Product Details

• Actors: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Moira Kelly
• Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Box set, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• DVD Release Date: October 7, 2003
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (971 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008XEOI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,605 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Lion King (Disney Special Platinum Edition Collector's Gift Set)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Anybody who struts around with Simba's hard-won authority deserves this royal DVD read-along from Disney. Kids can recoil at Uncle Scar's dastardly deeds en español and discover that "hakuna matata" sounds pretty much the same in Spanish, French, Italian, or German. And should the dynamic storytelling fail to thrill your 4- to 12-year-old fan, a flurry of other interactive options await. Toggle to "Songs" for sing-along renditions of movie hits, including "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," and on to "Music Videos," where Elton John roars soundtrack favorites "Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and Jimmy Cliff and Lebo M groove to "Hakuna Matata." The "Vocabulary" feature allows for see-and-say mastery of a list of wildlife, while the "Game" section allows players to match paw and hoof prints to the proper beast and reassemble the scattered skeletal remains of an elephant. Original cast voices are featured, and grownups will be pleased by the package's reading component. --Tammy La Gorce

DVD features

How good-looking is the restoration of Disney's popular animated film? Take a look at the serviceable but dull film clips incorporated in the plethora of extras and compare them to the vivid gorgeousness of the film presentation. This "special edition" also adds a 90-second song ("Morning Report") that originated in the lavish stage musical. To Disney's credit, the original theatrical version is also included, both restored and featuring two 5.1 soundtracks: Dolby Digital and a new Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix, which does sound brighter. As with the Disney Platinum line, everything is thrown into the discs, except an outsider's voice (the rah-rahs of Disney grow tiresome at times). The excellent commentary from the directors and producer, originally on the laser disc, is hidden under the audio set-up menu.

The second disc is organized by 20-minute-ish "journeys" tackling the elements of story, music, et cetera, including good background on the awkward Shakespearean origins at Disney where it was referred as "Bamlet." The most interesting journey follows the landmark stage production, and the kids should be transfixed by shots of the real African wildlife in the animal journey. Three deleted segments are real curios, including an opening lyric for "Hakuna Matata." Most set-top DVD games are usually pretty thin (DVD-ROM is where it's at), but the Safari game is an exception--the kids should love the roaring animals (in 5.1 Surround, no less). One serious demerit goes to the needless and complicated second navigation system that is listed by continent, but just shows the same features reordered. --Doug Thomas

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, buy it., September 29, 2003

By 

Gaijin "on the rock that spews lava.." (Hilo, HI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Lion King (Two-Disc Platinum Edition) (DVD)

Disney's The Lion King is finally available on DVD. Considered the cream of the crop of all the Disney animated features by many, it is definitely worth owning. I don't think I'll go into the story, which I'm sure most of you know. Chances are you've already seen the movie and are just waiting to own it on a piece of media that won't rot like your VHS tape that probably fell apart by now. Even if Disney released a sub par release of this movie, you'd buy it.
Luckily, this is one of the best releases ever.

Video and Audio is supreme in this release. Especially vibrant is the 5.1 sound. Of all the older Disney releases, this one benefits the most I think, with the powerful music and sound effects present in this release. Hearing James Earl Jones as Mufasa blaring in thunderous 5.1 sound is quite amazing. Likewise the excellent music, such as the opening Circle of Life. Present in this release is the original theatrical version as well as a version with new music/song. I actually didn't care for the new song, but some may. The extras are quite numerous, contained on a second DVD and are mentioned in Amazon's product details...I haven't had the time to go through them yet, so I cannot comment on the extras. I just watched the movie again. To be honest, the movie would be worth it as a single disc release so I'm happy as it is.

Some interesting trivia for some of the people who are not aware of it is that The Lion King seemed to be heavily "influenced" by an old Japanese anime, Kimba The White Lion. Those wishing to see the "similarities" would do well to check out that series as it has also been released on DVD. Carbon copying aside, I do love the Lion King. It still manages to grab you whether you are 4 years old or 40. Two thumbs up!!

63 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars probably THE BEST ANIMATED FILM !, October 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lion King [VHS] (VHS Tape)

After the movie Little Mermaid came out, Disney would make 3 other animated masterpieces: Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, that would change the way we looked at animated films, somthing new, something wonderful.But of all these 4 great animated films, in my opinion The Lion King was the greatest. The music was just, beautiful, and Scar was probably the most EVIL Disney villain the was ever drawn on a piece of paper.You hated him, but you almost liked him, because he was so great. But probably the best part of the movie was Simba's pal's Pumbaa and Timon, the BEST Disney characters EVER!!! The scene where Timon was doing the hula, I thought I was going to die from laughing. Anybody from toddler to 10 year old to 60 year from boy to old woman to teenager and so forth will, without a doubt, LOVE this movie, everyone.

65 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Movie 5 stars, 3D -- only about a 2.5, October 22, 2011

By 

prussianette - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Lion King (Four-Disc Diamond Edition Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) (Blu-ray)

I own a quite a few 3D movies, so perhaps my expectations were too high, but despite some stellar reviews on the 3D on this product by some other reviewers, I have to tell you the quality is FAR less than made-for-3D movies such as Despicable Me.

Do you remember those "3D" games/cartoons where the "3D" effect as you were supposedly either walking, or in a car, going along the road was the part closest to you moved slow, then there was a part in the middle that moved a bit faster, and then the part near the top of the screen moved the fastest? This is only a step above that. It is more like layered 2D images than true 3D. Yes, there are a few parts where true 3D is apparent, but those are few and far between.

Sorry, I can't help but think that some of the people have either let their love of the movie color their perception of what good 3D looks like, or they simply do not have many 3D movies to compare to.

I actually found the 2D blu-ray disc, or even the regular dvd more appealing, or at least less distracting. One thing I noticed in all three versions that I didn't notice before was that the grass in the movie doesn't move when the animals walk through it. Although I didn't pick up on this when I saw the movie when it first came out, it was one of the things that was painfully apparent in the 3D, and far less apparent in the 2D versions.

And, yes, I know there are people that will disagree with me and mark my review as "not helpful", but I have to call it as I see it.