The Lion King

Watch The Lion King

"The greatest adventure of all is finding our place in the Circle of Life."
  • G
  • 1994
  • 1 hr 27 min
  • 8.5  (1,116,157)
  • 88


The Lion King takes place in the Pride Lands where a lion rules over the other animals as king. Rafiki, a mandrill, anoints Simba, the newborn cub of King Mufasa and Sarabi, and presents him to a gathering of animals at Pride Rock.
Mufasa takes Simba around the Pride Lands, teaching him about the "Circle of Life", the delicate balance affecting all living things. Simba's uncle Scar, who desires the throne for himself, tells him about the elephant graveyard, a place where Mufasa has warned Simba not to go. Simba asks his mother if he can go to the water-hole with his best friend, Nala. Their parents agree, but only if Mufasa's majordomo, the hornbill Zazu, goes with them. Simba and Nala elude Zazu's supervision and go to the graveyard instead. There, the cubs are met by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, spotted hyenas who try to kill them, but they are rescued by Mufasa, who was summoned by Zazu.


Meanwhile, Scar gains the loyalty of the hyenas by claiming that if he becomes king, they'll "never go hungry again." Some time later, Scar lures Simba into a gorge while the hyenas create a wildebeest stampede. Alerted by Scar, Mufasa races to rescue Simba from the stampede. He saves his son but is left clinging to the edge of a cliff, which results in Scar flinging him into the stampede below to his death. Simba is convinced by Scar that he himself was responsible for his father's death and goes into exile. Scar once again sends Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to kill Simba, but he escapes. Scar informs the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed in the stampede, and that he is assuming the throne as the next in line.


Simba is found unconscious by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat-warthog duo who adopt and raise the cub. When Simba has grown into an adult he is discovered by Nala. Simba shows Nala around his home and the two begin to fall in love. Nala then tells him that Scar has turned the Pride Lands into a barren wasteland; she asks Simba to return and take his place as king but Simba refuses. Rafiki arrives and persuades Simba to return to the Pride Lands, aided by Mufasa's presence in the stars.


Once back at Pride Rock, Simba (with Timon, Pumbaa and Nala) is horrified to see the condition of the Pride Lands. After seeing Scar strike his mother, Simba announces his return. In response, Scar tells the pride that Simba was responsible for Mufasa's death and corners Simba at the edge of Pride Rock. As Simba dangles over the edge of Pride Rock, Scar whispers to Simba that he killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba leaps up and pins Scar to the ground, forcing him to admit the truth to the pride. A raging battle then ensues between the hyenas and the lionesses which results in Simba cornering Scar. Begging for mercy, Scar blames the hyenas for Mufasa's death, but Simba orders Scar to go into exile. Scar pretends to leave but turns to attack Simba, resulting in a final duel. Simba triumphs over his uncle by flipping him over a low cliff. Scar survives the fall but finds himself surrounded by the now-resentful hyenas, who attack and devour him. The film concludes with the Pride Lands turning green with life again and Rafiki presenting Simba and Nala's newborn cub.

The Lion King is a 1994 kids & family movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 27 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 8.5 and a MetaScore of 88.

The Lion King
Description
Where to Watch The Lion King
The Lion King is available to watch, stream, download and buy, rent on demand at Disney+, Google Play, Apple TV, Amazon and Vudu. Some platforms allow you to rent The Lion King for a limited time or purchase the movie and download it to your device.
  • Release Date
    1994
  • MPAA Rating
    G
  • Runtime
    1 hr 27 min
  • Language
    English
  • IMDB Rating
    8.5  (1,116,157)
  • Metascore
    88