by Kate Rohr

For my first movie review, I chose a film I’ve seen a thousand times but not in recent years:
“The Lion King.” But I didn’t just watch it on my TV at home, no. I watched it on the big screen, and in 3D. Normally I’m not one for 3D, but from the moment that Zazu flew from over my head toward Pride Rock I knew this was going to be awesome.

Now some of you may not consider“The Lion King” as film because it’s a kid’s movie. But I politely request that you hold the phone for one gosh darn minute. There’s a reason I watched this movie a thousand and two times – because it’s action-packed, funny and emotional, and all contained in an 89 minute package.

The plot follows the typical Disney format: a parent dies; there’s an epic battle between good and evil; the good guys, a ragtag team of misfits, wins. But “The Lion King” is much more than a typical Disney movie, with memorable characters, a wide-reaching sense of humor, and an intense plot based off of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” (shout out to Himes’s Accelerated World Lit. class – what what!). Plus, it makes me bawl. There are many times in the movie when I just lose it. One great thing about 3D movies: the glasses hide your tears, at least for a little while. But this movie is not all death and loss – it’s funny, too. Timon and Pumbaa are hysterical throughout, and my favorite line of the movie involves them.

But a movie is not all plot and characters – it’s visual, too. “The Lion King” is visually amazing – the colors are so vivid and bright, and the animals’ movements were meticulously drawn. And when I say meticulously, I mean it. Disney brought actual animals into the studio to draw them as realistically as possible. As far as 3D goes, it really didn’t do much more for the film. Its best moments were in the first five minutes of the film, when animals come out of everywhere, sometimes flying or running right in front of you. But other than that, it wasn’t much better. I would recommend saving your money by renting it and watching it at home.

Now let’s talk about the music. Man, does Disney know how to put together a soundtrack. Elton John wrote five original songs for “The Lion King,” the best-known being “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” which won an Oscar for Best Original Song. Others include “The Circle of Life,” “Hakuna Matata” and “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.”

I love this movie. A lot. But there are many others out there, and I won’t be able to decide which is my favorite for months. So I’ll rate it! The scale is from 1 to 10, 1 being the worst thing since Charlie Sheen’s mental breakdown and 10 being the best thing since… something really really awesome. And I give “The Lion King” …. AN 8!

Now I want YOUR thoughts! Give me your opinions on The Lion King, my review, Charlie Sheen… etc. And please continue to recommend movies – I’m going to watch as many as I can!