The Film
The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands; however, after Simba's uncle Scar (Mufasa's jealous younger brother), murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King.
The Story
Development of The Lion King began in 1988 during a meeting between Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney, and Peter Schneider while promoting Oliver & Company in Europe. Thomas Disch wrote a film treatment, and Woolverton developed the first scripts while George Scribner was signed on as director, being later joined by Allers. Production began in 1991 concurrently with Pocahontas, which wound up attracting most of Disney's top animators. Some time after the staff traveled to Hell's Gate National Park in Kenya to research on the film's setting and animals, Scribner left production disagreeing with the decision to turn the film into a musical and was replaced by Minkoff. When Hahn joined the project, he was dissatisfied with the script and the story was promptly rewritten.
Review
The Lion King was released to critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 91%, based on 113 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3 out of 10. It also ranked 56th on their "Top 100 Animation Movies". The site's critical consensus reads, "Emotionally stirring, richly drawn, and beautifully animated, The Lion King stands tall within Disney's pantheon of classic family films." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 83 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Cinema Score reported that audiences gave the film a rare "A+" grade.
Recognition
The Lion King received four Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. The film would go on to win two Golden Globes; for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Original Score, as well as two Academy Awards, for Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer) and Best Original Song with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John and Tim Rice. The songs "Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata" were also nominated. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" also won the Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance. The Lion King also won Annie Awards for Best Animated Feature, Best Achievement in Voice Acting (for Jeremy Irons) and Best Individual Achievement for Story Contribution in the Field of Animation.
