Michael Jackson's This Is It Review

Michael Jackson's This Is It


Release Date: 29th October 2009 – Australia

Production Companies
Columbia Pictures (presents)

The Michael Jackson Company
(in association with)

AEG Live (in association with)

Distribution
Sony Pictures Australia


Genre: Documentary/Music

Rating: G

Runtime: 111 minutes

Budget: $60,000,000

Box Office Gross: $261,183,588 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Michael Jackson's "THIS IS IT" is a music documentary. Before his death in June 2009, the late King of Pop was planning for what should have been his comeback tour that would have taken place starting in the summer of

2009 in London's O2 Arena.

Documenting the final months of Jackson's life with behind-the-scenes footage, the film is a final tribute to the influential artist, consisting of rehearsals from Jackson and other performers.

Cast
Michael Jackson - Himself
Alex Al - Himself
Alexandra Apjarova - Herself
Nick Bass - Himself
Michael Bearden - Himself
Irina Brecher - Herself
Daniel Celebre - Himself
Mekia Cox - Herself
Chris Grant - Himself
Misha Gabriel Hamilton - Himself
Judith Hill - Herself
Dorian Holley - Himself
Devin Jamieson - Himself
Bashiri Johnson - Himself
Charles Klapow - Himself
Rachael Markarian - Herself
Jonathan Moffett - Himself
Tommy Organ - Himself
Orianthi - Herself
Kenny Ortega - Himself
Brittany Perry-Russell - Herself
Daryl Phinnessee - Himself
Mo Pleasure - Himself
Dres Reid - Himself
Daniella Rueda-Watts - Herself
Ken Stacey - Himself
Tyne Stecklein - Herself
Timor Steffens - Himself
Stacy Walker - Herself
Dreya Weber - Herself

Crew
Producer: Live Show/Choreographer/

Director - Kenny Ortega
Associate Producer/Musician: Keyboards/
Original Score Producer/Music - Michael Bearden

Associate Producer/Choreographer - Travis Payne
Associate Producer: Live Show - Alif Sankey
Executive Producers - John Branca
and John McClain

Producers: Live Show - Paul Gongaware,
John Meglen and Randy Phillips

Co-Producers - Frank DiLeo
and Chantal Feghali
Production Designers - Bernt Amadeus Capra
and Michael Cotton

Art Director - William Budge

Set Decorator - Donald Elmblad
Costume Designers - Michael Bush,
Jordanna Fineberg, Erin Lareau and
Dennis Tompkins
Costume Designer: Michael Jackson - Zaldy
Cameraman - Sandrine Orabona

Cameraman/Editor - Tim Patterson
Visual Effects Supervisors - Bruce Jones
and Sheena Duggal

Visual Effects Supervisor: Rising Sun Pictures -
Thomas Proctor
Producer: 2D/3D Film & Video Content,
Stimulated Inc. - Robb Wagner

Editors - Don Brochu, Brandon Key and
Kevin Stitt

Supervising Sound Editor - Tricia Linklater

Re-Recording Mixer - David Giammarco

Re-Recording/Music Mixer - Paul Massey
Audio Supervisor: Live Show/Supervising

Music Editor - Michael Durham Prince
Musician: Drums - Jonathan Moffett
Musician: Guitar - Tommy Organ
Musician: Bass - Alex Al


Review

I loved Michael Jackson, regardless of how some people feel about him or his personal life (like his rumoured disturbing behaviour towards young children). I loved every bit of his songs until his untimely death in 2009. It came as a shock to all of us, including fans. They were expecting to see his long-awaited concert tour, which never got around as he passed on. Many fans, critics and some of Jackson's relatives weren't happy that the rehearsal footage had gotten a theatrical release, which they felt was unnecessary for the King of Pop and made to cash in with his death.

Michael Jackson's "THIS IS IT" showed the making of what could have been his ultimate comeback to the music stage. The movie has remarkable vignettes and is a tribute to his exceptional dancing, incredible singing voice and musical skills. Even in his final moments, Michael Jackson performs with much vigour and energy and is still lively.

I enjoyed this film but not as much as listening to his songs and watching his music videos. This documentary is a special treat for fans of the late King of Pop. Trust me, it has entertainment value, and you know when you'll appreciate it.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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Astro Boy Review

Astro Boy

Release Date: 15th October 2009 – Australia

Production Companies

Imagi Animation Studios

Imagi Crystal

Summit Entertainment

Tezuka Productions

Distribution

Hoyts Distribution

Genre: Animation/Family/

Sci-Fi

Rating: PG

Runtime: 94 minutes


Budget: $65,000,000

Box Office Gross: $41,636,243 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Astro Boy is the story of
scientist Dr. Tenma, who
creates a young robot

called Astro Boy to

replace his lost son Toby.

Astro discovers

his incredible powers,

including rocket boosters,

armed laser cannons

and machine guns. Astro

embarks on a journey

when his father rejects

him because he is unlike

his real son. Astro flees

the floating Metro City to

the surface, where he

meets several companions,

including Cora and a dog

named Trashcan.

There is a conflict between
Astro and the Peacekeeper,
who is trying to steal the
energy-wielding Blue Core
from Astro, and they try to
destroy each other in Metro
City, causing much
destruction and mayhem.
Will Astro have what it

takes to bring down the

Peacekeeper with the

assistance of his

companions?

Voice Cast

Freddie Highmore – Astro
Boy/Toby Tenma

Nicolas Cage – Dr. Bill Tenma
Kristen Bell – Cora
Bill Nighy – Dr. Elefun/Robotsky

Donald Sutherland – President Stone
Samuel L. Jackson – Zog

Nathan Lane – Hamegg

Matt Lucas – Sparx

David Bowers – Mike the Fridge
Charlize Theron – 'Our Friends' Narrator
Eugene Levy – Orrin
Dee Bradley Baker – Trashcan
David Alan Grier – Mr. Squirt/

Math Cowboy/Boxer Robot
Alan Tudyk – Mr. Squeegee/Scrapheap

Head/Stinger Two
Newell Alexander – General Heckler
Moises Arias – Zane
Sterling Beaumon – Sludge
Madeline Carroll – Widget
Elle Fanning – Grace
Sofia Bowers – The Little Stinker

Nicole Fletcher – Oh No! Kid

Maryann Garger – Dr. Pigknuckle/

Newscaster (Cameo)

Tiffany Hillkurtz – Bride to Be (Cameo)

David Feiss – Cowboy Robot

Nicholas Guest – French Waiter Robot

Max Burkholder – Billy

Victor Bonavida – Sam

Steve Alterman – Press Secretary

Rif Hutton – Metro City Sergeant

Madeleine Russell – Metro City Girl

Pilar Flynn – Cora's Mom (Cameo)

Tony Matthews – Cora's Dad (Cameo)

Crew

Story/Writer/Director – David Bowers
"Astro Boy" Manga Creator – Osamu Tezuka

Writer – Timothy Harris

Additional Story Material – Colin Brady
Story Consultant – Michael Lachance
Executive Producers – Francis Kao,
Cecil Kramer, Ken Tsumura and Paul Wang

Line Producer – Pilar Flynn
Producer – Maryann Garger
Creative Consultants – Yoshihiro Shimizu
and Macoto Tezuka
Production Designer – Sam Michlap
Art Director – Jake Rowell

Head of Creative and Art – Felix Ip
Character Designer – Luis Grané
Costume Designer – Jane Poole

Head of Story – Kevin Johnson

Production Managers – Sefine Leung,

Tony Matthews and Emerald Wong

Head of Animation – Tim Cheung
Animation Directors – Jakob Hjort Jensen
and Kim Ooi
Supervising Animators – Lai Lok Chau,

Szeto Fai, Grass Cho, Wong Joe,

Kenneth Leung and Phoenix Wong

Director of Photography – Pepe Valencia

Visual Effects Supervisor – Yan Chen

Film Editor – Robert Anich

Additional Editor – John Venzon

Second Editor – Tiffany Hillkurtz

Supervising Sound Editor – Richard L. Anderson

Sound Mixers – James Bolt and

Nerses Gezalyan

Re-Recording Mixer – Elliot Tyson

Music – John Ottman

Review

If I remember correctly, ASTRO BOY was on Cartoon Network, and it made a difference for me to discover it came from Japan. That's how the term "anime" popped into my head. I watched the 80s and 2003 series and became aware of their history when it was the turning point for manga and anime. At 17 years old, I was vacationing in Hervey Bay, Queensland, when I first saw the movie, and it is not like the source material its creator, the late Osamu Tezuka, had conceived decades ago. It is the last animated feature produced by Imagi Animation Studios, and it's a shame that the animation studio won't be able to make another film after ASTRO BOY, which flopped hard financially and may have closed down the studio.

While ASTRO BOY has the heart and action of the manga and anime TV series, the film iteration could have been better in live-action and in the 3D aspect rather than animation. It would have made for a more appealing visual display. It has a lot of charm, albeit with some chuckles. All that is missing in the movie is a soul and an engaging plot, which would make it work. I'm slightly disappointed that the filmmakers had altered Astro's age into a 13-year-old. The CG animation is alright but needs anime-like qualities seen in the Japanese show. The actors Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy and others were well-chosen for the character roles that they were portraying.

The film certainly doesn't come across as loyal to the anime series, but it has its own story rather than an actual adaptation. Overall, it is a good movie for all ages and fans who have grown up watching Astro Boy.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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The Green Hornet Review

The Green Hornet

Release Date: 20th January 2011 – Australia

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures (presents)

Original Film

Distribution
Sony Pictures Australia

Genre: Action/Comedy

Rating: M

Runtime: 119 minutes

Budget: $120,000,000

Box Office Gross: $227,817,248 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

When a news magnate suddenly dies, his Playboy son Britt Reid inherits his publishing media empire and forms a friendship with one of his father's employees, Kato. Together, the pair finally find a purpose of altruism: they become vigilantes to rid the city of crime. Britt becomes the masked Green Hornet, and with Kato's help, they use their high-tech weaponry and skills of crime-fighting to take on the underworld crime boss, Chudnofsky.


Cast

Seth Rogen – Britt Reid/
The Green Hornet

Jay Chou – Kato

Christoph Waltz – Benjamin
Chudnofsky

Cameron Diaz – Lenore
''Casey'' Case

Tom Wilkinson – James Reid

Edward James Olmos – Mike Axford

Edward Furlong – Tupper

Analeigh Tipton – Ana Lee

David Harbour – D.A. Frank Scanlon
Jamie Harris – Popeye
Chad Coleman – Chili
Reuben Langdon – Crackhead
James Franco – Danny "Crystal" Clear (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew

Director – Michel Gondry

Based on the Radio Series – George W. Trendle and Fran Striker

Writers/Executive
Producers – Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg

Associate Producers – Leeann Stonebreaker and Lisa Rodgers

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager – Michael Grillo

Executive Producers – Ori Marmur and George W. Trendle Jr.

Producer – Neal H. Moritz

Co-Producer – Raffi Adlan

Casting Director – Francine Maisler

Production Designer – Owen Paterson

Illustrators – Jeff Julian,

Manuel Plank-Jorge and John Eaves

Supervising Art Director – Greg Papalia

Art Directors – Benjamin Edelberg,

Randy Moore and Chas S. Frey

Set Decorator – Ronald R. Reiss

Costume Designer – Kym Barrett

Costume Supervisor – Lisa Loovas

Director of Photography – John Schwartzman

Director of Photography: Second Unit –

Peter Lyons Collister

Location Manager – Mike Fantasia

First Assistant Directors – Michael Hausman

and Jonathan Watson

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator –

Vic Armstrong

Stunt Coordinator – Andy Armstrong

Fight Stunt Coordinator – Jeff Imada

Picture Car Coordinator – Dennis McCarthy

Special Effects Supervisor – John Frazier

Special Effects Coordinator – Jim Schwalm

and Scott Forbes

Visual Effects Supervisor – Jamie Dixon

Visual Effects Supervisor: Hammerhead

Productions – Justin Jones

Co-Visual Effects Supervisor: Hammerhead

Productions – Dan Levitan

Visual Effects Supervisor: CIS Vancouver –

Mark Breakspear

3D Visual Effects Supervisor: Venture 3D –

Bruce Jones

Visual Effects Producer – Camille Cellucci

Animation Supervisor: Luma Pictures –

Raphael A. Pimentel

Editor – Michael Tronick

Additional Editor – Evan Henke

First Assistant Editors – Aaron Brock and

Dylan Quirt

Supervising Sound Editors – Harry Cohen

and Wylie Stateman

Production Mixer – John Pritchett

Re-Recording Mixers – Jeffrey J. Haboush,

Greg P. Russell and Dennis S. Sands

Foley Artists – Gary A. Hecker

and Catherine Rose

Music – James Newton Howard

Music Editors – Carl Kaller and

Joe E. Rand

Score Recordists & Mixers – Shawn Murphy

and Joel Iwataki

Review

The film adaptation of THE GREEN HORNET had some okay elements, but overall, it felt like a complete mess. The movie's weak points include the storyline being a bit flat and Seth Rogen as the protagonist, bringing lowbrow humour and a lack of depth to what could have been a great character. It has shown that Rogen is not the ideal actor for that role. The movie relied upon its gratifying visual style from the director Michel Gondry. Jay Chou was exceptional as Kato, a character once portrayed by Bruce Lee in the classic TV series. His action scenes kept the audience's interest. This film includes several throwback references to the original franchise to entertain the Hornets.

THE GREEN HORNET is the first superhero movie I have ever reviewed. However, this interpretation could have been better if it had a better storyline and characterisation. The main hero would have been likable had it not been ruined by Seth Rogen's take on the character. Unfortunately, the feature holds no contest with the other rival superhero films.

Star rating: (3/5) Average

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Metro Cinema Re-Opened

Metro 5 Cinema reopens today after the ceiling collapsed in Cinema 3 on Sunday 2nd, January. But unfortunately, only two theatres are operating. As an incentive to movie fans, they're offering discounted tickets. To both 2D and 3D films until January 31st. See the website for details.

www.metrocinemas.com.au

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How to Train Your Dragon Review

How to Train Your Dragon

Release Date: 25th March 2010 – Australia

Production Companies

DreamWorks Animation (presents)

Mad Hatter Entertainment

Distribution

Paramount Pictures Australia

Genre: Animation/Family/

Fantasy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 98 minutes

Budget: $165,000,000

Box Office Gross: $494,879,471 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary
On the island of Berk, where Vikings rule the land, Hiccup, the son of the tribe's chief, desperately wants to kill a dragon to impress his father, who has low expectations of the scrawny youngster. When he captures a rare Night Fury dragon, he unexpectedly befriends the beast and starts on a journey to learn more about dragons beyond killing them.

Voice Cast

Jay Baruchel – Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Gerard Butler – Stoick the Vast

Craig Ferguson – Gobber the Belch

America Ferrera – Astrid Hofferson

Christopher Mintz-Plasse – Fishlegs Ingerman

Jonah Hill – Snotlout Jorgenson

T. J. Miller – Ruffnut Thorston
Kristen Wiig – Tuffnut Thorston
David Tennant – Spitelout

Crew

Screenplay/Directors – Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois

Based on the Book "How to Train Your Dragon" – Cressida Cowell
Screenplay – William Davies

Collaborating Writer – Marc Hyman (Uncredited)
Additional Screenplay

Material – Adam F. Goldberg (Uncredited)
Executive Producers – Kristine Belson and Tim Johnson

Producer – Bonnie Arnold
Co-Producers – Doug Davison, Roy Lee,
Michael A. Connolly and Karen Foster
Production Designer – Kathy Alteri

Art Director – Pierre-Olivier Vincent

Character Designers – Nicolas Marlet,

Ricardo F. Delgado, Takao Noguchi

and Tony Siruno

Head of Story – Alessandro Carloni

Head of Layout – Gil Zimmerman

Layout Supervisor – Melissa Beery

Production Managers – Jennifer Dahlman,

Lori Kornigiebel, Craig Rittenbaum and

Kate Spencer

Head of Character Animation – Simon Otto

Supervising Animators: "Hiccup" –

Jakob Hjort Jensen and David Torres

Supervising Animators: "Toothless" –

Cassidy Curtis and Gabe Hordos

Supervising Animator: "Astrid" – Steven Hornby

Supervising Animator: "Stoick" – Kristof Serrand

Supervising Animator: "Gobber" – Fabio Lignini

Character Technical Directors – Jeffrey B. Light

and Nathan Loofbourrow

Modelling Supervisor – Matthew Paulson

Head of Effects – Matt Baer

Visual Effects Supervisor – Craig Ring
Visual Consultant – Roger Deakins

Stereoscopic Supervisor – Phil 'Captain 3D' McNally

Editors – Maryann Brandon and
Darren T. Holmes

Additional Editor – John K. Carr

Associate Editors – Mary Blee,

Susan Fitzer and Mark A. Hester

Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor/
Re-Recording Mixer – Randy Thom

Sound Designer – Al Nelson

Supervising Sound Editor – Jon Null

Assistant Supervising Sound Editor –

Brian Chumney

Re-Recording Mixer – Gary A. Rizzo

Foley Mixer – Frank Rinella

Foley Artists – Dennie Thorpe and

Jana Vance

Music – John Powell

Score Mixer/Additional Score Recordist –

Shawn Murphy

Awards

2011 Academy Awards

Best Animated Feature – Chris Sanders

and Dean DeBlois (Nominated)

Best Original Score – John Powell (Nominated)

Review

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is a superb CGI animated film that was amazing in 3D. It was one of the first movies I saw in this format when I watched it for the second time. It has a familiar, heartwarming story that focuses on the relationship between the main hero, Hiccup, and the dragon, Toothless. When I looked at the latter character, his facial appearance reminded me of Stitch, which made sense when I learned that the two gentlemen who directed this movie also made Lilo & Stitch.

Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson and Jonah Hill were terrific in their voice acting for this movie. The animation is gorgeous, even for a film with interesting characters, witty dialogue and great action sequences (particularly the aerial battles). The music soundtrack by John Powell has turned out to be one of the best scores in an animated motion picture.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is dear to me as it is a feel-good animated feature that I regard as one of the greatest I have ever seen and will hold this superior status for decades. It is one of the best animated movies made by DreamWorks. I recommend this film highly.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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The Lion King (1994) Review

The Lion King

Release Date: 25th August 1994 – Australia

Production Companies

Walt Disney Pictures (presents)

Walt Disney Feature Animation (Uncredited)

Distribution

Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures Australia

Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 89 minutes


Budget: $45,000,000

Box Office Gross: $981,708,285 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

A young lion named Simba is born into the Pride Lands and is next in line to succeed his father as king. But when his evil uncle Scar has other plans to assume the throne, he tricks his nephew into believing that he caused his father's death and takes over the kingdom from him.

Now fleeing from his homeland, Simba is saved from certain doom by a lovable meerkat and warthog duo named Timon and Pumbaa, who teach him to live their carefree lifestyle of "Hakuna Matata" and ignore his responsibilities. As Simba matures, much

to his surprise, his friend

Nala returns to convince

him that he must return

to the Pride Lands to

face Scar and take his

place in the "Circle of

Life."

Voice Cast

Jonathan Taylor Thomas – Young Simba
Jason Weaver – Young Simba (singing voice)

Matthew Broderick – Adult Simba
Joseph Williams – Adult Simba (singing voice)
Jeremy Irons – Scar
James Earl Jones – Mufasa
Moira Kelly – Adult Nala
Sally Dworsky – Adult Nala (singing voice)
Niketa Calame – Young Nala

Laura Williams – Young Nala (singing voice)

Nathan Lane – Timon
Ernie Sabella – Pumbaa
Robert Guillaume – Rafiki
Rowan Atkinson – Zazu
Whoopi Goldberg – Shenzi
Cheech Marin – Banzai
Jim Cummings – Ed/Gopher/

Scar (singing voice) (in

last part of Be Prepared)

(Uncredited)

Madge Sinclair – Sarabi

Zoe Leader – Sarafina

Crew

Directors – Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff

Story – Burny Mattinson, Barry Johnson, Thom Enriquez, Gary Trousdale, Jim Capobianco, Kevin Harkey, Jorgen Klubien,

Tom Sito, Larry Leker,

Joe Ranft, Ed Gombert,

Francis Glebas and Mark Kausler

Story/Art Director – Andy Gaskill

Story/Production Designer – Chris Sanders
Story/Animator: Adult Simba – Lorna Cook

Additional Story Material – J.T. Allen,
George Scribner, Miguel Tejada-Flores,
Jenny Tripp, Bob Tzudiker, Christopher Vogler,

Kirk Wise and Noni White

Screenplay – Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts

and Linda Woolverton

Associate Producer – Alice Dewey Goldstone

Executive Producers – Thomas Schumacher

and Sarah McArthur

Producer – Don Hahn
Consultant: Wildlife – Jim Fowler

Live Lion and Animal Models – David J. McMillan

Live Lion and Animal Models: Cougar Hill

Ranch – Nicholas Toth

Artistic Coordinator – Randy Fullmer

Character Designers/Visual Development

Artists – Hans Bacher, Jean Gillmore,

Joe Grant, Mike Hodgson, Lisa Keene,

Sue C. Nichols, Mel Shaw, Bob Smith,

Bruce Zick and Vance Gerry (Uncredited)

Artistic Supervisor: Story – Brenda Chapman

Artistic Supervisor: Layout – Daniel St. Pierre
Artistic Supervisor: Layout, Florida – Robert Walker

Artistic Supervisor: Background – Doug Ball

Artistic Supervisor: Background, Florida –

Robert E. Stanton

Supervising Animator: "Young Simba" –

Mark Henn
Supervising Animator: "Adult Simba" –

Ruben A. Aquino
Supervising Animator: "Mufasa" – Tony Fucile
Supervising Animator: "Rafiki" – James Baxter
Supervising Animator: "Scar" – Andreas Deja
Supervising Animator: "Young Nala" –

Aaron Blaise
Supervising Animator: "Timon" – Michael Surrey
Supervising Animator: "Pumbaa" – Tony Bancroft
Supervising Animator: "Adult Nala" –

Anthony de Rosa
Supervising Animators: "Hyenas" – Dave Burgess

and Alex Kupershmidt
Supervising Animator: "Sarabi" – Russ Edmonds
Supervising Animator: "Zazu" – Ellen Woodbury

Additional Animators - Chris Bailey,

Ken Duncan, Raul Garcia and David Stephan

Artistic Supervisor: Clean-Up/Supervising

Character Lead: Additional: "Young Simba"/

Miscellaneous Characters – Vera Pacheco

Artistic Supervisor: Visual Effects/Effects

Animator – Dave Bossert

Artistic Supervisor: Visual Effects – Scott Santoro

Artistic Supervisor: Visual Effects, Florida –

Jeff Dutton

Artistic Supervisor: Computer Graphics Imagery –

Scott F. Johnson

Additional CGI Animation – Rob Bekuhrs,

Steve Goldberg and James Tooley

Supervising Editors – John Carnochan
and Tom Finan

Film Editor – Ivan Bilancio

Supervising Sound Editors – Richard L. Anderson

and Mark A. Mangini

Special Sound Effects – John Pospisil

Re-Recording Mixers – Terry Porter,

Mel Metcalfe and David J. Hudson

Foley Artists – John Roesch and

Hilda Hodges

Songs: Music/Performer: "Can You Feel the

Love Tonight" – Elton John

Songs: Lyrics – Tim Rice

Original Score Composer and Arranger/

Music Supervisor – Hans Zimmer

Additional Vocal Arranger/Composer: Additional

Music (Uncredited) – Mark Mancina

Choral Arranger/Conductor/Vocal Solos:

African Improvisations – Lebo M.

Choral Arranger/Conductor/Composer:
Additional Music (Uncredited) –

Nick Glennie-Smith

Awards

1995 Academy Awards
Best Original Score – Hans Zimmer (Won)
Best Original Song "Can You Feel the Love

Tonight" – Elton John and Tim Rice (Won)
----------------

Best Original Song "Circle of Life" – Elton John
and Tim Rice (Nominated)

Best Original Song "Hakuna Matata" – Elton John
and Tim Rice (Nominated)

Review

THE LION KING stands above the other Disney animated classics and is an epic, funny and majestic masterpiece unlike any other. It is also touching for anyone who watches this movie, particularly the sad scene where Mufasa dies. The movie's plot was loosely based on Hamlet by William Shakespeare, yet it also has similarities to Osamu Tezuka's anime series Kimba the White Lion. I have read an article saying that some people claimed the film was a ripoff of Tezuka's anime, but it is a mere coincidence. I loved everything in the movie, including my favourite moments like the famous "Circle of Life" opening and the wildebeest stampede.

The film is complemented by the brilliant voice acting of Jeremy Irons, who is deliciously sinister as Scar and Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella are funny as Timon and Pumbaa. Other talented actors, such as Matthew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg, James Earl Jones and others, also lend their impressive voice performances to the film. THE LION KING has a superb music score by Hans Zimmer and terrific songs by legendary pop musician Elton John, including the opening song, "Be Prepared", "Hakuna Matata", and my favourite, the Oscar-winning "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".

THE LION KING was my favourite feature film by Disney and the best 2D animated blockbuster of all time. I recommend it to anyone, young and old. The film and the 3D version are available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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