. This is a pretty funny film with a lot of humour and some great voice acting from Rowan Atkinson, Jeremy Irons and Matthew Broderick. Obviously a lot of the humour is supplied by the sidekicks Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella). The animation is excellent and the music fits in well with the theme. This is a great kids film, which as with a lot of recent Disney movies, works for adults too. It is not in the same comical league as Toy Story or any of the other Pixar treats from an adult perspective, but someone certainly loved it – with over $750 million from box office receipts alone (with Toy Story on $359 and Monster’s Inc on $384) it certainly appealed so someone a lot out there!

This DVD features two cuts of the film - the Theatrical cut and the Special Edition version which features an all new song.

Video
I was blown away with the beautiful colours that this 1.66:1 anamorphically enhanced DVD hurls at the screen in throes. Colours are verging on too vibrant in some scenes and the DVD producers are to be highly commended on their efforts. No damage to the film is visible and all dust and other artefacts are non-existent. No colour grading is present and compression artefacts do not raise their ugly head ever. Well, almost ever. There is one or two moments when it is possible to see what appears to be some MPEG artifacting in some of the darker scenes but to be honest it is so small I doubt all but the most ardent would notice it. The level of detail present in each scene is very high indeed and the backgrounds are stunning. This is surely one of the best video presentations for a non-computer generated animated feature ever. Spirited Away looked great, this looks pristine.

Audio
This is the more interesting part of this DVD as two 5.1 audio streams are present. The first is the original theatrical mix and is a little flat and quiet, particularly in the bass department. Not a bad mix in itself but the problem is that the second mix is so mind blowing that it blots the first from memory. After reading the press release for this, it does sound like the marketing team made up something to make the DVD sound better with the “Disney Enhanced for Home Theatre (DEHT)” mix. Apparently this mix was created for several reasons. The original theatrical mix was made around the early stages of Dolby Digital’s life and so it was still testing the waters as it were sound wise – that and the producers did not want to scare the audience with the thundering bass of a heard of wildebeast stampeding. Making a new mix was not just a case of a a quick poke on the current mix until it sounded right, but creating a new mix from scratch designed specifically for the large screen theatre (IMAX) and the home cinema. However it really did blow my socks off.

Firstly, it is significantly louder than its counterpart giving an instant impression of a richer, fuller sound. The surround channels are also a lot louder than normal – I have mine set to a fairly high volume to maximise the surround sound on a lot of DVDs but this needed me to turn them down, such is the vibrant use of these channels. The actual mix is different too with a lot more surround effects making the whole experience more immersive. The thundering wildebeast hooves dance around the soundstage and the music is clear and enthralling. My only gripe with this is that the other channels get so loud at times that the vocals, particularly in songs, tend to be drowned out a little due to the immense noise coming from everywhere else. Originally I was a little worried to hear the R1 release did not have the DTS soundtrack option however upon hearing this Dolby Digital 5.1 mix I couldn’t care less – and normally I am an advocate of DTS soundtracks on DVDs! I truly do not care here however, as the clear dialogue, smooth music, dynamic and truly masterful use of the surround channels as well as the very deep bass and bright high frequencies create what I feel safe in saying is the best Dolby Digital soundtrack I have ever heard. Disney, while it might not be quite as useful on Aladdin, I really am begging for a DEHT mix on that DVD when it is finally released!

Extras
Guess how long it takes to get to the menu from when you put the disc in the drive and hit play? Ten minutes and fifteen seconds! This involves a preview of The Lion King 1½, Brother Bear, George of the Jungle 2, Finding Nemo, The Santa Clause 2 and some lame Disney World advert. These are skipable features – I wish Disney wouldn’t have previews on DVDs like this. Once you have skipped all these you then have to wait further still due to the animated menu. Ok so it sets a scene but it just goes on, and on. For about a minute and twenty seconds! Then it talks through the extra features which is quite a good idea, however by this time you can finally select PLAY so lets go.

The menu system is split into several Lion King themed areas with the first being Grasslands. This in turn features two areas – The Making of the Morning Report and The Lion King Personality Game. The Morning Report is a song that was cut from the theatrical version and is now presented in this DVD on the extended version of the film. This feature looks at why it has now been added to this DVD as well as the content of the song itself including several chats with the main crew for the film. The Personality Game determines which Lion King character you are most like determined by the parrot, Zazu. I am most like Simba. So be careful when near me! GRRRRRRRrrr!

The Tree of Life contains 3 subsections. The music video for The Circle of Life, the Making of this Video and a Sing-Along track. The video is performed by the Disney Channel (kids) “Circle of Stars” – not impressed with that at all. Something that makes me want Elton John back singing cannot be a good thing. The Making Of is a look at how they made this remake. These kids are pretty obnoxious. Hilary Duff (known for her Lizzie MacGuire character) mentions how perfect the original song was – so why they felt the need to kill it is beyond me. The Sing-Along track is pretty amusing. This plays the extended cut of the film, with lyrics on screen for the whole family to sing-along with. Kids and adults alike will lap this up I’d imagine.

Jungle features two sections – Timon’s Grab-A-Grub game and Pumbaa’s Sound Sensations. Never a fan of these games, this is squarely aimed at the younger viewers however it does feature an alternate two player mode which is a nice idea. Pumbaa’s Sound Sensations is a game in which the viewer must match up a sound to its animal. While it sounds dull the voice over by Pumbaa is quite good and I am sure it’s almost educational for kids too so you can’t go wrong here.

The Elephant Graveyard features 3 Deleted and Abandoned Concepts. Bug Football is introduced by producer Don Hahn and is presented in storyboard format with voices done over the top. Hakuna Matata is again presented by the producer and shows the missing verse from the song of the same name sung by Timon again in storyboard format. Can You Feel The Love Tonight is introduced by Tim Rice. Following on from him is Elton John talking about the first version he heard of the famous song.

Finally the last proper extra on the first disc is the best – the Commentary track. Producer Don Hahn and Directors Rob Minkoff & Roger Allers talk about each scene thoroughly. This is an above average commentary and is at times quite fast paced. It is only available in the theatrical version of the film and this leads me to suspect it was ripped from the LaserDisc of the same name. Obviously men with a passion for their work, then end on a “beautiful” song. Enjoy!

There is also a Preview of Disc 2 which I have to say is totally absurd. Why they would need to pimp the second disc to people that already own it is beyond me. There are also eight trailers for other Disney related films which are the same as the ones that appear at the start of the disc, except this time Mary Poppins and Sleeping Beauty are also available. A THX Optimiser is also included as it is on all THX certified discs.

Disc 2 contains the meat of the extras, so here we go. This is going to take some time so I am not going to spend too long detailing each extra in too much detail.

The second disc opens a menu with 12 options on it. That’s a lot considering each has sub categories. There are 6 options named after land masses and 6 named after more Lion King specific material. However the sub menus for the first 6 options contain mostly the same content as the other menus options, albeit in a different order. This made it hard to watch everything as some items are repeated several times in different menus and yet some items can only be found in one place - confusing!

Story is the first area up for review and split into three parts which are playable individually or as a whole (as each section is). Story Origins shows how the world on the Lion King is a parallel for our own world. It gets compared to the bible a few times and Simba is compared to Moses. That should keep the bible-bashers happy. It is also compared to Hamlet from the point of view that Scar – the threat - is part of the Royal family. They even used lines from Hamlet for a while but it became to obvious so it was dropped. I quite enjoyed that four and a half minute video. Timeless Themes is expands on this story element and shows how the family theme is pushed in this film with loyalty and responsibility high on the agenda.

Stage features six subsections. This takes a look at the Broadway production as the production of Beauty and the Beast was currently on stage (1994). Everyone bar a select few was very sceptical and thought it would just look absurd. This then evolves to talk about how the unique mask style was created for the show in that the actors faces should be visible at all times for all the cast – the reason being it is not just an animal story, but also a human story. It looks very impressive and I would certainly consider seeing this production – it looks incredibly innovative. Julie Taymor (Director, Costume Designer, Mask/Puppet Co-Designer, Additional Lyricist) really was a driving force in this production and the way it finally looked on stage and from her list of jobs, seems to have had influence in most of the areas. Moving on from this, we get to the music. This is where the African element of the film is brought into the forefront of the play. However it also includes “British pop songs” (thanks for that) and it also has to gel together – and not only that – it has to be played by an orchestra which ends up with a real multitude of musical instruments from all over the world. This section runs for sixteen minutes.

Virtual Safari is a little different. You get to choose one oftwo tours. I chose the boat tour first, at night. Narrated by Timon, this is amusing and again, educational and interactive. I liked this, and kids will love it. If they don’t jump when the monkeys arrive I’ll be surprised. The jeep tour is fairly similar and again well scripted. This is quality material! I wasn’t too keen on the me falling in the back of the cliff however I was then told it was just a ride and so I feel happier and know that I didn’t die. The 5.1 sound just adds to the whole experience – certainly one of the best ‘Made for DVD’ interactive features I have seen.

Music is split into seven sections and 3 videos. Hans Zimmer talks about the African singers and Lebo M who was brought in by Zimmer and is not only responsible for the African vocals, but for the opening line which really sets the scene as 'Africa'. Elton has a good chance to talk about his songs as does Tim Rice. I liked the way that originally it was going to be called King of the Jungle until they realised there are no lions in the jungle. From this Zimmer goes on to explain that originally he wasn’t going to use an orchestra at all and just use African percussion instruments however this was soon dismissed when he started working. I have liked a lot of Hans Zimmer’s work on other films and it is interesting to hear him talk about his concepts, the way he related the music to the emotions of the characters, the way he had to stop looking at the characters as animals and start looking at them as humans, and his passion for being there (obviously reflected in his success). Again, we hear about Lebo opening the vocals in the film and even though the film is available in 32 languages – the opening is always Lebo M. The Rhythm of the Pridelands is a soundtrack released in conjunction with the film of a mix of African and American music which is showcased next. Those involved with the music realised that they had so much great music that they could release a soundtrack like this for everyone to enjoy. So they did. Briefly, Elton and Tim end this section talking about their Oscar in a mishmash of sound bites from the rest of the crew and images from the production of the film. This runs for twenty four minutes. The music videos are The Circle of Life and Can You Feel the Love Tonight performed by Elton John, and Jimmy Cliff’s version (featuring Lebo M) of Hakuna Matata.

Animals is the final menu option, broken down into six parts. Introduced by Roy Disney, this section looks at the real animals behind the characters in the Lion King. This nature documentary of sorts covers lions, meerkats, warthogs and hyenas. A mix of film and cartoon footage accompanied with a happy Disney-style voice over, this is again more educational stuff for your kids. Meerkats are funny. Rounding this off is a collection of all the animals that have been involved with Disney including both the animated and the real kind. And don’t forget the animal themed rides that Disney parks all over the world have people queuing up for. I never knew there were so many live-action Disney films with animals in them and we are shown a few clips from several here. This runs for eighteen minutes.

There are a few extra features not duplicated throughout the two dividing parts of the menu system. These are now looked at below.

The Multilanguage Clip Reel showcases the different languages that the film was made in through the Hakuna Matata song. In every language, the characters all sound the same – it’s just a different language. Each time a new country has its turn in the song, you can hit ENTER on your remote and see each countries favourite scene.

International Release shows how Disney since Snow White, have had their films translated into different languages so they can reach the widest audience possible. This is not as straightforward as it might seem as they need to make sure the humour is translated across too so the translators have to be able to understand the joke, and then translate it in such a way that it plays to the strengths of that particular countries humour. This even includes the soundtracks which are also released in local languages.

There are seventeen galleries on the disc including a look at the Stage Musical Publicity, the International Soundtrack Covers and the International Large Format Release (IMAX). These are all well and good if you like that sort of thing but I have never been a fan of galleries on DVDs.

Producer Don Hahn talks about his passion for DVDs in the DVD Sound Design. Terry Porter (also responsible for the original 5.1 sound mix) talks about how the 5.1 sound technology was quite new back when the Lion King was first released and so they took a fairly conservative stance on the soundtrack. With the new IMAX release the sound was re-created to be more aggressive so that it sounded better in the more advanced systems of a large screen theatre. Then came the DVD and so Terry took the large format mix made for theatres and put it into a format that would work in a home cinema system. Terry tried to create the illusion that the viewer is sitting right in the middle of the orchestra (which worked, by the way) and they talk about upping the sub levels on such parts as the wildebeast stampede.

Computer Animation shows that while most of the Lion King was hand-drawn, there were certain effects the director wanted that would have been almost impossible to draw by hand – namely the wildebeast stampede. Here, based on a wildebeest from a character designer’s hand drawn artwork, a 3D computer model was created and this was replicated many many times to produce the stampede we see today.

Storyboard to Film Comparison shows the opening scene in the form of storyboards and the finished product to give you an idea of what the animators and artists had to work with. These are certainly some of the better storyboards I have seen (especially after looking through the ones Sam Raimi drew for his Evil Dead series of films!). There really must have been thousands of these – after all one hundred storyboards takes just over three minutes to run.

Early Concept – Timon and Pumbaa find Simba shows the storyboards for an early idea for when Simba was found, fully voiced by the correct actors. Early Concept – Simba’s Presentation is an early storyboarded look at the Circle of Life scene while the movie was still called King of the Jungle, and Circle of Life hadn’t even been written. The characters and their roles are slightly different so it is interesting to see how this started out. Warthog Rhapsody is an abandoned concept which later grew into Hakuna Matata however this storyboard version sung by Timon and Pumbaa is a little rough around the edges but is very much, a smooth groove. The Early Presentation Reel was made for all the films partners including the companies that make the toys, games and theme park attractions etc. to help get everyone excited about the project. This is a non-animated collection of artwork made (I guess) by the films artists. Nothing very cartoony about any of it however it does show that the film is about animals, in Africa which is I guess all they could show at such an early stage.

Animal Kingdom Park and Lodge are two small features which are a sneaky way of basically advertising the Orlando theme park and resort.

Overall
Well after that what can I say? It is a very impressive selection of extra material on top of a blistering video and absolutely unbelievable audio presentation. The DVD has been themed well around its film and the extras, particularly those created just for the DVD are for the most, very well done indeed. This Platinum Edition really oozes quality and it will be a credit to anyone’s collection. I heartily recommend it even if you are not really a fan, just so you can test the DEHT audio mix on your system.

Lion King, The (1994)(Special Edition)(2 DVD Set)(Widescreen)
At last, the animated feature that inspired a Broadway hit is finally available on DVD! And except for some mild navigational nightmares, fans will find it well worth the almost 10-year wait. There are two widescreen (1.66:1) versions to choose from, the original theatrical release and a special edition featuring a new song. The film has been lovingly cleaned and restored, with an innovative 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix option added that's nothing short of bells-and-whistles fun. What was once amazing is now breathtaking.
When The Lion King was first released, audiences were bowled over by the 2-D animation, which Disney artists had taken to another level. Animals moved more lifelike than ever, backgrounds blended authentic detail with stylized drops, and the music was an interesting meld of Broadway-style show tunes and South African influence. James Earl Jones lent his deep, mellow voice to Mufasa, the lion king who rules from Pride Rock over all the animals in the African veldt. As the Elton John opening song, "Circle of Life," proclaims, the theme of this sometimes tragic film is that all living things are connected. Though the lion may eat the antelope, when the predator dies it becomes the grass, which the antelope eats. For a change, after decades of downers featuring orphans or characters who've lost their mothers, Disney finally came up with a departed male character and a positive spin on death: our fathers (and, presumably, mothers) live on through us, and look down upon us from the stars.
The driving force behind all Disney plots have been the villains, and Jeremy Irons is a fantastically perfect foil as Mufasa's cynical (but physically challenged) brother. Scar would have been next in succession to the rock-throne, had not a male cub been born. Here, parts of Shakespeare's Hamlet—Scar eliminates his brother and takes both the throne and Mufasa's widow—are mixed with Milton's Paradise Lost (the pride lands are opened to packs of destructive hyenas). As in Hamlet, the dead father's spirit comes to the son, and Simba (Matthew Broderick) eventually avenges his father and restores order to the kingdom. But it wouldn't be Disney without major comic relief (provided here by a major domo bird, and both a wisecracking warthog and a meercat), lively music (by Elton John, Tim Rice, and South African Lebo M), and a mild romantic interest (with Moira Kelly as Nala).
There are so many extras that Disney provided a hard-copy navigational map. You'll need it; the features are sometimes hard to find and annoyingly placed. Kids will love the virtual Jungle Cruise theme-park-style ride, narrated by Timon and Puumba (the meercat and warthog), but they may want to flip back and forth between that and the other kids' games (which are unfortunately in separate sections on another disc). There's a fun Lion King personality profile game, a grab-a-grub game that will give small ones practice at using the arrow buttons, and a match-the-sounds game. Kids will also like the animal profiles, but the rest of the extras are for the adults. There are dozens of excellent short features on the music, the making of the film, the stage production, and story development. The audio commentary by producer Don Hahn and directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff lacks energy, but there are still enough insights to make it worthwhile.
As for the new song, it's no "Human Again." That production number worked as well in the expanded version of Beauty and the Beast as it did on Broadway. The same can't be said of "The Morning Report," a slight musical interlude that actually detracts from the scene. That said, The Lion King joins Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame as films from the Neo-Golden Age of Disney, where the music and graphics were deliberately cranked up a notch to appeal to adults as well as children. It easily ranks among Disney's best.
— JAMES PLATH
PARENTS' NOTE: Bambi and Old Yeller traumatized an entire generation of baby-boomers with deaths that occurred off-screen, so young ones should probably be shielded from Scar's killing of Mufasa (during the wildebeast stampede), which occurs on-screen and is much more terrifying. There are also plenty of moments of peril, and the final battle between the hyenas and lionesses is graphic and heavy. Yet, The Lion King is a beautiful, funny, musical, family-oriented film, so it's a shame to completely bar younger ones from seeing it. Concerned parents could screen the film first and take youngsters out of the room during intense moments.

Britt Gillette's The Lion King DVD Review

Winner of two Academy Awards for Best Music (both Original Score and Original Song), The Lion King would have won Best Picture had it not been an animated film. Arguably the greatest full-length Disney feature of all time, The Lion King is a drama of epic proportions, and a film that forever extended the boundaries of the animation genre. Hans Zimmer creates an original score that is second to none in cinematic history, and Elton John's hit single swept the nation at the time of the film's release. With powerful and sweeping visual sequences, the use of a timeless plot device, and brilliant direction, the film will stand the test of time as one of the best to ever be produced.

The story is set in Pride Rock, a serene jungle paradise on the African plain. All of the animals live in a harmonious ecosystem, ruled by the greatest animal of all - the strongest and wisest lion, King Mufasa. When Mufasa's wife gives birth to the lion cub Simba, the young heir's Uncle Scar begins plotting the overthrow of his brother and the taking of the kingdom by force. Forming a conspiracy with a pack of wild hyenas, Scar's evil plan is to lure Simba and Mufasa into a valley where the hyenas stir up a herd of wilder beasts which end up trampling Mufasa and leaving him clinging for his life to the edge of a cliff. With his brother's life hanging in the balance, Scar seizes the opportunity to send his brother hurling to a bloody death.

With Mufasa dead, and Simba too young to defend the kingdom, Scar and the hyenas rise to power. Pride Rock is soon reduced to a desolate wasteland as its newest rulers ravage the landscape, while Simba is forced into exile. Fleeing to a faraway land free of predators, Simba grows up and befriends Pumbaa and Timon, two animals who live a carefree life feasting on grubs and insects.

But as time passes, a chance encounter reunites Simba with his childhood love Nala. Falling in love with each other, Nala tells Simba about the sad state of affairs in Pride Rock. She urges him to return, but it takes the return of Mufasa in the form of a ghostly cloud in order to convince Simba of his true destiny…

With the help of Nala and the other lionesses of Pride Rock, Simba returns to stake his claim as the rightful heir to the kingdom and to exact justice on Scar for his father's cold-blooded murder. Together, Simba and the lionesses defeat Scar and hyenas, and Pride Rock once again becomes the utopian paradise it once was under Mufasa's philosopher king rule. As the movie ends, the animal kingdom is presented with Simba's newborn son - and the circle of life continues unabated…

Widely considered the best animated film in Disney's arsenal, and certainly the best of the computer-generated era, The Lion King is a cinematic masterpiece in any medium. If you tend to shy away from animated films as childlike or simply just not your cup of tea, you would be well advised to make an exception and check out The Lion King DVD. It is quite simply an extraordinary epic, replete with dazzling choreography, well-blended musical scores, and characters the audience loves to root for. In one particular scene, the Disney animators' use of Leni Riefenstahl's patented camera angles to capture the hyenas marching in lock-step under the singular review of Scar creates an abundance of subconscious images reminiscent of Hitler and the Third Reich. This illusion plants a manifestation of evil in the mind of the viewer that is instantly connected to Scar and his evil intentions… That's the type of symbolic and all-engrossing power Disney utilizes in this wonderful masterpiece - loved by children, but a deep and breathtaking film for the adult viewer nonetheless…

Lion King

Special Edition DVD

Features

Reviews

Video

Cover Art

Easter Eggs

Versions

Headlines

More

Overall:

Features:

The Flick:

- Recommendation -

BUY IT:

Written By Brian Balchack

The Lion King has finally come to DVD thanks to the fine people over at Buena Vista Home Video! Now, everyone can take home a powerful special edition so packed with features, the whole family will be busy for hours!

Follow the story oflion cub 'Simba' who is heir to the throne of king of the jungle, but loses his way away from the kingdom at an early age, only to return as an adult to reclaim what is his from an evil uncle who controls the hordes of michievious hyenas.

It's been years since I first viewed The Lion King, but this film has absolutely stood the test of time. Excellent voice talent, superb animation, unforgettable song renditions, and the magic that only the Disney team could capture.

This disc is so jammed with extra material it will take you hours to get through it all. From newly added animation to never-before-heard songs, many a special edition have a lot to learn from this release.

Though every element found on special editions these days isn't found on this DVD, the wide range of interactive material and behind-the-scenes footage well makes up for it.

There are a few downsides to the special features. The menu is complex, and depending on which menu you access you might find some of the same elements you found inside another menu present as well. This gives the false illusion of more content then there really is, and in turn makes accessing what is advertised on the box hard to find.

Another factor that is plaguing tons of DVDs these days are the split documentary clips. What happens here is they will take a documentary that was probably originally cut into a nice 30 minute piece and cut them into separated clips for indivual access within the menu. This causes the viewer to watch a fragmented documentary which is served "a la carte" on the disc with no hope for a "Play All" button. 5 minutes here...back to the menu...3 minutes there...back to the menu. After a little research into this matter a while back I found that the studios do this sort of thing as to not increase the cost of DVD production. An entire documentary might cause some studios to have to pay for legitimate time to an actor for sharing him or herself for a full length feature on a disc. This fragmentation is a loop hole in which the studio works around this potential problem. Cheapos.

With that said, this disc is nothing to scoff at. It is as feature rich as you could possibly ask for. After viewing these materials you'll know everything you ever wanted to know about the creation of 'Simba' and his friends.

The Commentaries
Great insight into the film. Directors Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff along with producer Don Hahn sound off on some aspects of the film that will bring many elements you never even thought of to your attention.

The Making Of The New Song "Morning Report"
A newly added scene accompanies this release and this little documentary gives you the answers to why they did it.

The DVD Games
From "Timon's Grab-A-Grub Game" where 2 players test their grub-grabbing skills against each other, to the "Profile Game", where you test yourself against the DVD to find out what Lion King character you are most like, to "Pumba's Sound Sensations" game which really puts your 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound to the test, to "Timon & Pumba's Virtual Safari" on disc 2 in which you can take a virtual tour through the wilds of Africa...the interactivity on this disc is fulfilling and fun for the whole family. it promises not to disappoint.

Deleted Scenes
3 deleted scenes are included on the disc. Nothing too shocking, but it does give you a sense of worth on any DVD that include anything they took out during the first cut.

The Journies
Disc2 contains the documentary clips of various subjects within the Lion King world. Here's the rundown:

Film Journey: Behind-the-scenes footage, character design, computer animation, and African art inspiration.

Music Journey: Exclusive interviews with Sir Elton John & Sir Tim Rice, The Lion King music videos, and African Influence documentaries.

Animal Journey: Roy Disney hosts a show that explains how real life animals inspired the very essence of the animals portrayed in the film.

Story Journey: A small documentary that shows the audience the origins and influences behind the story that is The Lion King.

Early Concepts & Other Scattered Features
There are also tons of random features scattered through out the 2 disc set. By cruising from menu to menu you'll find early, unused cuts of various scenes, country specific music and songs for various parts of the world, details on the sound design of the DVD, advertisements, and a very interesting look at how the idea of the film was presented to it's distributors.

The Look
Presented in it's originally created aspect ratio of 1.66:1 Widescreen, enhanced for 16x9 televisions, the images fly out of the screen making a rich colorful world which you have no choice but to become completely immersed in. You could not ask for a better transfer of an animated film.

The Sound
Presented in a THX-Certified, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound soundtrack as well as a 5.1 "Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix", the audio is beautiful. Crystal clear presentation of foley elements to the wonderful high and lows of the scored soundtrack to the rich sound of popular songs, the audio on this DVD special edition is setting new standards.

Of course anyone with a family is going to enjoy this with their clan (as previous VHS sales have proven), but just as well, any fan of Disney will find that this is a great addition to their collection. A masterful transfer of a true modern classic. This is a DVD that will stand tall next to the likes of that heavily packed platinum edition of Snow White

TLK is Great
Author: David_l_s from Ontario,Canada

I watched the film today and I have come to the conclusion that this Disney film is one classic that will keep on delivering to Disney fans like myself...TLK is a wonderful film with great characters and songs with a powerful message that you can always find your way back no matter how hard the journey...

I think The Lion King is one of the best Disney animated films matching with the power of Bambi and Brother Bear.

I love how Disney Works hard to deliver the best in Animation,Song,And Magic

I do believe that 2006 and many years from now The Lion King will Shine and still Roar with Success...

Thank-You Disney For The Lion King

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
For animated films, there's Lion King, then everyhing "else", May 22, 2003

Reviewer: "antfarmks5" (Overland Park, KS United States) - See all my reviews
This movie truly was Disney's paramount achievement. The Lion King was a culmination of years of tweaking and mastering the formula for animated films, and I think the result really blew people away. For this movie, Disney literally used all the tricks to produce a masterpiece that transcended the genre. The greatest compliment we can give to this film is that it's not only known as the greatest animated movie of all time, it's one of the best to ever hit the big screens.
Are there flaws to this movie? After four viewings, I'm convinced that the answer is "no" (unless you think the subliminal "SEX" that appears in the dirt and leaves when Simba plops onto the ground under the stars somehow diminishes the movie's quality... hey, it was kinky and, in retrospect, foolish, but it takes nothing away from the movie).
If you haven't seen The Lion King, you've sadly deprived yourself of an unforgettable experience. Truly funny, touching, inspiring, gripping, and triumphant, it's a real tribute to Disney, especially since in the nineties, this was a company known for its mediocre or embarrassingly bad flicks.
The Lion King shines head and shoulders above the crowd... this movie was so good, it changed the animation scene... not until Toy Story did an animated film produced in the U.S. (one could say the Japanese animation Princess Mononoke was as good, if not better, than TLK) come even close to the bar of excellence TLK set. The fact that we still remember it, nine years later, as a classic that must be rewatched speaks volumes for its lasting legacy.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Feel The Roar Indeed!, September 12, 2003

Reviewer: Erik Morton "Erik Morton" (Carmel, CA United States) - See all my reviews
I've always had a deep love for THE LION KING. Heck, who doesn't? Now, nine years after its theatrical release, and five since that trashy sequal, the used-to-be highest grossing animated film of all time (second only to the highly overrated FINDING NEMO) roars onto an excellent DVD Platinum Edition.
Now I know what you're wondering: can this, the third Platinum title, live up to its two predesesors SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST? Well, since I would never dream of buying SNOW WHITE (blasphemy! I know, but the film sucks), I couldn't realy say anything about that. But I do own BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and I was very mixed about that DVD. While the film is a modern classic and a great movie (though I think it's a bit overrated, as well), the DVD picture quality was extremely annoying. Grain, grain, grain everywhere! But the extras rocked, some of the best I've ever seen. Overall, one could tell that it was indeed an "Experimental DVD" as the box states, but it was well worth the money for anyone who loves the film.
THE LION KING DVD is also mixed, at least when comparing to B&B. First off, this is a much better film. Actually, I'm not going to go into any detail on the film; what's the point, since everyone in the world has seen it? But where this DVD stands out is in the video presentation. With Disney's recent release of SLEEPING BEAUTY, they proved that an animated film made in 1959 could look ten times better as an animated film made in 1992. Needless to say, my expectations for the video of TLK were extremely high. However, previews for the DVD looked as if my hopes were soon to be crushed (once again, grain everywhere). Well, the picture quality exceeded all my expectations, and it's by far the most beautiful the film has ever looked. Edge enhancement was a bit annoying sometimes, but I'm very picky in that matter; aside from that, the video was as flawless as the DVD format can get.
Now, the extras department is where B&B beats TLK by a long shot. In that DVD release, the filmmakers' intimate love for the project truly showed through in the special features. But here, the interviewees seem to be just reading a script; not a whole lot of it is interesting, and what IS interesting, they speed right through. And where the heck are those cast interviews, man?! In B&B, some of the best parts of the extras were hearing from the voice talents (Angela Lansbury, Robbie Benson, etc.) Here, there's hardly even a single stillframe of any of them. Man, I would have LOVED to hear James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, and especially Jonathan Taylor Thomas give their thought and memories on the film. Oh, and that "Virtual Safari" with Timon and Pumba is utterly pointless, as are the games. That part of Disney DVDs is really getting to annoy me. One game that IS fun, however, is the "Personality Profile" activity. Similarly built like those on the B&B and SLEEPING BEAUTY DVDs, these are always fun. (Oh, and I'm most like Nala; in other words, I'm most like a girl. Weird. Oh well . . . at least she's a HOT lioness!)
I am extremely lucky to have received this as a free DVD from Amazon.com a full month before its official release. In one way, hey, I got a fantastic presentation of a fantastic movie for no charge! On the other hand, I'm very glad to have not had to pay full price for it, as I would probably be even more disappointed with the extras if I had to pay $$-$$ to get them.
In short: It appears Disney is changing its style for their DVDs; instead of focusing on the extras, they spend time on the actual film. While this is both a blessing and a curse, I believe it to me more of the former. Any true fan of THE LION KING, one of the Top Five Greatest Animated Films Ever (as well as one of Disney's all-time best films of any kind), must buy this DVD.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Long Live The King !, September 16, 2003

Reviewer: A. Gammill (West Point, MS United States) - See all my reviews

Another must-have Disney special edition...there are enough bonus features here to keep you busy for days. I really liked the "virtual safari", where Timon & Pumba guide you thru the jungle by jeep or boat. You also get an insider's look at the making of a modern animated classic. The whole package is just very classy, with all-new animated menus and interactive features.
There's also a newly-added scene incorporated into the film, a new musical number called "The Morning Report." While this is an enjoyable addition, it doesn't really add anything new to the film.
As expected, the picture and sound quality are exceptional; you'll really get swept up into the picture during the more action-filled moments.
You simply must own this beloved Disney film, an this 2-disc set is likely to be a highlight of your home video collection.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
A True Classic in a New, Double DVD Edition, September 16, 2003

Reviewer: Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews

Disney Studios tends to use the word "classic" to describe every film it releases--but in the case of THE LION KING, the word is very apt. And this double disk DVD "Special Platinum Edition" shows the film at its best.
Unlike the recent DVD release of SLEEPING BEAUTY, THE LION KING did not require significant restoration, and if you have a VHS copy of a previous release you will not find the picture significantly different beyond the inclusion of a new musical number. What you will find quite different, however, is the sound. The DVD offers you the option of the original soundtrack as it was first created for theatrical release or a home theatre mix--and if you have a surround sound system, the latter will add a great deal to your viewing experience.
As usual in Disney's "special" releases, THE LION KING also comes with a great many bonuses. I found them a mixed bag; at times they were little more than shamless self-promotion on the part of Disney, and they also tended to be repetitive. But the bonuses do include a very nice audio commentary track and a number of fascinating interviews and short documentaries that will interest Disney fans, and there are several games (which can be played from the DVD remote control) that the kids will enjoy quite a bit.
But the real power of this DVD release is, of course, the film itself. Loosely suggested by everything from Biblical parables to African folktales to Shakespeare's HAMLET, THE LION KING presents us with a moral lesson about responsibility, courage and the need to confront past mistakes--precisely the sort of thing that you WANT your kids to watch but they always object to sitting through. But they won't object to it this time: the film looks beautiful, it sounds great, and with its pagent of heroes and bad guys, comic characters, low comedy, and high drama it should hold them (and adults as well) glued to the screen.
If you're not greatly interested in bonus materials or in the surround sound features and you already have a good quality copy of THE LION KING in your collection--you may want to give this new edition a miss. But if you're a first time buyer or you're replacing a worn-out-from-viewing copy, this release is the way to go.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
Royal DVD treatment!, September 28, 2003

Reviewer: cousinpaco (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews
A wondrous film.
A top-notch DVD.
Disney's new Special Edition of "the Lion King" is both.
I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy, and can say that it's one of the best DVDs in my collection, right up there with "Sleeping Beauty" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
First off, my favorite part: they give you the choice of watching the movie with a new song, or (for the purists) the original theatrical version. I think that every special edition should offer that option!
Both are presented in stunning, crystal-clear DVD quality--and the film itself has been cleaned up to make you feel like you're seeing "the Lion King" for the first time.
The sound is incredible (especially if you have a decent audio setup), making you feel like you're right there on Pride Rock with Simba, Zazu and the rest. Elton John has never sounded better (unless you've actually been to one of his concerts), and it's thrilling to finally hear James Earl Jones on DVD as one of his most memorable characters.
It's always tough to decide whether or not to replace a VHS copy with DVD, but "the Lion King" Special Edition makes the answer obvious.
("Yes.")

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Contemporary Classic, October 5, 2003

Reviewer: Lonnie E. Holder "Far out man!" (Sullivan, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

I first saw this movie in the theater, where the film benefited well from the wide screen and huge sound of a larger theater. Naturally I had to have the movie when it came out on video; my children would never have forgiven me otherwise. The question was whether we should also get the DVD. Well, we now have the DVD and the answer in retrospect seems to be obvious: ABSOLUTELY!
Our version of the VHS tape included an Elton John video as an extra, which was nice, but the extras in the DVD version are excellent and far more numerous. As Disney has re-released "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Sleeping Beauty," and now "The Lion King," they seem to be getting better and better at value-added extras; more on the extras later. The principal value is in the movie itself, of course, which benefits from a phenomenal cleanup in both the video and the audio. As you compare the condition of the film in some of the extra features with the digital version you can readily see the improvement in video quality. The DVD sound benefits from the greater quantity of information available on the DVD versus tape, and the elimination of hiss and pop is noticeable. Movies such as these are the main reason that everyone should have a DVD player.
The movie itself likely skirts the borderline of its G rating. There are several very intense and scary scenes, some involving blood. The murder of Simba's father is particularly intense, and may be frightening to very young members of the audience. However, I believe that with appropriate parental guidance the movie can be an excellent teaching tool as well as good entertainment.
The story broke new ground for Disney, which has typically relied on western European and North American mythology and legend for the majority of their full-length animated features. This movie incorporates a central theme embodied by the Elton John and Tim Rice song "The Circle of Life," which has significant ecological meaning as well as explaining death. A scary thought for the very young, but the movie introduces the concept that those who have lived before live on, and as long as you remember them, they can never truly be gone, a beautiful and wonderful thought, and but a fraction of the wonderful philosophy lived by the animals in the movie.
The story itself is a story of maturing and realizing responsibilities, and telling the truth. Simba is the future king of the pride, and it will be his responsibility to lead the pride and to guard the pride lands, keeping the balance of all things. Simba's father Mufasa (James Earl Jones) is the wise king trying to teach Simba to always do the right thing. Mufasa's brother Scar (Jeremy Irons) has always felt that he should be king, and uses Simba to put Mufasa in a position to be killed. Mufasa then tells Simba that it's all his fault. Simba runs away in guilt and shame.
The next portion of the story shows Simba as he meets new friends and grows up, but has yet to take responsibility for anything. A female cub Simba knew before he ran away, Nala (Moira Kelly), comes seeking help for the pride, as the pride lands have become desolate. She finds Simba (as an adult voiced by Matthew Broderick). At first she is unable to convince Simba that he needs to do anything, but after talking to his father (an excellent scene), Simba realizes that it is his responsibility as Mufasa's son to help the pride.
The next portion of the movie involves the confrontation between Scar, his henchmen, the hyenas, and the lionesses and Simba. The ending has another somewhat frightening moment for the younger members of the audience, but of course we know what the outcome must be.
The extras deserve description, because several are among the best I've yet seen on a Disney DVD. Both Elton John's videos are included for "The Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." Elton's performance in both videos is nothing less than phenomenal. There is one place in the extras where Elton is shown with a full-grown lion. That image alone was worth viewing the voluminous extras. There is another section on the African influence to the movie, particularly the contribution of Lebo M.
Another section of the extras talk about the animals themselves, and their actual behavior versus their behavior in the movie. We also see scenes of actual animals to compare to the animated animals.
There are a couple of video games, one of which was interesting; the other would perhaps appeal to children. One was a personality test, to see which of the characters you are most like; enjoyable. The other was to match sounds with the animal that made them; fair.
Another excellent extra was Timon and Pumbaa's virtual safari. There are two different safaris you can take; one in a jeep, the other in a boat. Both were funny and good. In conjunction with the safaris is a trailer for an upcoming Lion King movie called "The Lion King 1 1/2."
"The Lion King" movie is filled with so much for a family: the role and importance of a father; doing right; taking responsibility; considering the effect one's actions has on other living things; and so many other things that I am unable to list them all. The story is well told and animated, and the score is magic. There are so many reasons to show this movie to the whole family. In addition is a collection of some of the best extras ever on a Disney DVD. One of the few movies where I'd like to give the DVD six stars. A movie that should be in every family collection and for anyone who considers themselves an expert on animated movies.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Epic , Lavish and Timeless classic for Disney., October 6, 2003

Reviewer: Ross McKenzie "ross" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
Disney fans all over the world have been waiting for October
7th to come along,waiting for the one disney film that started a
worldwide phenomonon The Lion King.And now disney fans will be able to enjoy this magical and epic film in two diffrent versions
the original theatrical release,and the completed special Imax
edition that has the added "Morning Report" that reunited the
cast for this song that was included in the fantastic live play
and musical all the songs are here that you knew and loved.
Hakunah Matata, Circle Of Life , I, Just Can't Wait To Be King,
and Can You Feel The Love and they never have been heard this
grand before.With an all Star cast Matthew Brodrick,Nathan Lane
,James Earl Jones, and Jeremy Irons to name a few, you know the
story Simba must claim the right to his father Mufasa but after
Mufasas passing in a battle with scar , Simba flees where he is
taken in by Pombah and Timone and takes in a care free life of
Hakunah Matata a life of no worrys and negelcts his rightful
dutys as king,Mean while Scar taking advantage of Simbas absence
by taking over the throne and putting the land and ihabitants
in jeapordy,Rafiki a wise monkey shows Simba the error of his
ways his one great responsability is to honor his fathers wishes
and become King,Simba realizes what he was ment and put on earth
for and battles a group of mysfitting hyenas and a final battle
with Scar and claims his title and honor and becomes The Lion
King.
The Lion King has never looked so brillant so lavish on DVD
and it has never sound so powerful then it does on DVD,This is
probly the best film to DVD transfer in a while a 2 disk set
with features you actually want to know from this classic disney
masterpeice , countless bonus features give you an in depth look
at the realization and artwork of this masterpeice no doubt The
Lion King will give your home theatre system a run for money and
there is no better way to veiw this film at home folks this is
it this is the way this movie was ment to be seen and heard at
home pick up this masterpeice and one of the top ten most requested DVD'S of all time it will live on in the annels of
Disney as one of the top ten feature cartoon films they have ever made epic in every sense of the word.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
THE ROAR OF EXCELLENCE ON DVD - DISNEY DOES SIMBA PROUD!, October 7, 2003

Reviewer: Nix Pix (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

"The Lion King" is basically Shakespeare's Hamlet for children. When a young lion's father is murdered by his uncle, the rightful heir to the throne must decide if he is equal to the task of ruling. Brilliantly realized, visually stunning and epic in its scope and entertainment value - this is truly Disney animation at its zenith.
TRANSFER: The good folks at Disney can be proud of their efforts on this 2 disc special edition. The picture - digitally restored and remastered, is something to behold. Colors are more vibrant and saturated. Black and contrast levels are stunning. There are no blemishes, artifacts, aliasing or other digital anomolies to detract from a visual presentation that is worthy of the lion's share. The audio is 5.1 Dolby digital and aggressive in its bass, really giving your surround sound a work out.
EXTRAS: Lots! There are two versions of "The Lion King" - the original and another featuring a new song - "Morning Report". The new song is enjoyable but it neither adds or detracts from the impact of the film - it's just there. There's a featurette on the making of the film, several music videos, some games and the theatrical trailer.
BOTTOM LINE: AN ABSOLUTE MUST!

A TRUE DISNEY CLASSIC, October 8, 2003

Reviewer: Dustin Merton (Lubbock, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

i just bought the dvd yesterday and i already watched it and was reminded of what a great movie it really is. the difference between the dvd and vhs is amazing, the colors on the dvd stand out so much that the movie takes on a whole different kind of beauty. although i do have to say that the new song should have stayed out of the movie because honestly it really is not that good. but my god the original songs of this movie are truly classic. elton john is such a wonderful songwriter and the songs of this movie are so right that it just makes the movie even better. the extras on the discs are good and i am sure kids will enjoy them. all i know is, i wish disney would go back to making movies like this one because the ones they put out lately have been lacking. the lion king is going to stand the test of time, my reason being, i still get chills from this movie, that is how good it is. i watch and i know that i am watching something truly special

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The best selling movie is back, October 23, 2003

Reviewer: David Anderson (St. Cloud, MN) - See all my reviews

It's wonderful that Disney decided to rerelease "The Lion King". It's more than just a rerelease, they added some new features like deleted scenes, a new song by Elton John, the restored and remastered version, and much more. This gives the soon-to-be classic the continuing recognition that it deserves.
Besides this, the production and the animation was wonderfully projected for its 1994 release. The setting and the animals' behavior proves that the creaters researched everything fully. The accuracy is perfent. The storyline is enjoyable for those of all ages, combining musical, action, comedy, and suspense. Such combination keeps the audience's eyes close to the screen, always anxious to the next scene. The songs are very catchy, symbolizing the events. The actors perform their voiceovers wonderfully, giving their characters the humor and suspense: Oscar winners Whoopi Goldberg and Jeremy Irons, Oscar nominee James Earl Jones, Tony winners Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Cheech Marin, Roman Atkinson, and more.
Elton John and Tim Rice offer their knowledge to the music. Their catchy music won them an Oscar for Best Original Song("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). The score writer also won an Oscar for his efforts. His research of African music helped his music shine with the animated surroundings. The songs blend perfectly with the script, giving them smooth unity. The special features DVD features two music videos: "Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". Fans of this music should also buy the soundtrack. It's as enjoyable as the movie.
Other special features include a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "The Lion King". The many games created specially for this rerelease are enjoyable. One feature offers the music with subtitles, allowing a sing-along festival. The 1994 interview with Elton John offers some interesting words.
Those who watch "The Lion King" will not be disappointed. Fans of this movie should also purchase the original 1994 release. Though the same, it travels deeper through the producers' minds from the time of creation.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Great animated film, October 28, 2003

Reviewer: Ryan Cragun (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews
Summary:
Simba (Matthew Broderick - voice; Joseph Williams singing voice), the son of Mufasa (James Earl Jones - voice), the current Lion King, begins the movie by losing his place as heir to the throne due to the manipulations of his evil uncle,
Scar (Jeremy Irons - voice). The plot results in the death of Mufasa and Simba believes he caused the death, so he leaves The Pridelands as an exile.

While in the jungle in exile, Simba makes friends with Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella - voice) and Timon (Nathan Lane - voice), who help Simba get past his guilt by teaching him to live a care free live. This all changes when Simba's childhood friend, Nala (Moira Kelly - voice), now a lioness, enters Simba's new stomping ground and nearly eats his new friends. Simba saves them only to find that Nala is hunting here because Scar has ruined The Pridelands.

With the help of the Prideland's mystic, Rafiki (Robert Guillaume - voice), Nala convinces Simba to return to The Pridelands, defeat Scar, and return everything to how it once was. Simba, with his new friends, and the help of Rafiki (who also happens to be an expert martial artist) and the lionnesses, attacks Scar and his hyena minions and reclaims his throne.

My Comments:
Though many will likely disagree, I think this Disney animated film is only the second best ever created, the best being `The Little Mermaid'. But I did greatly enjoy both films.

What makes The Lion King such an endearing story to me is that it deals with rather complex social issues and does so quite compellingly. The first one is the idea of shame and guilt. Though ultimately it takes Simba realizing that he didn't cause his father's death for him to get over the guilt and it is a bit unclear whether or not the movie is actually encouraging of the care free method for dealing with the guilt, I thought the movie's treatment of the issue was ambiguous enough to allow for numerous personal interpretations.

The idea of Hakunah Matata (spelling?) or `no worries' seems similar to the philosophies of Bertrand Russell, if I understand his perspective clearly. Essentially, Russell didn't think there were very many things that should warrant guilt. Now don't misconstrue what I am saying. Russell and Hakunah Matata don't advocate taking the idea of `no guilt' to its extreme (i.e., don't worry about anything, including providing for your own food), but it does represent a counter perspective to the guilt complex so commonly found in religion (Russell was an atheist). Thus, Simba's approach to dealing with the guilt is generally an approach I would advocate for dealing with guilt that is brought on through the more menial types of things in life (e.g., sin and the socially constructed `guilts' found in religion). I do believe there are times when guilt is psychologically healthy (e.g., when you have intentionally hurt a loved one emotionally or committed a serious crime), but with many of the lesser behaviors, thoughts, etc. that generally accompany guilt, I think the Hakunah Matata approach is a much better philosophy of life.

The second idea that this film addresses is death (another Disney film that deals with death is `Tuck Everlasting'). Though I would guess that the general understanding of the discussion of death in this film probably includes some ideas surrounding religion, I believe you can interpret the story without including religious beliefs, which is part of the reason that I like it. Essentially, the movie says that when people die they join their ancestors in the heavens (very `religiony'). But a looser interpretation could also be that when people die they join the legions of those that have passed on that have left some legacy on the future. The movie doesn't necessarily have to imply a notion of heaven; it could just as easily be interpreted as an idea of an accumulation of traditions, knowledge, and respect, which I would here combine into one word - a legacy. Mufasa left Simba a legacy. Now, not all legacies are good ones, but all legacies can teach a lesson. I think The Lion King can be interpreted secularly to imply that the deceased should be appreciated (for either their good or bad contributions to society), and their lessons they have taught humanity should be cherished (be them good or bad).

Anyway, I've definitely spent far too much time reading into a film that is generally seen as a movie for kids. As far as the movie goes, I really don't have any criticisms. It's a good movie with a solid story. I can't think of problems with the film off-hand, which is probably why I chose to offer the insights above rather than attempt to critique the movie. As noted, I did like `The Little Mermaid' better, in part because I think the story (and issues, yes, I like to read into these films) was more poignant to me at that particular point in my life. I'm only giving this film 4 stars because it isn't as good as The Little Mermaid, but it is definitely a movie that people should see.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The King is Back!!, October 29, 2003

Reviewer: David Cady (Jersey City, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

I hadn't seen this film since it opened 10 (?) years ago, so I'd forgotten just how great it is. Everything from the luscious animation to the witty script (performed to perfection by the all-star cast) to the catchy score (OK, Scar's song is not so great) works like vintage Disney animation magic. Hard to believe (according to one of the documentary extras) that this was the "B" film that the Disney animation department was working on at the time. (The politically correct, DOA "Pochohantas" being the "A" film!) So why not five stars? Personally, I find the DVD extras on this two-disc edition to be more pewter than platinum. But the film is the thing, and it's absolutely wonderful. Probably, in my opinion, the most all-around rewarding of ANY of Disney's late 20th century classics.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
This "King" Really Is On Top Of His Game, November 10, 2003

Reviewer: Scott Kolecki (Brooklyn, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

From the first moments of the film, as the sun creeps up over the Sarangetti, introducing the audience to the sweeping plains of Africa, there was no question that Disney had created a masterpiece. The opening song "The Circle of Life" drives the message of the movie home and sets the tone for the entire 90 minute film.
Mufasa, king of Pride Rock, and his mate, Sarabi, have given birth to a lion-cub, Simba. The entire kingdom celebrates his birth, save for Scar, Mufasa's brother, a coniving, manipulative lion whose jealousy of Mufasa's rule drives him to turn against the pride of which he is a part.
Simba, curious and anxious to become a lion ("I Just Can't Wait To Be King"), finds himself often getting into trouble, and when spurred on by Scar, heads off to an Elephant graveyard with his future mate, Nala. Mufasa saves them, but not before the cubs have a close encounter with a pack of mangy hyenas, who have pledged an alliegence to Scar, unbeknownst to Mufasa. Scar, angry at the hyenas failure to kill the cubs, sets out to destroy Mufasa and Simba both so that he can take the throne ("Be Prepared").
Scar once more deceives Simba, insisting that Mufasa has a suprise for him, by taking him into the middle of a gorge as a pack of wildebeests are sent stampeding when suprised by the hyenas. Mufasa rushes to Simba's rescue, narrowly pulling Simba from the gorge and taking him to safety before falling back into it himself. When Mufasa, with his remaining strength, again jumps from the gorge and claws his way up the steep wall, he is met by Mufasa, who betrays him crying aloud "Long live the KING!" before throwing Mufasa back into the cavern, where he is crushed.
Later, Simba discovers Mufasa's remains, and Scar approaches, admonishing Simba to leave Pride Rock since it was Simba's actions that killed Mufasa. Simba, distraught and terrified, does as Scar suggests, and flees, leaving behind Pride Rock unchallenged for Scar to take the throne.
Simba, depressed at his father's death, collapses from exhaustion, and is saved from certain doom by Timon and Pumba, who teach him "Hakuna Matata", which means "No Worries". They advise that when the world turns your back on you, you turn your back on the world. Knowing thats not right, but still lost in his own grief, he embraces his new friends advice and ventures off with them, where he grows into a lion.
As an adult lion, he saves Pumba from Nala, who has strayed from the pride, which is now in desperate disarry after Scar took the throne, proclaiming to have forged a new alliegence with the Hyenas. When Nala discovers that Simba is still alive, she is enthralled, because it means Simba is the rightful heir to Pride Rock. She encourages him to go home, but Simba resists, still feeling the guilt of causing his father's death. All the same, Nala stays with him, and begins to feel a bond with Simba ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight").
In the pivotal moment of the film, Simba meets Rafiki, a wise baboon whose magic has foreseen his return, and is given the wisdom that he must not live in the past, but learn from it, and take his place in the circle of life. Simba, still unconvinced, is visited by the spirit of his father, who admonishes him to "remember" his place and the wisdom his father once instilled in him.
Simba returns to Pride Rock, and, upon confronting Scar, learns the truth-specifically that Scar killed Mufasa, not Simba. Simba overthrows Scar and reclaims his throne, restoring Pride Rock to the kingdom it once was as he continues the "Circle of Life".
This film features an all star cast: James Earl Jones, Johnathan Taylor Thomas (of "Home Improvement" fame), Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg, Rowin Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Cheech Marin (of "Cheech and Chong" fame), and Jeremy Irons. With lyrics and music by Tim Rice and Elton John, and additional orchestrations by Hans Zimmer, the music stands alone, and is one of the finest Disney soundtracks ever.
This movie is destined to become a Disney classic. It is already, arguably, the strongest Disney film in the past 20 years. It is suitable for all audiences, and has a strong and powerful message for young and old alike. This is a story about friendship, family and about the parts we all play in the circle of life. Watch this one again and again. It is worth the experience, no matter how many times you experience it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Disney's best animated feature, December 8, 2003

Reviewer: David M. Lovin (Willow Spring, NC United States) - See all my reviews

The Lion King is another of the movies which marked the triumphant return of Disney to center stage. Remember, that after Walt Disney's death, Disney as a company kind of sank into oblivion and did nothing remarkable. After 1989's excellent The Little Mermaid, Disney continued its return in a big way with The Lion King.
This is the story of Simba, (Jonathon Taylor Thomas as a youth, Matthew Broderick as an adult) a young cub, who "just can't wait to be king". He has a powerful father, the king Mufasa (a booming James Earl Jones) and an uncle, the conniving and evil Scar (the devilish Jeremy Irons) who wants the throne that Simba will one day inherit. Scar schemes up a way to kill Mufasa and dispose of Simba permenently, or so he thinks. Simba ends up banished from the Pridelands, where he takes on the newfound attitude of Hakuna Matata(no worries). This is the saying of Timon and Pumba, two new friends. Eventually, Simba must deal with his past, which he finds very difficult.
There are two reasons why I consider this to be the best Disney film. For one, the animation is absolutely superb. From the opening "Circle of Life" sequence, showing all the animals in the Pridelands gathering to celebrate the birth of Simba, to the final battle between Scar and Simba, the attention to detail and vivid color is breathtaking. Especially on this new DVD edition, this movie is a sight to see. The second reason I love this as the best Disney film is the villain, Scar. Unlike most other Disney villains, who are almost a joke (Ursula, Malevecent, Gaston, the evil stepmother), Scar is truly evil and he is a scary character. Jeremy Irons was the perfect choice for the voice.
For that reason, I would recommend you keep this movie away from the very young. This is an adult cartoon. There is much violence and adult material. A father dies, an uncle tries to kill his young nephew several times, and the evil elephant graveyard has an ominous appearance. Very small children would struggle with this film, so keep that in mind.
In all, the story, animation, characters, voices, and appearance make this DVD a must own. The extended feature is somwhat overrated- the song "Morning Report" is unnecessary and a waste of time. The second disc features several making of tours and some games that would be fun to play with children. I recommend making this film a part of your collection.

2 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
The Lion King still rules, December 25, 2003

Reviewer: M. Moser "loisandclarkforever" (Prigglitz, NÖ Austria) - See all my reviews

I guess I don't have to mention that the movie itself is great. The animation, the story line, the characters, everything is first class. With the Lion King Disney has set high standards for their movies to come.
However, this DVD is really great, too. The main menu is so wonderfully done. It's amazing how much stuff they can put on a dvd. There are tons of behind the scene interviews, although they're seperated into various clips, which requires real interest in the matter to watch them all. The DVD also contains many other extras I truly enjoyed such a movie posters from all over the world, a language reel, information on the background of the story, and so on.
However, I do not just want to praise it. There are things they could have made better. For example, there are 2 versions of the movie on the disc, the new special edition movie featuring a new scene, and the original release. It took me quite some time to figure out how to chose which one to take. For those who still don't know it, you need to go to the language menu to select the language AND the movie (Special Edition of Original Release). That's not quite logical, the best thing would have been to put that option into the Set Up menu.
Whether the new scene, morning report was good, remains on your own taste. Personally, I liked it better when Zazu was kind of confused at being the pray for target practice, instead of having him singing when suddenly Simba catches him. The song Morning Report is really short, but not bad I guess. It's hard for me to say if it's good or not, because I need to listen to songs more often to really like or dislike them, but let's put it that way, if they had used that scene right from the beginning back in 1994 I wouldn't complain. It fits in perfectly well, from an animators point of view.
Another point is, the character resembling game and Timon's catch the bug game are pretty silly. Even little kids get tired of them after some minutes. The safari on Disc two is quite funny, though.
To sum it up, the DVD is great, there are just small things I may complain about, but they're no big deal. This is still the best way to enjoy The Lion King in perfect quality at home.
I can only recommend this item.

3 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
The Moose Hole - "The King has returned!", December 28, 2003

Reviewer: MickeyMoose15 "jakastner" (Delafield, WI USA) - See all my reviews
"The time is out of joint; O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right!"
William Shakespeare's most famous and most highly regarded play, Hamlet, is extremely difficult to pull off, not only on stage but on the big screen as well. Some have tried with success (Kenneth Branagh, 1996) while others are just completely disastrous in their attempts and miss the total meaning of the tragedy (Mel Gibson, 1991). Education is of high importance and, as adults, we try virtuously to teach our children the classics at a younger age then we learned them. But in the case of Hamlet, could such a film, aimed at children, pull it off without overwhelming its core audience with too much emotion and violence? In a way, The Lion King succeeds but where it fails in this attempt, it scores bonus points for its originality and sheer escapism. It is quite amazing the film even made it to completion considering the numerous re-writes and complications but, some how, this small animated film has been able to pounce its way into our hearts for more reasons then ever thought possible.
The story centers on a young lion cub as he journeys to find himself on his way to becoming king. Simba has it made easy. His father, Mufasa, is king of the Pride lands and he is next in line to the throne. Everyone gives him plenty of attention, maybe a little too much for his taste, but, in general, the royal subjects feel he will follow in his father's footsteps. But not everyone is happy about this including Mufasa's shady brother, Scar, who believes he should be king. Scar soon sets out on a plan to kill Mufasa, frame Simba for the murder and take control of Pride Rock. Everything goes according to plan until Simba returns years later to dethrone him and take his place as the rightful king. The story for The Lion King is amazingly well done and borrows several memorable scenes from William Shakespeare's Hamlet including the ghost of Hamlet's father saying "Remember". And despite, in the end, being significantly different from the famous tragedy, The Lion King manages to be extremely entertaining by making us laugh and cry; both at the same time in some instances.
Who ever thought a more wonderful cast could be put together without ever seeing the actions and reactions of the actors themselves? Or maybe, looking at the well illustrated animals up on the screen, we are. James Earl Jones's booming voice feels all too natural with the character of Mufasa and brings much dramatic emphasis to the character during the scene where he talks to Simba as a ghost. Jeremy Irons is decisively chilling as the villain, Scar, and gives a voice performance of an accomplished veteran actor. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella are a magnificent duo as the comic relief of the film, Timon and Pumbaa. Quite amazingly the two are able to work off each other so well that the comic talent is seamless. Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick take on the same role but obviously in different periods in the character's life. But despite that fact, they both do an amazing job with each showcasing plenty of emotion in their voices.
Overall, The Lion King is Disney's and traditional animation's most magnificent triumph that has yet to be surpassed in quality and overall satisfaction. The wonderful work completed in The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, and Aladdin has all led to the spectacular and beautiful art work of this film. The hand drawn animals are just absolutely amazing and Disney Animation's best work that, unfortunately, will never be surpassed. There are few things to pick at about Disney's The Lion King but they are evident in certain areas of the film. Such would include the, at times, all too cuteness of the characters as well as the short time length. Based on what was showcased in the film, it felt like there could have been a lot more but that is actually more of a complement then a complaint. With traditional animation on the way out, as it would appear, The Lion King is a saddening example of what this genre had achieved and how high it could have gone had computer animation not become the new medium.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Breathtaking Digital Masterpiece, January 8, 2004

Reviewer: Joel Withers (Australia) - See all my reviews
I was around 7 o 8 when this movie came out, It was one of my favoright movies back then, but then I grew out of it and now at age 17, I buy the digital version off it and I love it again.
This truly is a great Digital version off the movie, the 2 disc Platinum set does not take at all away from the Lion King was - it just makes it even more bigger.
I watched this the other night and had forogt about what happens in the movie and watching it again it still makes me sad and happy, this movie truly gets to you.
The digital remake includes Elton Johns 2 songs from the movie and a horible disney all stars song with the wannabe pop star Hillary Duff. But with that being the only bad thing in the set. It also comes in an immaculate cover presentation and the disc set contains an african safari with timon and paumba.
The soind on this movie is great - it was like being at the cinema again watching it.
Overall I rate it 5 stars.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Disney's animated masterpiece!, February 4, 2004

Reviewer: David M. Lovin (Willow Spring, NC United States) - See all my reviews

The Lion King is another of the movies which marked the triumphant return of Disney to center stage. Remember, that after Walt Disney's death, Disney as a company kind of sank into oblivion and did nothing remarkable. After 1989's excellent The Little Mermaid, Disney continued its return in a big way with The Lion King.
This is the story of Simba, (Jonathon Taylor Thomas as a youth, Matthew Broderick as an adult) a young cub, who "just can't wait to be king". He has a powerful father, the king Mufasa (a booming James Earl Jones) and an uncle, the conniving and evil Scar (the devilish Jeremy Irons) who wants the throne that Simba will one day inherit. Scar schemes up a way to kill Mufasa and dispose of Simba permenently, or so he thinks. Simba ends up banished from the Pridelands, where he takes on the newfound attitude of Hakuna Matata(no worries). This is the saying of Timon and Pumba, two new friends. Eventually, Simba must deal with his past, which he finds very difficult.
There are two reasons why I consider this to be the best Disney film. For one, the animation is absolutely superb. From the opening "Circle of Life" sequence, showing all the animals in the Pridelands gathering to celebrate the birth of Simba, to the final battle between Scar and Simba, the attention to detail and vivid color is breathtaking. Especially on this new DVD edition, this movie is a sight to see. The second reason I love this as the best Disney film is the villain, Scar. Unlike most other Disney villains, who are almost a joke (Ursula, Malevecent, Gaston, the evil stepmother), Scar is truly evil and he is a scary character. Jeremy Irons was the perfect choice for the voice.
For that reason, I would recommend you keep this movie away from the very young. This is an adult cartoon. There is much violence and adult material. A father dies, an uncle tries to kill his young nephew several times, and the evil elephant graveyard has an ominous appearance. Very small children would struggle with this film, so keep that in mind.
In all, the story, animation, characters, voices, and appearance make this DVD a must own. The extended feature is somwhat overrated- the song "Morning Report" is unnecessary and a waste of time. The second disc features several making of tours and some games that would be fun to play with children. I recommend making this film a part of your collection.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Don't miss this DVD!, February 11, 2004

Reviewer: Michelle Finch (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
I was from the original generation of kids who fell in love with "The Lion King" and I was fortunate enough to see it three times during its original theatrical run. I'm considerably older than I was in 1994, but I still love the film as much as I did back then. "The Lion King" has timeless elements that appeal to all age groups, and everyone from preschoolers to grandparents can find something to enjoy.
Despite the proliferation of CGI, "The Lion King" holds up as a perfect example of how traditional animation can look just as beautiful. The cleaned up "Special Edition" does not dissapoint. However, I found it somewhat misleading that the DVD case said that the "Original Theatrical Release" version of the film was included. It is not; it's only the cleaned-up IMAX print sans "Morning Report." (Is Disney starting to follow in George Lucas' footsteps?) But, hakuna matata! After a few viewings I was won over by the new version: you can't go wrong with enriched colors and a beautiful home theater sound mix!
The only worthwhile extra on the first disc is the audio commentary, which will please any diehard fan. The rest is nothing more than the Disney Channel bragging about itself. A dull music video showcases the singing "talents" of the channel's teen "stars" in a mediocre version of "Circle of Life." It even tacks on a pointless behind-the-scenes feature on the making of the video.
The second disc, however, is wonderful! It includes interviews, character designs, and many other things that I'll leave you to discover on your own. What's missing is the June 1994 "making of" TV special (hosted by Robert Guillame) in its entirety; only certain parts were used and were scattered throughout the various sections on the second disc.
Bottom line: "The Lion King" is a masterpiece that should NOT be left out of your DVD collection. A+

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Royal Entertainment, March 5, 2004

Reviewer: K. Fontenot "Prairie Cajun" (Living in the wake of Rita, the forgotten hurricane) - See all my reviews

"The Lion King" is a great animated film. It has a captivating story, a stellar cast of characters, and good songs. The animation is beautiful. The opening sequence is one of my favorites. It is a true modern masterpiece.
You probably know the story, so I'll skip the synopsis. One thing that does bother me is that the editorial review says that this flick is too violent for the little kiddies. What? A simple explanation can put an end to any confusion or fears that your child might have, unless your one of those parents who use the DVD players as a babysitter. My two year old understands that bad things happen in the world. She might not understand that Mufasa dies in this flick, but she knows that Simba is sad and angry about it. Don't let the PC police get in the way of letting your children see a modern classic.
The DVD is loaded with extras. Commentary on just about everything, music videos, and even short explanations on the animals in the movie. The "Circle of Life" video featuring kids from the Disney Channel is okay, but an obvious promo for the Disney Channel. As usual, there are a ton of trailers for flicks coming soon to a theater or DVD rack near you. The Safari game is one of the better games I've seen on a DVD. Granted, the menus may seem confusing to some folks in the crowd, but if you take just a little time to learn how to use them(I picked up the general mechanics on one try), you'll find that there are a lot of extras worth looking into.
The voice talents in this movie are great. Matthew Broderick and Jonathan Taylor Thomas are perfect as Simba(young and old). James Earl Jones was born to play Mufasa, albeit for a brief time in this movie. Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and the gentleman who plays "Ed" are great as the sniveling sidekicks to "Scar." Ah yes, "Scar" is a perfect villain in "The Lion King." Jeremy Irons is downright vile as the jealous uncle. His performance is flawless. Of course, Nathan Lane stole the show as "Timone," and Rowan Atkinson, as "Zazu," had the driest of wits in this film. The voice talents of the rest of the cast were good as well.
Overall, a grand movie worth owning. Its a modern Disney flick in the classical vein, and that's rare today.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
The King Of Disney Films, June 9, 2004

Reviewer: Bob Schneider "Lover of Life" (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Disney's THE LION KING (1994) is, as if anyone really needed to tell you, a true modern Disney classic. I first saw it when it was released in late 1994; in fact, I saw it during the first weekend! This was something I never did with any Disney film before or since, but I had seen the full five-minute trailer a few times during the two-month buildup to its release and it looked incredible. It didn't disappoint; in fact, it turned out to be one of the greatest films of 1994---and that was a *busy* year for great films! In fact, if it weren't such a busy year for great films (PULP FICTION, FORREST GUMP, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, etc.) then THE LION KING would have easily garnered a Best Picture nomination. Better than the great ALADDIN (1991), even better than BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1992)---which *did* get nominated for Best Picture---this film was state-of-the art in every way: The incredibly vivid visuals, especially during the opening sequence and the awesome Wildebeest stampede, the DTS digital sound, the voice-over actors, even the script...it all came together in a whole new way, to create a film that was probably even more for adults than it was for kids---but one in which the kids enjoyed immensely as well. This animated masterpiece provided a great theater experience, even with all the kids there!
Well, it's just as great on VHS, especially considering our 51" widescreen TV and Surround Sound capabilities (*smile*). I imagine it must be even greater on DVD, but we will have to wait till later in the year to be able to get the Special Edition DVD, which I badly want! This is just one of those films that make you smile; it is so special in so many ways.
But why is it so special? I mean, it's basically Hamlet for kids---and not even young kids, considering the adult themes of betrayal and murder---and tells a relatively simple story. Ah, but its Shakesperean thematic model is filled by a story that *is* original in its characters, in its setting and in its ability to awe us with its sense of wonder and purpose. One last thing: we can relate to its main character Simba (voiced as a cub by "Home Improvement" actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas, voiced as an adult by Matthew Broderick), who runs away from a past he can't face and harbors it as a guilty secret till he is able to face down his demons in adulthood. Come on, most of us can certainly relate to that in one way or another!
You know the story, but here it is again: Simba, after a restless but happy cub-hood, runs away from home when his majestic, all-powerful and seemingly invincible father, the Lion King Mufasa (majestically voiced by James Earl Jones---as if it could have been anyone else!), is betrayed and murdered by his brother, the evil and scheming Scar (creepily voiced by Jeremy Irons---as if it could have been anyone else!), who guilts the young Simba into leaving and never coming back. Of course, Scar then becomes King, much to the chagrin of Queen Sarabi (voiced by the illustrious Jamaican actress Madge Sinclair, in what would be unfortunately her final film role). Meanwhile, Simba goes off to the forests where he meets a couple of best pals---a wisecracking Meerkat named Timon (Nathan Lane, in a piece of inspired casting) and a big, flatulent Warthog named Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella, also inspired)---who teach Simba the value of "no worries" ("Hakuna Matata") and who shine in all of their scenes. Simba grows up with them into a life of no worries. Eventually, the young girlfriend he left behind, Nala (voiced as an adult by Moira Kelly), finds Simba and tries to convince him to come back to Pride Rock and fulfill his destiny. Simba has long been resigned to his present fate, and refuses to do so---until he is confronted by a wise baboon named Rafiki (Robert Guillaume, in yet *another* piece of inspired casting!), who shows Simba that his father truly lives on within himself. Simba returns to Pride Rock to reclaim the kingship, evil Uncle Scar doesn't want to go lightly, and in a truly climactic scene, Simba avenges his father's murder and takes his place in The Circle of Life, becoming a dad himself in the very last frame!
I know I didn't have to go through all that, but I wanted to; it's just a great film with great songs (the magnificent "Circle Of Life," the Oscar-winning "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" and "Hakuna Matata"---all written by Elton John & Tim Rice), and it is still such a pleasure to watch it a whole decade after its original theatrical release. Don't let the G-rating fool you; with humor so hip and violence so intense (especially in the climactic fight scene), it's really not for young children. I still feel that it should have received the PG-rating. Still, no matter what the rating, THE LION KING is a must-have, for *any* film library.
MOST RECOMMENDED, AGES 8 & UP

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
One Of The Last Great Disney Features (spoilers included), June 27, 2004

Reviewer: J. A Hayes (Montgomery, AL United States) - See all my reviews

The Lion King debuted in 1994 and at the time became the highest grossing animated movie of all-time. Why? Because it had everything a Disney animated feature should have: a hero, great songs, beautiful animation and most importantly, charm. It is the story of Simba, who is born to Mufasa and one day will become king of the pridelands. In the beginning we see the strong bond between father and son, as Mufasa teaches Simba the things he needs to know to survive. Mufasa has a brother, Scar, who is jealous of Simba and feels like he is the rightful heir to the throne. Scar sets up Mufasa to be killed and then convinces Simba to run away by persuading him that his father's death was his fault. Simba runs away and is befriended by Timon and Pumba who help to raise the cub. So all the while Simba is growing up, Scar is ruling the pridelands just the way it should not be ruled. The land has become dry and the herds of animals once plentiful have migrated elsewhere. The kingdom is in disarray and the lions, with the exception of Scar, are suffering. Once Simba is grown he comes to realize what is going on at home and he is faced with the decision of taking his place as king or not going back.
This Platinum dvd edition presents a fully loaded 2-disc set, wih some interesting commentaries, deleted scenes and art galleries which are always fun. In some ways I felt like the set was targeted at kids rather than the true Disney fans, due to the inclusion of the virual games and music videos. That is a silly complaint on my part though, as I am proud to own a dvd quality copy of the Lion King. It is so amazing to be able to see the best picture possible with all the bright colors, and to hear this on the surround system. You really couldn't ask for more in a dvd. The only one true complaint is the inclusion of the Morning Report song into the film. It does not fit and it was so hard finding the original version without the song. In fact the whole layout on here is difficult to navigate and can be aggravating. Once you figure it out though I am sure you will be completely satisfied with the dvd that Disney has given us.
Although I can't personally say The Lion King is my favorite Disney animated movie, it certainly is near the top of my list and I recommend seeing it if you have not. Chances are you have seen it, but there are those who haven't. Great songs, smooth animation, loveable characters make this movie a true Disney classic, and in my opinion one of the last great Disney features (Lilo and Stitch is also a good one), and it is a shame that Disney doesn't seem to want to put more heart and effort into their movies these days. But if you like the movie pick this one up as it will go out of print next year, and I also recommend the other titles in the Platinum line.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Probably the best Disney of all time - on a good DVD edition, August 24, 2004

Reviewer: Craig MACKINNON (Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

Seeing this film again after a few years, I remain convinced that this is the greatest American animated film of all time. The story, the music, the voice acting, the animation all combine to create an intricately woven, full-bodied legend that Disneys more recent efforts (e.g. Hunchback and Tarzan) don't come close to matching. Even the classic Disney's seem creaky and thin by comparison.

The story is very simple and is basically an aglomeration of familiar Western legends - Hamlet and Richard III from Shakespeare, Joseph and the Prodigal Son from the Bible, etc. Mufasa, the Lion King, is murdered by his jealous and imbalanced brother, who then frightens the king's son and rightful heir into exile. The exiled Simba grows up with a couple friends whose theme in life is "Hakuna Matata" (which roughly translates into "why worry?"). Meanwhile, the deranged brother has ruined the kingdom, so it's up to Simba to return to set things right and claim his rightful place as King.

Such a description does not do justice to the underlying structure of the film - there are several themes running through the story, punctuated by the Rice/John songs (the "Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata" are the most prominent) that give the film a depth and richness that allows it to rise above it genre to become a very satisfying repeat experience. That's not to say that kids will not enjoy the film - there are ample gross-out jokes, for example (Timone munching grubs and worms, Pumba's problem with flatulence, etc.). Mufasa's death scene is probably too intense for pre-schoolers, so be careful not to show it to really young children.

This DVD edition is quite good. As mentioned by others, the extras do contain a little too much Disney cheerleading, although generally they are quite interesting. The games are pretty lame - why do they include these things??? In addition, navigation is not straightforward, but it's not bad. The directors/producer commentary is well worth listening to. Finally, it's curious that not a single actor was invited to participate. With voices supplied by the likes of interesting and thoughtful actors (e.g., James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, and Robert Guillome), it's very disappointing that no interviews with them were included in the extras.

Because of the quality of the film, and the fantastic quality of the video (and apparently the sound, although my system can't appreciate it), this DVD is highly recommended.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
What's in Store?, August 31, 2004

Reviewer: Mark Clegg "Nathan's Dad" (Great Britain) - See all my reviews

Along with Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and the forthcoming Aladdin Disney's Platinum Editions are THE DVD essential. Here is a run down of the rest of the Platinum Editions as they are projected at the moment.

2005: Bambi
2006: The Jungle Book
2007: Cinderella
2008: The Little Mermaid
2009: Lady and the Tramp
2010: 101 Dalmatians (animated of course!)

Clearly, with Disney animation floundering at the moment, the studio are investing a lot in their back-catalogue. The Platinum Editions have all been 5 Star releases so far and there's no reason to suspect this will change. As Snow White proved several years ago - just because the film is older than ten years doesn't mean less or more limited extras. Disney have an unrivalled archive and are not afraid to use it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
The 5 stars is for the video itself, not the DVD extras, September 28, 2004

Reviewer: ChildInside - See all my reviews
I remember watching this back in the 90's. It kicked ass then and it kicks ass now. It sure as hell beats the living hell out of The Lion King 1.5. Hell, The Lion King 2 beats the living hell out of TLK 1.5, and that is a sad thing considering TLK2 sucked.

Animation 10/10 - Back in the days, this was some of the best. The way the camera moves, the way expressions were made, and the little details most of us fail to catch was drawn. This was an indication of high quality back then and an indication of a lot of money now.

Story 10/10 - The story is nothing new, of course, but the presentation is unbelievable. The story had class. It did not rush things, but it did not draw things out either. Things were done just right. It knew when to speed things up and when to slow things down. An ability rarely seen nowadays. I believe everybody knows the story, and if not, then you should be ashamed of yourself. I've met homeless hobos who haven't watch TV for ten years who knows the story to this movie.

Music 10/10 - I loved EVERY piece in this movie. There was not a single song I did not like. In the beginning, the songs were snappy, happy, and represented a carefree childhood. Later on, the songs become darker, but hopeful to represent a new life for the pride. Either way, each song was composed masterfully.

DVD extras 8/10 - The extras are not bad, but I was hoping more for the new song "Morning Report". Instead, it was crappy.

Value 10/10 - This is a timeless classic no one should miss. Of course, if you rather watch Lilo & Stitch, I'd understand.......that you have crappy taste. This movie is one of the best of its era and it shines through.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A True Disney Masterpiece!, January 22, 2005

Reviewer: Cloudy Harpe "shadowsofthenight" (Fresno, California, United States) - See all my reviews
The Lion King is probably on of the best animated movies of all time. Every since this movie first came out in 1994, Disney hasn't been able to make a movie as good as it. A lot of reviewers have said that this is the most unfunny movie of all time. I have to disagree. Timon and Pumbaa were hilarious and besides, not all movies are ment to be funny.

This Platinum addition is loaded with bonus features and extras. From Deleted Scenes to Timon & Pumbaa's Vitual Safari, there is so much to see, hear, and do. Did I mention that there is an all-new song called "Morning Report". It is a pretty good song, but not as good as some of the other songs of course!

For those of you that have not seen the Lion King before, I will give a quick summary of the movie. A young, feisty lion cub named Simba is eager to grow up and become king. But Scar, Mufasa's evil brother and Simba's uncle wants to become king. But when Simba was born, Scar is no longer first in line. After Mufasa's tragic death, Simba is banished from the pridelands by Scar, who blames him for Mufasa's death. Simba spends many months in the jungle with his newfound friends, Timon & Pumbaa. He has forgotten who he really is and it will take some help from his childhood friend, Nala, to help him reclame his spot in the "Circle of Life".

If you don't have a chance to pick up the whole Lion King trilogy before they all go back in the Disney vault on January 31, be sure to pick up this wonderful movie. DON'T MISS OUT!!!!

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Simba vs. Kimba (Platinum wins by a longshot)! , February 11, 2005

Reviewer: Sir Richard William Caudbury Rasbottom of North Hampshire the 3rd "food 4 ever" (I'm not telling you where i live...you sicko!) - See all my reviews
OK, maybe Disney copied "Kimba, the White Lion", but so what? I still believe that "Lion King" is much better..."Kimba" doesn't even come close to this masterpiece! You can't even compare them...seriously. Let's not forget that the original was Japanese and some people HATE anime and cant stand watching those big eyed characters jumping around everywhere! I honestly love Japanese cartoons and I hated Kimba to death, it was just so stupid and boring and the animation was crap ( i know that it was much older). I never liked Kimba. When i saw it the first time before i even knew about the whole "Disney stole our ideas" thing i thought it was a very dumb show and when someone told me that Disney was accused of stealing some other company's idea i got a DVD of Kimba and i thought the same thing. I do believe that Disney copied Kimba since there are some scenes in the movie that are exactly the same (character etc) but come on, people our snakes everyone does these things one way or the other... We live on Earth (aka Greedyland) not Candyland! (mmm candy)! I cant say that i agree with Disney's (BAD) deed... i mean the least that they could have done is give those other guys some credit. Meybe the two companies hated each other, maybe they had a "pizza hut - domino pizza", "Britney-Christina", "McD's -White Castle" thing going on, but if they said something like Thanks to: The "Whatever it's called company" creators of Kimba the white lion: Our inspiration, they would look like the good guys and not the scoundrels they look like now... Anyway this movie is Great buy it before Disney stops releasing it (31 of this month? What month is it anyway?). The platinum edition is great. "Morning Report" sucks...BIG time...The DVD is Fun and will keep any fan of the movie busy for a while... The story (you know), the characters (you know), the voice actors (you know)...you know everything don't you? Buy it while you can...or don't buy it and give your $22.49 to people who need it... judgment day is coming people...just kiddin'!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The Best Animated Film Ever Released..., April 8, 2005

Reviewer: MovieLover (California, USA) - See all my reviews
'The Lion King' is in my opinion the best Disney and animated film to ever be released. Its just so magical and shows that animals have feelings and shows things from there point of view. The films about Simba's journey threw the Circle Of Life and how he goes about dealing with everything. This movie is no question a classic and I don't think one person would not like it. Its just so grand. The DVD is also a work of art. If you haven't already then you have to put this in your DVD collection now!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The top animated film of all-time..., April 19, 2005

Reviewer: Britt Gillette "thedvdreport.blogspot.com" (Chesapeake, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Winner of two Academy Awards for Best Music (both Original Score and Original Song), The Lion King would have won Best Picture had it not been an animated film. Arguably the greatest full-length Disney feature of all time, The Lion King is a drama of epic proportions, and a film that forever extended the boundaries of the animation genre. Hans Zimmer creates an original score that is second to none in cinematic history, and Elton John's hit single swept the nation at the time of the film's release. With powerful and sweeping visual sequences, the use of a timeless plot device, and brilliant direction, the film will stand the test of time as one of the best to ever be produced.

The story is set in Pride Rock, a serene jungle paradise on the African plain. All of the animals live in a harmonious ecosystem, ruled by the greatest animal of all - the strongest and wisest lion, King Mufasa. When Mufasa's wife gives birth to the lion cub Simba, the young heir's Uncle Scar begins plotting the overthrow of his brother and the taking of the kingdom by force. Forming a conspiracy with a pack of wild hyenas, Scar's evil plan is to lure Simba and Mufasa into a valley where the hyenas stir up a herd of wilder beasts which end up trampling Mufasa and leaving him clinging for his life to the edge of a cliff. With his brother's life hanging in the balance, Scar seizes the opportunity to send his brother hurling to a bloody death.

With Mufasa dead, and Simba too young to defend the kingdom, Scar and the hyenas rise to power. Pride Rock is soon reduced to a desolate wasteland as its newest rulers ravage the landscape, while Simba is forced into exile. Fleeing to a faraway land free of predators, Simba grows up and befriends Pumbaa and Timon, two animals who live a carefree life feasting on grubs and insects.

But as time passes, a chance encounter reunites Simba with his childhood love Nala. Falling in love with each other, Nala tells Simba about the sad state of affairs in Pride Rock. She urges him to return, but it takes the return of Mufasa in the form of a ghostly cloud in order to convince Simba of his true destiny...

With the help of Nala and the other lionesses of Pride Rock, Simba returns to stake his claim as the rightful heir to the kingdom and to exact justice on Scar for his father's cold-blooded murder. Together, Simba and the lionesses defeat Scar and hyenas, and Pride Rock once again becomes the utopian paradise it once was under Mufasa's philosopher king rule. As the movie ends, the animal kingdom is presented with Simba's newborn son - and the circle of life continues unabated...

Widely considered the best animated film in Disney's arsenal, and certainly the best of the computer-generated era, The Lion King is a cinematic masterpiece in any medium. If you tend to shy away from animated films as childlike or simply just not your cup of tea, you would be well advised to make an exception and check out The Lion King DVD. It is quite simply an extraordinary epic, replete with dazzling choreography, well-blended musical scores, and characters the audience loves to root for. In one particular scene, the Disney animators' use of Leni Riefenstahl's patented camera angles to capture the hyenas marching in lock-step under the singular review of Scar creates an abundance of subconscious images reminiscent of Hitler and the Third Reich. This illusion plants a manifestation of evil in the mind of the viewer that is instantly connected to Scar and his evil intentions... That's the type of symbolic and all-engrossing power Disney utilizes in this wonderful masterpiece - loved by children, but a deep and breathtaking film for the adult viewer nonetheless...

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Perfect in every sense of the word...but a useless 2nd disc., May 26, 2005

Reviewer: A.N. Roman (Cornelius, OR) - See all my reviews

Let's get something straight right now. The Lion King is a perfect movie. Be it live action or animated, there are few others I can list that reach its level of quality. Seeing it in theaters back in the mid-90s was a great experience. Even if I wasn't old enough to understand some of the darker issues in it back then, I enjoyed the movie, like the millions of other kids. Now, at almost 20, watching the movie really gets to me. This is one of Disney's more grown up movies. I'm not saying that to make it sound like it's too violent or there's any hinting at mature themes, but all the talk about death in the beginning, about the Circle of Life, that's some pretty powerful stuff to be talking about in a family movie. With this re-release of the movie, hopefully more parents or future parents will keep it around and show their kids this piece of movie history.

The movie opens up with possibly the most grand of Disney openings- a sunrise. An African song plays, and the animals look towards something that we can't see. Every type of animal in the area starts heading towards something. Birds, elephants, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, you name it. Soon, we see a great rock formation- Pride Rock. A lion stands atop, overlooking everything in his kingdom. Then, a mandrill makes his way through the crowd of animals that waits. He hugs the lion, and makes his way to the lioness behind him. They've had a baby. The mandrill takes the cub, and holds him high up for all the animals to see. They cheer in unison- they have a new prince. Some opening eh? After this, we're introduced to another lion- Scar. He's the king's brother, and obviously jealous of the whole deal. He didn't even show up to the ceremony. Mufasa, the king, makes a note of this, telling Scar that he should've shown up for his own nephew's birth. Scar walks away, as it's no big deal to him. Time passes, and Simba grows up a little. He's still a cub, but capable of doing things on his own now. Mufasa tells him about the Circle of Life. How all living things are connected. Lions eat the antelope, but when they die, their bodies become the grass, upon which the antelope eat. Simba is also shown his kingdom, which is everything that the light touches. Unfortunately, the light doesn't touch one spot, which sparks his interest...of which Scar helps him get even more curious about. It turns out to be an elephant graveyard. Simba heads toward it with his friend, Nala, and they almost get killed by heyenas. Mufasa saves them, is disappointed that his son disobeyed, but understands. Scar, who's working with the heyenas, is also disappointed, and takes matters into his own hands- since they failed in killing Simba, he's going to kill Mufasa. In doing so (in a very tragic scene), Simba goes into exile, and Scar takes over. Simba finds two new friends in Timon and Pumbaa, who teach him to take life easy. But with time, the true king realizes who he is through his friends, and there will be justice.

As you can see, this is a pretty big movie. It's not complicated by any means, but just the overall picture is a lot to take in. A dad telling his son about life and death, only to die in saving his son who hasn't reached adulthood yet, was always touching. The music playing during that scene adds even more dramatic touch to it. Scar, as I've mentioned, is an absolute treat. He's probably my favorite Disney villain, surpassing even Jafar and Gaston. Sure, some of his lines and movements make you question his orientation, but that doesn't matter. His voice, design and motives are too good. That's how it is with a lot of the other characters too. Disney did a great job with the designs. Zazu, a hornbill bird, is voiced by Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean fame. And you know what? Zazu looks freakin' identical to Rowan. I didn't notice it back then, but now, it's hilariously uncanny. Equally great is the soundtrack. When the movie came out, I had the soundtrack. About two years later, it was lost...but I can remember every single track perfectly. It leaves that much of an impact on you. How many animated movies can you say that about, and really mean every track- not just the songs?

The picture and audio quality on this disc are flawless. There's no grain, fuzz, or anything to hinder the viewing experience. If you have a nice sound system, by all means- crank this baby up and prepare to be blown away.

Now why does the rating for this movie that I keep stressing being perfect only come out at four stars? That's easy- the second disc is a joke. I'll get to that in a minute. The first disc includes a "never before heard song", like Disney keeps throwing in its Platinum Edition sets. Though "never before heard song" usually equals "direct to video animation quality and CG overkill" *cough Beauty & the Beast cough*, the song here is very short. It's Zazu giving his morning report to Mufasa during Simba's pouncing scene. While it's funnier to hear Zazu talk about the Pridelands gossip with more character, hearing it in song is still good. There are 3 deleted scenes under the "Elephant Graveyard" section of the first disc, thoug they're all in storyboard and animatic form. One's of Timon and Pumbaa singing Can You Feel The Love Tonight?, which was dropped because Elton John was horrified at how they sang it. It's understandable, but hearing them sing it is just hilarious. Another scene is of Timon's verse in Hakuna Matata. During the commentary, they say it didn't fit in that much, and Pumbaa's was funnier, and they're right. It's mostly about how he was lazy. As for that commentary track, it's with the directors and producer. They talk a lot, and point out some cool info aboud the production. Things like dialogue they wanted to add but didn't feel fit in, a slightly extended ending, and how huge some of the background paintings were. It's mostly geeky stuff, but I feel it's worth at least one listen. These guys had a lot of work to do. Most of the other features on the first disc are minor things, but still better than the second disc, which is aimed at 5 year olds. No joke- almost everything is about animals or what Africa's like. And all of these are in very short segments, usually 2-4 minutes. And, there's a lot of them. Why a "play all" feature wasn't included is beyond me. It made watching the features a chore, and felt rushed. There's also a virtual safari, which felt kinda creepy since it's at night, and a lot of animals attack Timon and Pumbaa's jeep. There are no real special features here: no documentary, no behind the scenes look, no glance at the voice actors during work (except like 4 seconds of Johnathan Taylor Thomas), just tons of the people that worked on the movie talking about going to Africa for inspiration. And that's all it is- talk. I was disappointed, and won't be watching the second disc again.

Overall, The Lion King remains one of Disney's crown jewels. Sure, it may have had a lot of help from the other animated classic: Jungle Emperor Leo, but they really did improve it. It's just sad to know that after this, they didn't put in as much effort into their other animated features. Not to bash the likes of Hunchback or Mulan, but their animation style really changed after this, and it's a shame. As far as I can see, there's not going to be another Lion King from them. Lilo and Stitch came close (in sales and tone), but it's hard to dethrone something this classic.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
The Classic Story Of A Cub Who "Just Can't Wait To Be King" Gets A Well-Deserved Treatment On Special Platinum Edition DVD. , August 6, 2005

Reviewer: Hamlet - See all my reviews
Walt Disney's epic film "The Lion King" gets a well-deserved treatment on Special Platinum Edition DVD after a successful re-release in IMAX and other giant-screen theaters, just like its equally successful predecessor, "Beauty And The Beast," (see my review on it), in 2001. Having seen this movie when it was first released in 1994, I was eager to own the DVD, not having been able to see it while it was in IMAX. I won't say much more, except that the all-star voice cast includes James Earl Jones (better known as Darth Vader to "STAR WARS" fans; see my reviews on those movies, except "Episode I," which is partially reviewed in my review of "Episode II"; I enjoy the "STAR WARS" saga, but "The Lion King" is the movie which introduced me to him, I would see the "STAR WARS" movies about 10 years later), Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons ("Reversal Of Fortune"; is that movie good?), stage/screen actor Matthew Broderick ("Inspector Gadget," the Disney remake of the classic Robert Preston-Shirley Jones pairing, "Meredith Wilson's The Music Man"; see my review on it, etc), Rowan Atkinson (better known as "Black Adder" and "Mr. Bean" to those who like the show), Whoopi Goldberg ("The Color Purple," etc), Matthew Broderick's stage partner Nathan Lane and comic Cheech Marin, among others. The only character I do not like is Rafiki (don't ask me why I don't like him, because I'm not even sure why I despise him). Fortunately, he has limited screen time.

Disc 1 includes 2 versions of the classic film: the original edition that audiences around the world know and love and the Special Edition, which includes a song from the Broadway show (which is AWESOME-words can't describe it and I'd go over the 1,000 word limit if I tried telling you what I thought of it; no, this time, I'm not telling you what song that is), deleted scenes and other cool bonus features. Sound options include an all-new Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix, which works very well. The movie itself is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio: 2:35:1-enhanced for 16:9 TV's. The picture is very sharp. Film composer Hans Zimmer ("The Rock," "Pearl Harbor," "M:I-2," etc), South African composer Lebo M., Sir Elton John, Tim Rice (known for his collaborations with Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber) and Alan Menken (who had previously worked with Mr. Rice on "Beauty And The Beast") combine all their respective vocal/musical talents to create a score which haunting, tragic, beautiful, dramatic and romantic, all in one. The best scene, (for me, at least), among others, is the stirring Elton-John, Hans Zimmer/Lebo M. collaboration "Circle Of Life," which never fails to move me, even to this day (I'm 19 now, at this writing anyway). Classic movie. Great songs. Digitally mastered by THX for the ultimate in sound/picture quality. Excellent bonus features. "More To Be Seen Than Can Ever Be Seen, More To Do, Than Could Ever Be Done."

Disc 2 opens up a whole new treasure trove of riches that has "Everything you could wish for" (the slogan that describes the features on "Aladdin: Special Platinum Edition"; no pun intended), with an introduction by Jeremy Irons, the voice of the villainous Scar. Find out the connection between William Shakespeare and the origins of "The Lion King," and MUCH MORE. PERFECT for the whole family. Rated G.

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DISNEY MOVIES EVER MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, October 21, 2005

Reviewer: Kristen Dunker "Kat" (Leesport, PA) - See all my reviews

THE LION KING WAS THE BEST MOVIE DISNEY EVER CAME OUT WITH! I MISSED IT IN THEATERS THE FIRST TIME B/C IT KEPT SELLING OUT BUT IT WAS SO POPULAR THEY BROUGHT IT BACK TO THE THEATERS AND THE TOYS BACK TO BURGER KING SO MY GRANDFATHER TOOK ME AND I WAS SPELLBOUND ALL THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE! IT WAS SO BEAUTIFULLY DONE AND THE SONGS COMPOSED BY ELTON JOHN REALLY REACHED YOUR HEART.
YEARS LATER THIS REMAINS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE! THIS INTRODUCES YOU TO THE AFRICAN CUSTOMS BY OPENING WITH A SPRITUAL SONG DONE WONDERFULLY IN SWAHILI AND OTHERS FILLING IN THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE AND HAS A COUPLE OF VERY TALENTED AFRICAN AMERICANS VOICING THE LEAD ROLES: JAMES EARL JONES, WHOOPI GOLDBERG, ROBERT GUILLAME.
WE ALSO SEE A LOT OF RELIGIOUS REFERENCES WHICH WALT DISNEY WAS NOTORIOUS FOR DOING IN HIS DAYS: SCAR REPRESENTS SATAN AND THE HYENAS REPRESENT HIS FOLLOWERS, THE FALLEN ANGELS. MUFASA REPRESENTS GOD, WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN DEFEATED BUT ROSE UP AGAIN IN HIS SON AND TRIUMPHED OVER EVIL. RAFIKI REPRESENTS A DISCIPLE, SOMEONE WHO NEVER GAVE UP HOPE AND WAS WISE BEYOND HIS YEARS, TIMON AND PUMBAA STRIKE ME A LITTLE BIT AS ATHEISTS, THE WAY THE LAUGH WHEN SIMBA EXPLAINS TO THEM ABOUT THE GREAT KINGS OF THE PAST WATCHING OVER THEM AND THEIR MISGUIDED APPROACH TO THE WORLD: WHEN THE WORLD TURNS ITS BACK ON YOU, YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON THE WORLD! NALA, SARABI AND THE LIONESSES ARE THE EQUIVALENT OF LOYAL FOLLOWERS WHO BRAVELY STAND UP TO JOIN SIMBA IN THE ULTIMATE FIGHT, WHICH COULD BE COMPARED TO JUDGMENT DAY. THERE IS A HUGE REFERENCE TO KARMA AND RESURRECTION WHEN THEY SING ABOUT THE 'CIRCLE OF LIFE'
ALONG WITH RELIGIOUS REFERENCE, THIS MOVIE IS EQUIPPED WITH SOME WISE ADVICE FOR THE VIEWERS:
SCAR: LIFE'S NOT FAIR!
ZAZU: THERE'S ONE IN EVERY FAMILY, TWO IN SOME THAT ALWAYS MANAGE TO RUIN SPECIAL OCCASIONS!
MUFASA: BEING BRAVE DOESN'T MEAN YOU GO LOOKING FOR TROUBLE, AND IT'S OKAY TO BE SCARED!
TIMON AND PUMBAA: HAKUNA MATATA!
SIMBA: DENIAL CAN BE A POWERFUL INSTRUMENT!
RAFIKI: A PERSON MIGHT BE DEAD PHYSICALLY, BUT THEIR SPIRIT STILL LIVES INSIDE OF YOU!
SIMBA: YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE PAST!
RAFIKI, YES, THE PAST CAN HURT, BUT YOU CAN EITHER RUN FROM IT OR LEARN FROM IT!
MUFASA: REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!
SIMBA'S SURVEYING WHAT HIS HOME HAS BECOME: FACING YOUR PAST TO MOVE AHEAD IN YOUR FUTURE WON'T BE EASY, BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT!
SCAR'S DEMISE: WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND THREEFOLD!
THE LUSH ANIMATION IS BEAUTIFUL AND THE STORYLINE IS VERY POWERFUL. YOU FEEL EXCITEMENT FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END AND YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF SINGING ALONG WITH THE INFECTIOUS SONGS NOT CARING HOW SILLY YOU LOOK! TRUST ME, THESE ARE THE ONLY SONGS THAT QUIETED MY FUSSY PREEMIE! TELLS YOU HOW MUCH I HAVE WATCHED THIS MOVIE LOL! THIS IS THE ULTIMATE FAMILY MOVIE FOR THE KIDS SO PLUNK YOUR MONEY DOWN, GRAB SOME POPCORN, GATHER THE YOUNGSTERS AND BE READY TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO THE WONDERFUL AND TRULY RIVETING, POIGNANT WORLD OF THE LION KING!
I GIVE THIS TEN TRILLION STARS AND INFINITY THUMBS UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Beautiful master piece, December 3, 2005

Reviewer: Jenny Jabon-Inniss "jji" (Central Florida) - See all my reviews

Ever since "The Lion King" came out in theaters back in June of 1994, it's been a tremendous phenomenon. When I first heard the chant of "Naaaaants Svenya Ma bagi, thi-baba" (start of Circle of Life), I was hooked. I've seen it 10............maybe more on Video Tape and now on DVD with my kids. It teaches young children and adults the cruel world in which we live in such an artistic and fabulous way. Children can understand the tragedies of life, perhaps a little easier when it is depicted with animated characters that they can relate with.
The "The Lion King" boasts a top-notch cast of voice actors, great music, no, make that fantastic music, starting with the opening number -- clearly inspired by music of Africa. There are also endearing characters in the form of Pumba and Timon, Scar -- the conniving 2nd in line to the throne, majestic King Mufasa, and the snivelling trio of hyenas.
The "The Lion King" is very entertaining. The animation, music, and dialog also deserve full points. It will always remain for me and the kids' one of the greatest animated movies of all time. Grab it if you can.

Animation Classic, March 31, 2006

Reviewer: Elijah Chingosho (Nairobi, Kenya) - See all my reviews

This is a fantastic movie that is a joy to watch. No wonder, it won two Oscars.

"Lion King" is set in the idyllic African plains and valleys. The proud lion ruler of all animals, great and small, Mufasa has a naïve and curious cub called Simba (Swahili name for lion). Mufasa dies trying to rescue his son and Simba is distraught and very remorseful as he feels responsible for the death of his father. He goes into exile but fortunately becomes friends with some good natured animals.

Simba meets several trials and tribulations as he grows up. He eventually discovers that his evil and power hungry uncle Scar (who was second in line to the throne) was behind the death of his father and for the suffering that animals were now enduring. He returns from exile eventually manages to reclaim his throne after some epic struggle with the usurper.

This is a well made film with magnificent animation and a beautiful and interesting plot. The music was wonderful (I love the "Hakuna Matata" song - in Swahili- no problem) and the actors were excellent. The scenery is breathtaking. It is a joy to watch.

Enter subhead content here

Enter content here

Enter supporting content here

Lion King roars loudest in Disney's jungle

The Lion King DVD Goodness

The Lion King DVD Special Features

The Lion King Special Edition DVD Bottom Line

The Lion King

The Charge

Opening Statement

Facts of the Case

The Evidence

Britt Gillette's The Lion King DVD Review

Lion King

Special Edition DVD

**Britt Gillette's The Lion King DVD Review**