In 1994, Walt Disney Animation brought its thirty-second animated feature to theatres. This animated feature was The Lion King. Loosely based upon William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Lion King is the story of Simba, a lion cub that is heir to the throne of Pride Rock. Thanks to the machinations of his uncle, Scar, Simba’s father, Mufassa is killed and Simba thinks it is his fault and runs away. What follows is the best coming-of-age story.
In my opinion, The Lion King is one of the best Disney movies of all time because of the animation and the songs.
To successfully translate the animals in the movie, several animators working on The Lion King were sent to Africa to study the movement and interaction of the animals. Also to get the anatomy and musculature of the lions, a grown lion and a cub were brought into the Disney Animation Studio.
To capture the musical essence of The Lion King, Walt Disney Studios enlisted famed lyricist Tim Rice, whom had written the songs for Disney’s previous animated feature, Aladdin, and renowned singer-songwriter Elton John to craft the classic songs that were woven into the film. The opening version of “Circle of Life” was written by composer Hans Zimmer with South African vocalist Lebo M. singing the chants.
Now seventeen years later, this classic returns to theatres starting next week. For the first time, The Lion King will be shown in 3D at theatres and a few weeks later, will be released on Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray 3D.
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