The Lion King (IMAX) Review

Lion cub Simba is driven out of his kingdom after his uncle Scar offs his dear old dad and convinces the young critter that he is responsible

by William Thomas |
Published on
Release Date:

26 Dec 2002

Running Time:

89 minutes

Certificate:

U

Original Title:

Lion King (IMAX), The

After the success of the Imax release of Beauty And The Beast, another Disney classic comes roaring onto the really big screen.

The plot, as dark as Walt’s best, sees lion cub Simba driven out of his kingdom after his uncle Scar, voiced with honeyed menace by Jeremy Irons, offs his dear old dad and convinces the young critter that he is responsible.

The animation is still breathtaking — even in the wake of the CGI revolution — and the big set-pieces, the opening Circle Of Life number and the gut-wrenching wildebeest stampede, look even more sumptuous on the immense Imax screen.

Add a sharp script, pitch-perfect performances and award-winning original songs by Elton John and Tim Rice (showing Phil Collins how it should really be done), and you’ve got a film as close to perfection as Disney has ever come.

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