The artistic skills of the illustrators bring the characters to life. Such as the playful Simba seem to jump out of the book. You can feel the hot breath of the evil Scar when he roars maliciously. You can hear Rafiki the mandrill laugh cheekily.
The wise King Mufasa teaches his son about this wonderful place that revolves in a circle of life. Simba realises that family and friends are more important than power and succession. He realises that mistakes occur everyday and it is better to fix the problem rather than ignore it.
At the beginning of the story, Rafiki the mandrill shaman presents Simba, the newborn cub of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, to a gathering of animals at Pride Rock. Meanwhile, Mufasa's younger brother, Scar, realizes that he is no longer the heir to the throne and plots to kill Simba and Mufasa.
Later, Scar lures Simba into a gorge for a surprise from his father while the hyenas engineer a wildebeest stampede down into the gorge where Simba is. Mufasa rescues his son from the stampede, but after an attempted climb to safety, Scar throws him back into the stampede to his death. Scar makes Simba believe that he was responsible for his father's death.Tricked into thinking he killed his father; a guilt ridden lion cub flees into exile and abandons his identity as the future King.
Simba collapses in a distant desert while running away, where he is found by Pumbaa the warthog and Timon the meerkat. The two pair raises Simba in the jungle. Living by the motto “Hakuna Matata”, you will get a giggle at their hilarious, fun-filled adventure.
This book has been rated as five stars by major publishing houses. It is considered a very good book and it is recommended for young readers. Ideally, the target audience for this book would be ages 5 - 11 although some older children and adults love this book for its storyline and illustrations.
This is one of the greatest books of all times. It has a good meaning and a great story plot. It had brilliant pictures that seem to be more alive than the usual pictures in other books. No matter how many times I watch or read the book, I still have a remarkable feeling about it.
References
http://www.amazon.com/Disneys-Lion-King-Disney-Classic/dp/1570820872
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_King
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/
