eye WEEKLY June 23 1994 Toronto's arts newspaper ...free every Thursday ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: REVIEW REVIEW :Subject THE LION KING Screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton. Songs by Tim Rice and Elton John. Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. Animation. (STC) Opens June 24. by ALEX PATTERSON From '88 through '92, Disney released three animated features -- The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast and Aladdin -- that are among the best the company has ever produced. After the death of the brilliant lyricist Howard Ashman after completing Aladdin, it looked like this noble trio might be the last of their species. The Lion King is here to put such worries to rest: it's big, boisterous and a worthy successor to Uncle Walt's throne. The Lion King is an unusual effort for the studio in that its story and characters are original and not drawn from fairy tales or the public domain. Lion-cub Simba is destined to inherit papa Mufasa's African kingdom, until he accidentally causes the king's death in a wildebeest stampede. The lad guiltily slinks off to the desert to eat grubs with lesser creatures, forfeiting everything to his evil uncle Scar and devolving into a slacker of the Serengeti. It's only a chance meeting with an old friend that prompts Simba's return to his rightful place. Along the way, there's the usual comic relief, fight scenes, musical extravaganzas... ... and an unusual amount of tragedy. The film has been criticized by such shrinking violets as the New York Times' Janet Maslin, who worries that The Lion King will psychologically terrorize the young. Breeders, relax: there's nothing here to traumatize your kids. The trampling sequence is upsetting, yes, but like Bambi before it, the demise of the parent is neither graphic nor gratuitous. In fact, it provides a perfect opportunity to bring up the subject of death -- something they're going to have to face sooner or later. (What does Maslin think is on TV, anyway? Non-stop Barney?) The songs, by Elton John and Tim Rice, may not be instant classics, but they're pleasant enough in a Michael Jackson kind of a way and at least one of them ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight") seems headed for Hitsville, U.S.A. Rice sure ain't no Howard Ashman, though: not in a dozen lifetimes will the former Lloyd Webber poetaster craft couplets as clever as The Little Mermaid's "Under the Sea." Fortunately for us, Elton's a talented tunesmith, and has plenty of perience wrapping memorable melodies around unworthy words from his years with Bernie Taupin (who, in a properly run universe, would be punching the clock at the Hallmark factory). Between the big numbers, there's a terrific worldbeat score by Hans Zimmer that should do more for western acceptance of African music than anything since Graceland. An animated movie is obviously even more of a collaborative effort than a live-action one, but The Lion King's co-directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff deserve special mention just the same: they have obviously steered their project from start to finish with vision and ntelligence. And the off-screen all-stars -- Matthew Broderick (Simba), James Earl Jones (Mufasa), Jeremy Irons (Scar), Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin et al. -- all do fine voice-work, and really bring the characters to vibrant, vivid life. The Lion King isn't quite as funny as Aladdin, nor are its songs as strong as Beauty And The Beast's. But it's still one of the most enjoyable entertainments of the summer. Borrow a child, conceive a child or just go childless. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Retransmit freely in cyberspace Author holds standard copyright