The Lion King. Of all the animation classics from Disney, there is perhaps none that is more celebrated than this one. Its acclaim is understandable: this is quite simply a glorious work of art. The Lion King" gets off to a fantastic start. The film's opening number, "The Circle of Life," is outstanding. The song lasts for about four minutes, but from the first sound, the audience is floored. National Geographic couldn't capture something this beautiful and dramatic. It may possibly be the greatest moment in film animation.
The story that follows is almost as majestic, and told brilliantly. What seperates it from the other movies here is the epic story that contains more dramatic power than all the other Disney films combined. While there are definitely some light-hearted moments, there is no denying the dark drama that takes up the bulk of the story. Some of the sequences are very dark and violent, many bordering on frightening, which makes the movie all the more fascinating. And the voice actors are terrific, especially Jeremy Irons as Scar, and James Earl Jones as Mufasa.
Another big plus is the music. The soundtrack goes the whole scale. When all is well in Simbaa's life, there is hopeful music echoing of the jungle and the savannah. Then things get darker and the music gets deeper and more epic than anyone who's not heard it can imagine. "Be Prepared" is excellent and rightfully scary as the following scene testifies. The stampede score is one of the most ground-shaking pieces of music I have ever heard. When that all gets too much, there's "Hakuna Matata", the ultimate anthem for carefree living, to soothe the soul. Personally, I feel "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is the strongest of the songs on the soundtrack, and its not even my genre of music "The Circle of Life" set the tone for how movies should start and not for no reason. The whole audio part of this movie is a complete bullseye.
Overral, The Lion King is the best of Disney's animated flicks, and also the best animated movies off all time. It has a wonderful plot that draws from classic inspirations and has some of the deepest and most motivated characters in the children/animted genre of all-time, and the voice-casting was absolutely perfect. A near flawless film that I think should be the run-away winner on this list.
