Lion king has always been my favorite movie! I think it's Disney's best movie ever!
The Lion King
(1994, Rated G, Family and kids, Starring Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jonathan Taylor Thomas)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Disney's tuneful king-of-the-beasts blockbuster.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 5 and Up
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
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Sexy stuff:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of The Lion King was written by Nell Minow
Parents need to know that the death of Mufasa by trampling is genuinely scary. So are some fights among the animals.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about facing your problems instead of running from them. Why doesn't the idea of "hakuna matata" or "no worries" always work? Can anyone get through life without a little worry and conflict?
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More on The Lion King
What’s the Story?
THE LION KING is the story of Simba (voice of Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a child, Matthew Broderick as an adult), the cub of Mufasa (James Earl Jones), the king of the jungle. Simba "just can't wait to be king." But his evil Uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons), bitterly jealous of Mufasa, wants to be king, so he arranges for Mufasa to be killed in a stampede and makes Simba think he is responsible. Simba runs away, and finds friends in Pumbaa the warthog (Ernie Sabella) and Timon the meerkat (Nathan Lane), who advise him that the best philosophy is "hakuna matata" (no worries). Simba grows up thinking he has escaped from his past, but his childhood friend, Nala finds him, and tells him that under Scar's leadership, the tribe has suffered badly.
Is It Any Good?
Sort of a cross between Richard III and Hamlet, The Lion King was not just a movie, but a marketing phenomenon: This blockbuster was the highest grossing film of 1994. Amazingly, it made even more money in merchandise than it did at the box office, a fact for which audiences have been paying ever since, as each subsequent Disney animated movie seems to be designed primarily as a commercial for teeshirts, lunchboxes, and action figures. The score, and the song "Circle of Life," with authentic African rhythms and instruments, won Oscars for Elton John and Tim Rice, and the movie later became a Broadway blockbuster.
Movie Details
Studio: Disney, Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Run time: 0 minutes
Theatrical release: 06/24/1994, DVD release: 10/07/2003
MPAA Rating: G for general audiences
Run time: 0 minutes
Theatrical release: 06/24/1994, DVD release: 10/07/2003
MPAA Rating: G for general audiences
Our Members Say
See all 50 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 3 and give it
best movie ever!
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I rate this title on for age 3 and give it
best movie ever!
Lion king has always been my favorite movie! I think it's Disney's best movie ever!
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
My mommy LOVES this movie!!! A very nice movie.
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I rate this title on for age 6 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
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I rate this title on for age 4 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
cute disney movie
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I rate this title iffy for age 5 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Negative role models
Good for adults and 9 year olds
In general, Disney movies disguise adult contents and themes, dressing them up in children like characters. Read all the Adult reviews in this section and proof is there. As an adult and from a theatre production standpoint, Lion King is absolutely fantastic and has a great sound track. I have seen the movie and the show. Would I recommend it to 5 year olds? No. The themes are not appropriate from a development point of view to what 5 year olds needs or could be experiencing. The presence of violence, sex innuendos, reinforcement of social stereotypes and gender roles are constant throughout Disney's movies. Again, great for adults, poor choice for young kids.
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I rate this title on for age 6 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
An enjoyable movie about a young lion's journey to manhood (or lionhood). Deals with death and some occasional scary scenes, but some musical pieces kids will love (except when Rowan Atkinson started singing, I nearly puked).
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I rate this title on for age 4 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Lion king
Its the best disney movie the only thing is the part where it hides a word.
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I rate this title on for age 6 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
The Sweetest Movie Ever
This is the sweetest movie ever, a true classic. This will definitely on for decades, even centuries and it will still give the same message. But Parents: It is still pretty dark and I would not reccomand it for kids under the age of 6, because they do not really understand the concept of death, and I don't think it's nessacary for them to start worrying when they'll die or when their own parents will die. I think it should be PG, I think it has too many scary parts to be G.
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I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
Hate it or Love it (if your into child p*******phy films)
From the get go,I knew Simba was going to be a poor role model. He is selfish (always singig about himself becoming a king), arrogant and a h**** pig. I could not believe the way they had simba DRY H*MP nala while rolling down the hill! geeze wanna put some PENETRATON SHOTS while your at it?!?! Half the songs were all "celverly" disguised innuendo. I think the only good part of the movie was when Scar killed that selfish, h****, pigs uncle. Only thing is it was not GRAPHIC enough!! I wish they would have shown simba's uncle falling off the cliff in slow motin while his face was SCARPING THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF TEARNG HIS CHEEKS OFF. and as that was happening he would be crying out to his sweet little w****, Nala. or whatever her name was. Then when he hit the ground his eyes would POP OUT OF HIS SOCKETS AND HIS TEETH WOULD FLY OUT!!! It would then show the stampede bulldeong whats left of his head in and crush his internal organs (it wold show it by skeltal imagery) Then those HEORINE ADDICTED hyeinas can FEAST ON HIS CORPSE! That would probably have ben more age appropriate to show you cant always get what you want and karmas a ***** baby! (thats what i screamed at the screen when he died). I took my son to see this in theatres because my wife forced or she would divorce me if I kept showing what she calls "sick" movies. So, I went, and to show my disdain for the situation I wore my "Life ****ing ****s" T-shirt. So I behaved myself through the previews, but my v**** bag was already half full of partially digested snow-caps from v******** to all the p*****ilie films coming to MY THEATRE! So the movie starts. And I am already suffering from double viison. Let me tell you, With all the innuendo, I stood up and screamed WHAT THE **** IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU MORONS FOR TAKNG YOUR CHILDREN TO SEE P*****TED P***PHILISH GARBAGE LIKE THIS. I took my son by the arm to leave the theatre while Tomon and poo**** or whatever the **** his name was were eating bugs and singing about how gloious it is to be a sc*mbag in the third world. My son was crying and I had to beat the **** out of him with my belt, threw him over my shoulder and whipped him in my 56 convertible and tookff at 80 mph back home. A got a couple tickets but it was worth it to keep him away from the disgusting, vile, p****rted, p********sh garbage that Walt Disney spewed up from his intestines.
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I rate this title on for age 4 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Excellent beyond reason
The greatest Disney film ever made, and my favorite movie ever. This one is dark, but don't worry your kids could use some more adult themes for a while, they aren't babies. It's impossible to hate this movie.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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I rate this title on for age 5 and give it
Small children may be disturbed by scene where Simba's father is killed by the stampede.
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I rate this title on for age 5 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Fantastic!!!
Best movie in a long time. It is so cue and perfect for young children, but then even high schoolers I know like it. It is a real crowd pleaser, and your'e sure to love it. The violence is on such a low level it's fine for young children, but none below five.
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I rate this title on for age 4 and give it
Ranks with some of the best children's movies ever made
This movie ranks with classic flims such as Bambi, Snowwhite, Pinnochio, and Fantasia. This movie is a classic, and deserves the title. With beautiful rich animation, colorful characters, and poginant moving moments that will make you cry, this is definitly something you should check out.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
The Lion King Review:
Have you ever watched a movie that inspires you or fills you with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence? The Lion King has done this for me. Set under the heavenly clear blue skies and starlit nights, in between the lush green meadows and dry bush's of Africa's Savannah, some animated wild animals come to life. Simba, a new born baby cub, (voice by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) is growing up in the joyous grasslands of Africa. But Simba isn't just any ordinary cub, his father, Mufasa (voice by James Earl Jones) is the king. Not only is he the king, but the hero of his son’s life. Soon "everything the sun shines on in the savannah" will belong to Simba, the future king. Yet, there is a problem. The problems name is Scar (voice by Jeremy Irons). One of the most evil lions that trot around the outskirts of the savannah. There is good and bad in everyone, but Scar has more of the bad. He also struggles to fight the battle of jealousy. Eventually, his jealousy of Simba becoming the future king leads him to killing Mufasa (the king) in a stampede of buffaloes. He makes Simba seem responsible for it and Simba being only a young child believes the fact that he was the one responsible for killing his father and runs away. As he grows up (adult voice by Matthew Broderick) and adapts a new life in the jungle, he manages to make friends with two hilarious and heart-warming characters, Timon (voice by Nathan lane) and Pumba (voice by Ernie Sabella.) Pumba is a warthog and Timon is a meerkat. Together, they teach Simba important, basic, life lessons and of course, "hakuna matata," Swahili for "no worries" They teach Simba to not worry about his past, but to face it and learn from it. One sunny afternoon, as the sun is beaming down and the wind is rustling in the lovely agaisha trees, Nala (voice by Moira Kelly), one of the lioness’s from Simba's childhood comes across Simba while hunting. She tells him that Scar is king now and doing a horrible job therefore Simba is needed to rule. Simba decides to return to the place he once lived in, to rule. He fights Scar, his evil uncle, for the position as king. The question is, does he win the fight? I recommend you watch The Lion King to find out. This movie not only brings tears and laughter, but teaches both young and old about important life lessons. There are many great aspects of film making in this movie. Music is one of them. The music and each song of this movie fit each scene perfectly and will keep your head bopping up and down throughout. The music in the movie is sung by the characters. Another great aspect of the film making of this movie is the set design. It is an animated movie, yet everything looks as if it could be real and is drawn extremely well. The lions are drawn well, as well as the savannah and the other animals. This movie is quite old and is drawn very well considering it is so old. I love this movie. It is beautiful and memorable. In my opinion, it's the best Disney movie ever made. 1994 is when it was made and it is still being watched today. The movie reminds me of my childhood since I grew up and lived in Africa for 8 years of my life. What an excellent movie it is. I think people should continue watching it over the years!
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I rate this title on for age 6 and give it
i liked
i like it sooooooooooooooo much
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I rate this title pause for age 8 and give it
Great Movie
This was a great movie but should have been PG for the nazi symbolism (goose-stepping hyenas)
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Memorable
The Lion King is about a young cub named Simba who is raised to be future king of his pride land. While growing up Simba was trained by his father to never go beyond the light of the sun's borders, but Simba failed to listen and put his life as well as Nala, and Sazu's life in danger. Simba was set up by his own evil uncle Scar who wanted Simba dead. Mufasa, Simba's father, knowing that Simba needed help, went on his way to save his child but instead got killed by a stampede of antelopes.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 67% | of parents say it's too violent |
| 67% | of parents don't think the messages are positive |
| 67% | of parents don't feel there are good role models |
| 33% | of parents say there's too much drinking, drugs, or smoking |
| 33% | of parents say they notice product placement |
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