The Lion King: Critic Reviews

100%

MovieWeb: 7 reviews

92%

RottenTomatoes: 50 reviews

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Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly (Top Critic)

84

The Lion King, more than any of the recent wave of Disney animated features, has the resonance to stand not just as a terrific cartoon but as an emotionally pungent movie.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Stephen Holden New York Times (Top Critic)

70

More so than the exuberant movie miracles that came before it, this latest animated juggernaut has the feeling of a clever, predictable product.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Peter Bradshaw Guardian [UK] (Top Critic)

100

The animation is simple and bold, with fluency and muscular confidence, and Elton John and Tim Rice's songs drive the story onward with terrific fervour.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Desson Thomson Washington Post (Top Critic)

A computer-animated scene featuring a stampede of wildebeest is positively breathtaking.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Hal Hinson Washington Post (Top Critic)

An impressive, almost daunting achievement.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times (Top Critic)

88

A superbly drawn animated feature.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader (Top Critic)

The result is a step toward multiculturalism and ecological correctness, though not without a certain amount of confusion.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Jeremy Gerard Variety (Top Critic)

Some of the richest imagery the studio's animators have produced and held together.
Full Review » 11 years ago
John Hartl Film.com (Top Critic)

An ingenious mixture of themes from narrative sources as ancient and varied as Hamlet, the Old Testament and The Odyssey.
Full Review » 12 years ago
James Berardinelli ReelViews (Top Critic)

88

There clearly has been a conscious effort to please adults as much as children. Happily, for those of us who generally stay far away from 'cartoons,' they have succeeded.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Glenn Abel Hollywood Reporter (Top Critic)

A crown jewel of modern Disney animation.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Peter Travers Rolling Stone (Top Critic)

A royal treat.
Full Review » 11 years ago
Nell Minow Common Sense Media

80

Disney's tuneful king-of-the-beasts blockbuster.
Full Review » 1 year ago
Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy

60

The animation is extraordinarily beautiful, and more technically accomplished than any other film of the Disney Renaissance... [but] the drama and characters are terribly lacking.
Full Review » 2 years ago
Empire Magazine

80

This is more a favourite of the children than adult Disney fans. It has a few memorable songs and has spawned a very popular stage production.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Film4

The sickly Elton John and Tim Rice songs ruin any attempts at hipness.
Full Review » 4 years ago
TV Guide's Movie Guide

75

This tale of a lion cub's coming of age in the African veldt offers a less memorable song score than did the previous hits, and a hasty, unsatisfying dramatic resolution.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Time Out

A winner.
Full Review » 6 years ago
Staci Layne Wilson StaciWilson.com

Hakuna Matata aside, this is a worthwhile film.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Pablo Villaca Cinema em Cena

100

Trabalhando com arquetipos e temas verdadeiramente mitologicos, O Rei Leao conseguiu se transformar em classico menos de uma decada depois de seu lancamento.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com

100

Makes up for its shortcomings in the musical department with a strong dose of mature drama.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Matt Brunson Creative Loafing

88

This often dark tale about a lion cub holds real emotional resonance.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Forrest Hartman Reno Gazette-Journal

100

It's an animated and kid-friendly variation on Hamlet, and it is wonderful.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Bob Bloom Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

You can't go wrong with The Lion King.
Full Review » 9 years ago
James O'Ehley Movie Gurus

How 'special' is this 'special edition'? It features one extra musical number . . . apparently.
Full Review » 9 years ago