VHS : The Lion King [1994]

Rating: - Outstanding
As usual the Disney classics don't let you down and The Lion King is no exception including the songs, 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' and the 'Circle Of Life'. If you are the sensitive type have a tissue with you as your taken through the journey with Simba and the gang through their ups and downs.

For the Bonus CD the youngsters will have loads of fun with games and more extras.

The Lion King is a film that the family will keep for generations to enjoy.

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Rating: - You can't argue with a Disney!
From the start Ican I say that I've been forced to sit through this several times with my little 2 year old.

It's well animated as you would expect- superb in fact, with beautiful vibrant colours - especially the Savanna

I think it's for older kids really - my little 'un has just got into it whereas she liked 'Nemo', 'Shrek' etc ages ago.

It's a bit too 'right-on' (politically correct) and 'serious' for me in places but I suppose the morals are those you'd want your kids to follow (I'm just bitter and twisted).

There are lots of songs in it- some are catchy, but others seem to try too hard to impress. My favorite is 'Can you feel the love tonight'

Hans Zimmer has done a lot of other scores- Badlands, True Romance etc and this lends an air of grandeur to the film.

The lyrics to the songs are very 'Tim Rice' - not really to my taste again (everything has to rhyme).

James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons are imposing - or rather their voices are- I kept thinking of Darth Vader during the father/son bits- "I'm your father Luke".

The film gathers pace from a light-hearted beginning to a fierce climax. I tend to enjoy the ending better

The DVD extras are nothing short of excellent. There's even an additional sequence in the film added.

All in all you can't argue with it's huge success and popularity. It's a must for every collection.

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Rating: - Was watchable once, sucks bigtime now!
Now this is meant to be a confession. 9 years ago when I had watched The Lion King, I thought it was fairly watchable. Not quite as staggeringly entertaining as everyone claimed, but entertaining nevertheless. Fast-forward to yesterday, and this one really put me off to sleep. I have seldom regretted watching classics, but have to confess that The Lion King, in the face of new-age Nemos and Shreks and Sids and Sulleys, pales. Totally.

First off, the hackneyed linear storyline, which though reasonably poignant until Mufasa's death (the only reason I gave this flick 2 stars) dips and dips into sloshy predictable murk and fails to recover from there. In fact the last 30-35 minutes have not a single moment which would make you sit up and gape at your TV screen. The first 20 minutes withstanding, this supposed-to-be "classic" is too simplistic and too lacking, in technique and in feel, to entertain anyone above 8 years.

The educative value is near-nil the way everyone from top to bottom of the food chain do salsa and tap-dance together and so is the "no worries" morality which seems to be added as an afterthought. The stereotypical characters are either absolutely black or completely white, the wit in the dialogues is either too scarce or too overblown and the angular 2-D animation, though crowding the screen with colours, is decidely too obsolete and laughably kiddish. And don't get me started on the countless number of cacophonic "songs" injected into the plot to give the stupendously boring second half an uplift (?!?!)-- with each of the characters crooning more like on-stage performers, I was practically clenching my teeth.

And yes, neither did I have the patience nor the inclination to browse the 2nd "free" DVD or for that matter the DVD extras. When the film fails to amuse, what use remains sitting there listening to reams of eulogies, anyways.

Maybe the only respite comes from the opening song--"The vicious circle of life" and Mufasa's death sequence, which even after all these years, doesn't fail to bring a lump to the throat. Clearly, this film's aged rather too fast, and I would advise everyone to ignore the hype and entertain themselves and their kids with Toy Stories, Monsters, Shreks, Finding Nemos and Ice Ages. Enough said.

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Rating: - The Lion King: King of the Disney films
The Lion King Special Edition is FANTASTIC!!! The picture quality is great, the music is brilliant, and the general plot is wonderful! You can even sing along to the songs with the special subtitles that you can turn on!
And if that isn't enough, the second disk of special features is always a great thing to watch. You can watch the making of the film, go on a virtual safari with Timon and Pumba, see lots of facts about the different types of animals in the film, and even watch the making of the Broadway smash (which is also BRILLIANT!)
I have only three words to tell you. GET IT NOW!! You won't be dissapointed!

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Rating: - What a CLASSIC!
I know this review really won't help but I just wanted to say how glad I was when I heard the news that Lion King was coming to DVD!! Its a disney classic! With everyones favourite songs, and a storyline to make you laugh, cry and feel happy!!!
And the quality on the dvd is so good i noticed things you would never notice on video! I could only give this film 5 stars but if i could have given it more i would have!!!!!
THE LION KING IS A CLASSIC DISNEY OF OUR TIME!!