Editing The Lion King (section)

===Critical response {{anchor|Critics}}===
''The Lion King'' was widely praised by film critics upon release.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dargis |first=Manohla |author-link=Manohla Dargis |date=December 19, 2024 |title='Mufasa: The Lion King' Review: Squeaking, Not Roaring |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/movies/mufasa-the-lion-king-review.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250101152049/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/movies/mufasa-the-lion-king-review.html |archive-date=January 1, 2025 |access-date=January 21, 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |quote=The first movie ... opened in 1994 to acclaim}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Keeley |first=Pete |date=July 22, 2019 |title=Big Little Lions: Disney's New 'Lion King' Dodges the 'Kimba' Similarity Issue |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lion-king-kimba-white-lion-does-disney-need-come-clean-1225822/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241218193819/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lion-king-kimba-white-lion-does-disney-need-come-clean-1225822/ |archive-date=December 18, 2024 |access-date=January 21, 2025 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |quote=On June 24, 1994, Walt Disney Pictures released The Lion King to rapturous audiences and even more rapturous critical acclaim}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lachnit |first=Carroll |date=July 2, 1994 |title='Lion King' Too Violent for Little Viewers? : Movies: Disney's opus has violence, treachery and a prolonged scene of a parent's death. Be prepared to face the wails of your children, some reviewers say. Bosh, say psychologists. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-02-ca-11169-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709212733/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-02-ca-11169-story.html |archive-date=July 9, 2022 |access-date=January 21, 2025 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |quote=glowing reviews for “The Lion King,”}}</ref> On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''The Lion King'' has an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} with an average score of {{RT data|average}}, based on {{RT data|count}} reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Emotionally stirring, richly drawn, and beautifully animated, ''The Lion King'' stands tall within Disney's pantheon of classic family films."<ref>{{cite Rotten Tomatoes|title=The Lion King (1994) |id={{RT data|rtid|noprefix=y}}|type=m|access-date={{RT data|access date}} |archive-date=September 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916175141/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_lion_king |url-status=live }}{{RT data|edit}}</ref> It also ranked 56th on Rotten Tomatoes' "Top 100 Animation Movies".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Top 100 Animation Movies&nbsp;— Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/top_100_animation_movies |work=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=May 9, 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923072035/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/top_100_animation_movies |archive-date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> At [[Metacritic]], which uses a [[Weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average]], the film received a score of 88 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref name="meta">{{cite Metacritic |id=the-lion-king |type=movie |title=The Lion King (1994) |access-date=December 12, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914212531/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-lion-king |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a rare "A+" grade on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Pamela |last=McClintock |title=Why CinemaScore Matters for Box Office |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/why-cinemascore-matters-box-office-225563/ |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=August 19, 2011 |access-date=July 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719145918/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/why-cinemascore-matters-box-office-225563/ |archive-date=July 19, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film three and a half stars out of a possible four and called it "a superbly drawn animated feature". He further wrote in his print review, "The saga of Simba, which in its deeply buried origins owes something to Greek tragedy and certainly to ''Hamlet'', is a learning experience as well as an entertainment."<ref name="tlkebertreview">{{cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=June 24, 1994 |title=The Lion King review |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-lion-king-1994 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708195259/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-lion-king-1994 |archive-date=July 8, 2014 |access-date=April 14, 2014 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |via=[[RogerEbert.com]] |quote=Basically what we have here is a drama, with comedy occasionally lifting the mood.}}</ref> On the television program ''[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|Siskel & Ebert]]'', the film was praised but received a mixed reaction when compared to the previous Disney films. Ebert and his partner [[Gene Siskel]] both gave the film a "Thumbs Up", but Siskel said that it was not as good as ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' and that it was "a good film, not a great one".<ref>{{cite episode|first=Roger (host)|last=Ebert|first2=Gene (host)|last2=Siskel|url=https://siskelebert.org/?p=5412|title=Speed, The Lion King, The Endless Summer II, City Slickers II|series=Siskel & Ebert|season=8|number=39|date=June 11, 1994|access-date=September 30, 2020|via=SiskelEbert.org|url-status=live|archive-date=September 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928081712/https://siskelebert.org/?p=5412}}</ref> Hal Hinson of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called it "an impressive, almost daunting achievement" and felt that the film was "spectacular in a manner that has nearly become commonplace with Disney's feature-length animations". However, he was less enthusiastic toward the end of his review saying, "Shakespearean in tone, epic in scope, it seems more appropriate for grown-ups than for kids. If truth be told, even for adults it is downright strange."<ref name="washingtonpost">{{cite news|last=Hinson|first=Hal|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 24, 1994|title=The Lion King review|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/review96/lionkinghin.htm|access-date=August 6, 2008|archive-date=November 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103221120/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/review96/lionkinghin.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' praised the film, writing that it "has the resonance to stand not just as a terrific cartoon but as an emotionally pungent movie".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Gleiberman|first=Owen|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=June 24, 1994|title=''The Lion King'' movie review|url=https://www.ew.com/article/1994/06/24/lion-king-0|access-date=August 12, 2008|archive-date=June 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617124341/http://www.ew.com/article/1994/06/24/lion-king-0|url-status=live}}</ref>
''[[Rolling Stone]]'' film critic [[Peter Travers]] praised the film and felt that it was "a hugely entertaining blend of music, fun, and eye-popping thrills, though it doesn't lack for heart".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Travers|first=Peter |magazine=Rolling Stone|date=July 14, 1994| title=''The Lion King'' movie review|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947315/review/5947316/the_lion_king|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080429201931/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947315/review/5947316/the_lion_king|archive-date=April 29, 2008|url-status=dead| access-date=August 13, 2008}}</ref> [[James Berardinelli]] from [[Reelviews.net]] praised the film saying, "With each new animated release, Disney seems to be expanding its already-broad horizons a little more. ''The Lion King'' is the most mature (in more than one sense) of these films, and there clearly has been a conscious effort to please adults as much as children. Happily, for those of us who generally stay far away from 'cartoons', they have succeeded."<ref>{{cite web| last=Berardinelli| first=James| publisher=[[Reelviews.net]]| title=''The Lion King'' review| url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/l/lion_king.html| access-date=August 13, 2008| archive-date=December 1, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201235129/https://preview.reelviews.net/movies/l/lion_king.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

Steve Pond of ''The Washington Post'' reported that ''The Lion King'' failed to replicate the near-unanimous acclaim achieved by some of its predecessors.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pond |first=Steve |date=December 26, 1994 |title=1994: A Soft-Focus Kind of Year |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/12/27/1994-a-soft-focus-kind-of-year/564b34eb-2f51-4f58-9df8-526c2e545933/ |url-access=registration |access-date=January 21, 2024 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Some reviewers still had problems with the film's narrative. [[Kenneth Turan]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' felt the film "is less of a piece than its revered predecessors and the first to have a core story noticeably less involving than its scintillating peripheral characters."<ref>{{cite news |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-15-ca-4277-story.html |title=Movie Review: 'The Lion King' and His Court Jesters |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 15, 1994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720153929/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-15-ca-4277-story.html |archive-date=July 20, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[TV Guide]]'' wrote that while ''The Lion King'' was technically proficient and entertaining, it "offers a less memorable song score than did the previous hits, and a hasty, unsatisfying dramatic resolution."<ref>{{cite web| work=[[TV Guide]]| title=''The Lion King'' movie review| url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/lion-king/review/129956/| access-date=August 13, 2008| archive-date=May 22, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522154235/http://www.tvguide.com/movies/lion-king/review/129956| url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The New Yorker]]''{{'}}s Terrence Rafferty considered that despite the good animation, the story felt like "manipulat[ing] our responses at will", as "Between traumas, the movie serves up soothingly banal musical numbers and silly, rambunctious comedy".<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|author=Rafferty, Terrence| title=''The Lion King'' movie review|url=https://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/the_lion_king_minkoff| access-date=August 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218132505/https://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/the_lion_king_minkoff |archive-date=December 18, 2008 |url-status=dead |url-access=limited}}</ref>