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Not an ideal choice for younger kids, this hip and violent animated feature from Disney was nevertheless a huge smash in theaters and on video, and it continues to enjoy life in an acclaimed Broadway production. The story finds a lion cub, son of a king, sent into exile after his father is sabotaged by a rivalrous uncle. The little hero finds his way into the "circle of life" with some new friends and eventually comes back to reclaim his proper place. Characters are very strong, vocal performances by the likes of Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, and Whoopi Goldberg are terrific, the jokes are aimed as much (if not more) at adults than kids, the animation is sometimes breathtaking, and the music is more palatable than in many Disney features. But be cautious: this is too intense for the Rugrat crowd. --Tom Keogh
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Anybody who struts around with Simba's hard-won authority deserves this royal DVD read-along from Disney. Kids can recoil at Uncle Scar's dastardly deeds en español and discover that "hakuna matata" sounds pretty much the same in Spanish, French, Italian, or German. And should the dynamic storytelling fail to thrill your 4- to 12-year-old fan, a flurry of other interactive options await. Toggle to "Songs" for sing-along renditions of movie hits, including "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," and on to "Music Videos," where Elton John roars soundtrack favorites "Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and Jimmy Cliff and Lebo M groove to "Hakuna Matata." The "Vocabulary" feature allows for see-and-say mastery of a list of wildlife, while the "Game" section allows players to match paw and hoof prints to the proper beast and reassemble the scattered skeletal remains of an elephant. Original cast voices are featured, and grownups will be pleased by the package's reading component. --Tammy La Gorce
From The New Yorker
Disney's new animated feature is a coming-of-age story about animal royalty. It's "Bambi," but with carnivores. The hero, a young lion named Simba, is born to the purple, but before he can ascend to the throne he has to make cute friends, court a soft-eyed female of the species, and see his father die (in a scene that may actually jerk kids' tears more shamelessly than its counterpart in "Bambi"). Between traumas, the movie serves up soothingly banal musical numbers (composed by Elton John and Tim Rice) and silly, rambunctious comedy. It's such an extreme example of the you'll-laugh-you'll-cry aesthetic that we begin to suspect that the directors, Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, are just flaunting their power, showing us that they can manipulate our responses at will. The animation, computer-assisted in some of the more elaborate sequences, is sometimes impressive, but rarely impressive enough to overcome a certain impersonality-a stubborn mechanical coldness. Among the celebrity voices on the soundtrack, two performances stand out: Jeremy Irons, as the villainous lion Scar, does an elegant, funny George Sanders impersonation, and Nathan Lane, reading the part of a peppy, skeptical meerkat, gives the picture a welcome shot at Warners-style brashness. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker
