576. The Lion King (1994)

Starring: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons

Director: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff

Running Time: 89 mins

The Lion King is an American film about the life of Simba, a young lion, destined to be king, who goes on an epic journey in order to find who he truly is, whether he should always be the mischievous young cub he once was, or step up and take his rightful place as the king.

Well, this is an absolute classic, and it’s impossible to not love it. A story that’s enjoyable for anyone to watch, music that’s brilliantly catchy and uplifting, and characters that will make you smile or shiver, this film is one of Disney’s best of all time.

One of the most impressive features of The Lion King is how emotional and thoughtful it is. Coping with what is quite a difficult subject in the middle of what could be perceived as a kids’ movie, it’s very deep, often quite hard-hitting, and extremely powerful, as it teaches you to follow your true destiny, and be who you deserve to be, following the circle of life.

But don’t think for a moment that the more dramatic elements of this film can take away how massively entertaining it is. As a kid, I remember being obsessed with this film, so I know that it is enjoyable for younger viewers, however this doesn’t fall into the trap that many other Disney movies do of being cheesy and annoying for anyone else.

No, for people under the age of 5, this is just a fun story, but for people between 5 and 500 years old, this film is not only hugely enjoyable, but emotionally impacting and deep, that it really manages to completely engross you in its brilliant story.

Another thing that it does brilliantly is not have any humans in the story. Usually, humans are brought into the Disney animal stories, however that can often diminish how connected you are to the animal characters, as you see it from a human perspective, which can ruin the emotion, but in this film, you’re on the same level as every animal, meaning it’s all the more engrossing to watch.

And then, there’s the awesome soundtrack. From the epic ‘Circle Of Life’, to the upbeat ‘Hakuna Matata’, there are songs every step of the way that you can sing along to and adore, not only within the context of the film, but just on their own, however they really do help to add to the fun of the story.

Overall, this gets an 8.3, because it’s a hugely enjoyable, thoughtful, emotionally deep and often powerful film that’s ideal for anyone to watch.