The Lion King (2019)

The Lion King rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb6.8/10· 290K votes

Rotten Tomatoes52%

Metacritic55%

TMDb7.097/10· 11K votes

With 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 6.8/10 on IMDb and 55/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been mixed.

About The Lion King

Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

Cast of The Lion King

• 

  Chiwetel Ejiofor

  as Scar (voice)

• 

  John Oliver

  as Zazu (voice)

• 

  Donald Glover

  as Simba (voice)

• 

  James Earl Jones

  as Mufasa (voice)

• 

  John Kani

  as Rafiki (voice)

• 

  Alfre Woodard

  as Sarabi (voice)

• 

  Beyoncé

  as Nala (voice)

• 

  JD McCrary

  as Young Simba (voice)

• 

  Shahadi Wright Joseph

  as Young Nala (voice)

• 

  Penny Johnson Jerald

  as Sarafina (voice)

• 

  Keegan-Michael Key

  as Kamari (voice)

• 

  Eric André

  as Azizi (voice)

The Lion King facts

Budget

$260M

Box office

$1.7B

Collection

The Lion King (Reboot) Collection

Our take on The Lion King

Jon Favreau's 2019 version retells the familiar coming-of-age fable using photoreal digital animation that makes its African savanna and animal cast look startlingly lifelike. Young lion Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and embraces his royal destiny—until his uncle Scar, the throne's bitter former heir, sets a plan of betrayal in motion that leads to tragedy and exile. Guided by a pair of unlikely new friends, Simba must grow up and reclaim what's rightfully his. It works best for families and viewers curious how the story translates into near-live-action realism; those attached to the traditional hand-drawn style can weigh that against the technical spectacle here.