Throwback Thursday Review: 'The Lion King' (1994)

This week I'm reviewing The Lion King as my Throwback Thursday Review to correlate with Disney's next animated film coming next week, Zootopia. I decided to review The Lion King since it's another Disney film about animals much like Zootopia. I'm reviewing this film ahead of time so that next week I can review Olympus Has Fallen as my Throwback Thursday Review to correlate with the release of its sequel, London Has Fallen and wouldn't have to review two films in one day (although that may soon be coming).

'The Lion King' Review

Nominated For: Best Original Song "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," Best Original Song "Circle Of Life," Best Original Song "Hakuna Matata," (written by Elton John and Tim Rice) and Best Original Score.

Won: Best Original Song "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" (written by Elton John and Tim Rice) and Best Original Score.

The Lion King is a true wonder. The Lion King is widely regarded as one of Disney's classic animated films and personally, I would probably rank it among my top five Disney films if asked to create such a list. It's not just another "by the numbers" animated film from Disney but rather a phenomenal family film that everyone can enjoy.

First of all, the animation is breathtaking. The scenery's gorgeous, the animal fur moves naturally, and the animals have a 2-D/3-D animation style where it's drawn in a 2-D animation format, but the detailing adds texture.

Second, the music is exceptional, and not just the sung lyrical songs but the phenomenal score by Hans Zimmer. Of course, all of the songs featured throughout are fun and enjoyable including "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," "Circle Of Life," "Hakuna Matata," and "Just Can't Wait To Be King" all written by Elton John and Tim Rice. Even the score itself has so much emotion packed inside it that I'm sure listening to that alone would be able to move me.

Another one of the film's strength lies in the narrative and characters. The story of The Lion King is basically Hamlet, but with animals and songs in Africa, and while to some that may seem to be extremely derivative, the narrative maintains freshness by incorporating originality throughout. The characters also bolster the film due to an incredible voice cast. Simba is voiced by different actors for the younger and older versions of the character, Matthew Broderick and Jonathan Taylor Thomas respectively, and makes for an interesting protagonist since he has doubts himself despite being a very powerful lion. This is due to a very tragic moment in the film that never fails to make me cry. 

James Earl Jones lends his epic voice to Mufasa, Simba's father, and it makes for a perfect pairing since Mufasa is regarded as an all-powerful king and Jones' commanding voice fits snugly.

Jeremy Irons voices Scar and makes for one of the greatest Disney villains. Scar's complex wit and menace make him all the more intimidating, and Irons nails it.

The supporting cast contains a few standouts for both the heroes and the villains with the dynamic duo of Timon and Pumbaa and a very interesting hyena trio. The remaining supporting characters include Zazu, a frantic hornbill, Rafiki, a crazy baboon, and Nala, a lioness love interest for our hero.

Ultimately, a combination of stunning animation, fantastic voice work all around, an incredible score, and some terrific music amounts to one of Disney's greatest animated films.

Film Assessment: A+