The Lion King. Rated G. 89 minutes. Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. Screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton.
Having stormed the box office when it was first released in 1994 (it is still the highest-grossing hand-drawn animation film ever made), Disney’s The Lion King is back in cinemas to captivate another generation while re-captivating those that first fell in love with it in the ‘90s.
Digitally modified for screening in 3D (an additional layer of ‘dimension’ has been added to the 2D original which delivers elements of the supreme artwork to the ‘so close I can almost touch it’ foreground), The Lion King has withstood the technological tampering to remain an enchanting rites of passage story.
With the birth of his cub Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), Mufasa (James Earl Jones) must ensure that his evil brother Scar (a perfectly sinister Jeremy Irons) understands that Simba must eventually assume his rightful place as the leader of the pride. Scar immediately joins forces with his henchmen – hyenas Shenzi (the brilliant Whoopi Goldberg) and Banzai (Cheech Marin) – to re-determine the course of the young cub’s destiny.
Certainly one of Disney’s darkest affairs (with the death of Mufasa giving even the death of Bambi’s mother a run for its money), The Lion King kicks into hyperdrive once the, now exiled, adult Simba (Matthew Broderick) meets the flatulent warthog Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) and his theatrical companion Timon the meerkat (Nathan Lane). Timon and Pumbaa’s impromptu burlesque to distract the enemy hyenas (“Are ya achin’/for some bacon?”) is still a sensational example of Disney’s determination to entertain their adult fans as much as the younger ones.
Hans Zimmer’s (Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean) score is still as close as it is possible to be to the perfect accompaniment to all the colour and movement, while Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs each serve the story beautifully – but none more so than the spectacular The Circle of Life sequence that remains not only one of this film’s most memorable, but one of the finest opening sequences of any animated film ever.
This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.
Postscript: One of the many examples of how Timon and Pumbaa's famous hula song and dance act from The Lion King has achieved cult status can be watched here.
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