3. The Lion King
Release Date: June 15, 1994
Director: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Starring: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Moira Kelly, Niketa Calame, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson
Random Cameos: Madge Sinclair, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin
First Time I Saw It: I was five, so I am not 100% certain exactly when I saw it but my dad says we saw it in the theatres SEVEN TIMES. Now I don’t know if it just felt like seven times but I don’t question for a second that as a five-year-old I would have seen that movie 70 times in the theater if I could get away with it.
Why I Ranked It So High: The Lion King is in a class by itself. First of all, The Lion King is the highest grossing G Rated movie of all time for a reason. The only other one that really comes close is Toy Story 3. And following Lion King’s monstrous success, it has spawned countless spin-offs, re-releases, video games, and one of the longest running shows in Broadway history. The story is great. The characters are loveable. The music is timeless. What more do you want?
Why I Love It: Even after twenty years, the music really holds up. People say Frozen is the new Lion King. They wish! Frozen had one hit. Every Lion King song was a gem. You’ve got ‘Hakuna Matata.’ You’ve got ‘Just Can’t Wait to be King’. Hell, there’s even Scar’s goose-stepping hyena pump-up jam. Every single one is great. Also, it is legitimately funny. It is the first and I want to say only Disney movie to acknowledge that farting exists. On top of that, it features James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair as the royal parents, a distinction shared with one of the funniest movies of all time, Coming to America. Finally, in a world where they are stretching a single Hobbit book into three two and half hour long movies, I have extra love for a movie that can tell a good story in 90 minutes.
BONUS: It is excellent entry level Hamlet, even though now Captain America: The Winter Soldier does it better. — Matthew Kelly
