“Remember.”

From The Lion King.

When the lion king of Pride Rock, Mufasa (James Earl Jones), and his queen (Alfre Woodard) give birth to an heir, Simba (JD McCrary), the entire kingdom is ecstatic… except for Mufasa’s younger brother Scar (Chiwtel Ejiofor) who is no longer next-in-line to be king.  As he grows up, Simba spends his time playing with best friend Nala (Shahadi Wright Joseph), exploring the kingdom with Mufasa, and sneaking away from Zazu (John Oliver), the advisor tasked with watching them.  Fed up with living in his brother’s shadow, Scar kills Mufasa and tells Simba both that it was the cub’s fault and that he should run away; once the scared little lion heads off into the desert, Scar joins forces with rival kingdom leader, Shenzi (Florence Kasumba) and her army of hyenas (including Keegan-Michael Key and Eric Andre) to take control of Pride Rock.  On the verge of death, Simba is rescueded by meerkat Timon (Billy Eichner) and warthog Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) who take him in and raise him to be carefree and laidback.  As their home becomes a wasteland, adult Nala (Beyonce Knowles-Carter) sneaks away in search of help removing Scar from power and on her search finds Simba (Donald Glover) who everyone thought was dead.  Nala urges Simba to come home to restore peace and balance to Pride Rock, but he still believes he is responsible for Mufasa’s death and refuses to return.  However, with a little help from the wise, spiritually-attuned Rafiki (John Kani), Simba realizes that his father never left him and the power to save his home lies within him, if he is willing to fight for those he loves.

This sort-of live action remake of the 1994 animated classic is a breathtaking display of both amazing animation and scenery; with many scenes recaptured shot-for-shot and word-for-word, this is a priceless nostalgic adventure.  While there are several fight scenes, they are bloodless with the major violence taking place off screen, but it might be too much for the youngest of viewers.  The music and songs are brilliant, but some of the voice acting from the main characters fail to live up to their hype.  Just like the original, The Lion King is an amazing, family-friendly adventure that will captivate families for years to come!

| Rated: PG | Running Time: 118 minutes |Genre: adventure/family/music |

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 0 of 10|Nudity: 0 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 1 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|