What is the iRankMovies score for The Lion King?

Name: The Lion King
Director: Roger Allers
Genre: animation, drama, family
Released: 1994
Duration: 1 h 29 min
Rating: 8.5

The Lion King has an iRankMovies score of 87.1/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

The Lion King (1994)

The greatest adventure of all is finding our place in the Circle of Life.

Release:1994

Runtime:1h 29m

Country:United States

Director:Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff

Language:English

Genre

AnimationDramaFamily

See the best animation movies →

Keywords

Father MurderLoss Of Loved OneAfricaLionCartoonManipulationvillainredemption

iRank87

The Lion King rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8.5/10· 1.2M votes

Rotten Tomatoes92%

Metacritic88%

TMDb8.254/10· 20K votes

With 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8.5/10 on IMDb and 88/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About The Lion King

Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.

Cast of The Lion King

Matthew Broderick
as Simba (voice)
Moira Kelly
as Nala (voice)
Jeremy Irons
as Scar (voice)
Nathan Lane
as Timon (voice)
Ernie Sabella
as Pumbaa (voice)
James Earl Jones
as Mufasa (voice)
Robert Guillaume
as Rafiki (voice)
Rowan Atkinson
as Zazu (voice)
Jim Cummings
as Ed (voice)
Whoopi Goldberg
as Shenzi (voice)
Cheech Marin
as Banzai (voice)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
as Young Simba (voice)

The Lion King facts

Budget: $45M
Box office: $763.5M
Collection: The Lion King Collection

Our take on The Lion King

Disney's 1994 animated landmark follows the lion cub Simba from heir to exile to king, after his villainous uncle Scar engineers his father's death. With its Shakespearean shape, indelible songs and sweeping savanna grandeur, it became a defining film for a generation. If its emotional sweep and music swept you up, the Disney animated classics and grand coming-of-age adventures share its heart and spectacle.

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•Epic scope and ambition elevated animation to cinematic status
•Coming-of-age journey resonates emotionally across multiple age groups
•Iconic musical numbers define generational cultural touchstone moments

What the audience disliked

•Villain archetype borders on stereotypical lacking complex motivation
•Simplistic moral framework limits thematic sophistication compared contemporary

Saga: The Lion King Collection