Dom Holder’s review published on Letterboxd:
In many ways, The Lion King is the peak of the unofficial Disney Renaissance period. It's sheer enormity of scale, brilliant characters and, let's be honest, absolute banger after banger of tunes means that every box is ticked here. In my mind, this is probably the best Disney Classic since The Jungle Book, eclipsing even Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
The story itself is simple enough, loosely based on Hamlet of all things, but its execution is staggering at times, the wildebeest stampede that has tragic consequences is a monumental piece of filmmaking, and the kinetic energy on screen is matched by Hans Zimmers's thunderous score.
We also have one of the best ensemble voice casts of a Disney film with everyone adding to the success of the film, from James Earl Jones, imperious as King Mufasa, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella as the comic light relief Timon and Pumba. Rowan Atkinson and Whoopi Goldberg apply tremendous levels of sarcasm and snark as Mufasa's chief secretary Zasu and Shenzi, the savviest of the conniving hyenas respectfully.
However the real stand out is Jeremy Irons as evil brother Scar, like all good Disney villains it is wickedly evil, but the sneer that Irons rolls into every line is the dictionary definition of perfect line delivery. He also manages to find time to add a bit of humour with his slyness, I would say from a vocal point of view this is possibly my favourite Disney performance.
In all seriousness, this is a five-star movie, but I'm knocking half a star off due to the slightly melodramatic romance that takes place. One shot has always bothered me in particular the moment where Nala lies back and gives Simba the F**k me eyes. If I want that (and I never will) I'll watch Attenborough.
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