Movie Review: The Lion King 3D

Who hasn't crescendoed to The Circle of Life ... the Wheel of Fortune. All together now.

The 1994 Disney blockbuster, The Lion King, gets a 21st-century digital injection with a 3D makeover.

The kids who fell in love with Simba's story back in the 1990s are now parents with kids of their own.

Now a new generation gets to hear this movie's roar.

The original Lion King is an epic and, in its day, the hand-drawn animation, coupled with the musical score, were breathtaking.

The allegorical storyline elevates it to a timeless classic. It has all the features of a great Disney movie that forever enthrals its little and large audiences: beloved characters, a fight between good and evil, the rite of passage to manhood, and lessons about love, courage and leadership.

And it has one of the most tearjerking parent and child separation scenes in kids' movie history, rivalled only by the demise of Bambi's mum.

For the handful of you who have not seen the Lion King, the story follows the adventures of Simba (Matthew Broderick) as the feisty lion cub who "just can't wait to be king". But his envious Uncle Scar has plans for his own ascent to the throne and he forces Simba's exile from the kingdom. Alone and adrift, Simba joins the escapades of a hilarious meerkat and his warthog pal. Adopting their carefree lifestyle, Simba ignores his responsibilities until he realises his destiny and returns to Pride Lands.

I am uncertain about using new technology to pimp up an old classic. It seems pointless. Movies should keep their place in cinematic history. We don't want to see Casablanca in colour, or see split-screen flashblack sequences in Gone With the Wind or let Weta get its hands on ET.

You don't need to put flash mags on a T-model Ford.

True, the 3D effects are clever.

In the opening scene, Zazu (Rowan Atkinson) seems to fly from the back of the cinema and I actually ducked to avoid him. But 17 years are light years in animation techniques, making the 3D effects at times contrived.

But you can't blame Disney for dusting off the family heirloom. Despite subsequent kids' movies having the best special effects Hollywood can fund, good old Lion King in 2D has remained one of the highest-grossing animated films.

Despite the traditionalists' grumbles, the 3D version has propelled the movie back to the top of the box office indicating not only that it is gaining new fans but that old ones are turning out to reminisce.

Who can blame us for wanting to relive a movie that arguably has never been bettered. The world is happy to crown this lion king again.

The Lion King

(G), 89 minutes

Stars: 4/5