Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Young heir-apparent of the Lion's Lands feels guilty and runs from his problems and his throne.
Biased, pithy comments: Disney cranks out yet another animated ``sure-to-be-a-classic'' film in the long and lucrative tradition of the last few years. Beautiful animation, and that alone is worth the price of admission. Minor roles, copied from other Disney movies, speak louder than this new story, and though it is blessed with some stunning visuals and chilling work by De Niro, it lacks the spark and unique flair of Disney's previous work in this decade. Some of the social undertones are disturbing and are better left not understood, such as why hyenas, scavengers like human beings (up until recently), are not part of the circle of life and why these castaways are being played by minorities. On second viewing, however, I found that it was still a good movie (esp. Nathan Lane's voice and his related animation) and probably a good one for kids. But the details are really whacked.
Other Notes: Weird obvious screen reference to Nazism and Leni Riefenstahl.
How many times I have seen it: x2
Starring: James Earl Jones, Mathew Broderick, Robert De Niro, Nathan Lane