The Lion King (1994)

That opening shot. The sun cracking over the horizon, the savannah waking up, every creature on earth making its way to Pride Rock while Hans Zimmer and Lebo M fill the speakers with something that feels genuinely ancient. I've seen The Lion King more times than I can count, and "Circle of Life" still puts a lump in my throat before a single line of dialogue has been spoken. That's not nostalgia talking. That's just great filmmaking.

This is an absolute giant in the Disney catalogue, and it earns that status. The animation is gorgeous, sweeping in a way that feels genuinely ambitious, and the voice cast is as good as any Disney has ever assembled. But the secret weapon, the performance you keep coming back to, is Jeremy Irons as Scar. He's clearly having the time of his life, purring every line with this delicious, theatrical menace. He doesn't need brute strength because he's got contempt, and Irons weaponises it brilliantly. Scar belongs in the conversation for all-time great Disney villains, full stop.

The music, too, is timeless. Elton John and Hans Zimmer, what a combination to land in one film. It shouldn't work on paper, the pop sensibility alongside the orchestral grandeur, but it does, completely. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "Be Prepared," "I Just Can't Wait to Be King." Every song earns its place.

I first saw this as a kid, and it hit hard in the way only a handful of films ever do when you're young. Mufasa's death was genuinely traumatising. I wasn't prepared for it, and I don't think you're meant to be. It's a bold, brave choice for what is ostensibly a children's film, and it gives everything that follows real weight. The grief feels earned because the loss feels real.

Timon and Pumbaa arrive as comic relief, and they deliver. That classic pairing, the fast-talking one and the big loveable one, is as old as comedy itself, but it works because the timing is sharp and the affection between them is genuine. They're funny. Properly funny, not just funny-for-a-kids-film funny.

But here's where I have to be honest, because on rewatch the cracks show a little. Once Simba lands in the jungle and settles into his Hakuna Matata life, the film coasts. The middle act loses momentum in a way the opening never does. It's entertaining enough, but it's also the section where the film stops demanding anything from you, and after the emotional intensity of what came before, that contrast is noticeable. The pace only really picks back up when the past starts catching up with Simba again, and from that point the film finds its feet and sprints to the finish.

So it's not flawless. It's not the untouchable masterpiece that a certain kind of Disney devotion tends to make it out to be. The structure has a soft centre, and a few of the lighter scenes go on a beat or two longer than they need to. That's worth saying.

What's also worth saying is that none of that stops it being a gorgeous, emotionally powerful coming-of-age story with a scope and ambition that still impresses. It earns the chills it gives you. It earns the tears. And when it's operating at full power, at the beginning and at the end, it's as good as anything Disney has ever made.

Four stars. One of the greats. Just not quite the perfect film its reputation sometimes suggests.

Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)

Originally logged on Letterboxd.