THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407010074
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BRENT A. BOWLES, TEENOLOGY MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
I TREKKED TO three different theaters (two of them sold out) and waited nearly four hours to see Disney's 32nd animated feature, ``The Lion King.'' Was it worth it? To quote the film's villain, this movie is ``to die for.''
``The Lion King'' is a superb, visually brilliant and surprisingly moving piece of work from the Disney people, who have truly mastered their art with this one, their first not based on a fairy tale.
The movie is a furry twist on ``Hamlet'' crossed with ``Bambi.''
The evil Scar, voiced by Jeremy Irons, kills Mufasa, the lion king, to gain the throne. Scar is eventually thwarted by Simba, the noble young son who assumes his place in the Circle of Life.
Along the way comes a love interest, in the form of Nala (voice of Moira Kelly). Mufasa has the regal sound of James Earl Jones, whose booming voice filled the theater and rumbled the seats. Simba is shown in two stages, a young cub with ``Home Improvement's'' Jonathan Taylor Thomas' speaking, and a full-grown lion king with the voice of Matthew Broderick.
Irons makes the coldest, most evil Disney villain since Cruella de Ville, and his song, ``Be Prepared,'' may scare the kiddies a bit. This is a film you should definitely go to see in a THX-sound-system-equipped theater.
Filling the rest of this gorgeous canvas are a variety of crazy and enigmatic animals. The evil hyena henchmen - Shenzi, Banzi, and Ed (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings, respectively) - are a riot.
The show is stolen by Nathan Lane of the ``Guys and Dolls'' revival on Broadway as the wisecracking Timone, a dinky meerkat. He and his wart hog partner Pumbaa, played by Ernie Sabella, are Disney's Abbott and Costello. They introduce what is likely to be an oft-heard phrase: ``Hakuna matata,'' or ``no worries'' in Swahili.
There is no animated precedent for the visual imagery of ``The Lion King.'' Not a second goes by without an eye-popping African vista. The Disney artists have set the mark for every animated film to follow, at times making the film look as if it were live. The first five minutes include the most beautiful animation ever. It is complemented by composer Hans Zimmer's expressive choral arrangement of Elton John's ``Circle of Life.''
``The Lion King'' is an exhilarating, moving and visually superb masterpiece. The story is a simple one of love and redemption, and is peppered with a side-splitting sense of humor. The talent of Disney's animation division is staggering, and if ``The Lion King'' is any preview, the upcoming ``Pocahontas'' and ``Fantasia Continued'' should be staggering. MEMO: ``The Lion King'' is rated G. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Brent Bowles is a '94 grad of Princess Anne High. by CNB