Customer Reviews

The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(90)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As an owner of the Special Edition Lion King DVD, I was at first quite curious to see that there was a Special Edition Lion King CD as well as I coudln't imagine what they would have put on here. But besides a fancy package and the inclusion of the over hyped "Morning Report" song that is found in said special edition DVD there is really very little to make this a 'Special Edition' CD. Yes they have a remix of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" by the writer of the song and famous musican Elton John, Which isn't bad, but still is this enough to warrent a whole new CD that has exactly what the original soundtrack has on it besides? I would have to say yes and no.

A yes, if you never bought the orignial soundtrack and just got into the music and movie with the rerelease of the DVD. It's a great buy as you get the new song you will have heard as well as all the original songs that fill this movie.

A no, if you like millions of people own the original soundtrack and aren't that crazy about a very short song of the "Morning Report" and can't get all excited about a CD having 3 versions of the same song on it.

It still is a great overall soundtrack though. It has "Circle of Life", "I Can't Wait to Be King" "Hakuna Matata" and all the other songs you will remember from the movie. It has the insturmentals and the Elton John versions of the main songs from the movie. The only special thing though is the addition of two songs and one of them being short and isn't even that thrilling.

So the choice is yours. If you already own this it isn't worth buying again. You can hear the Morning Report in the DVD version and not feel like this is a must have either way. If you have never had this before definitely get this as you may as well get extra songs to listen to if you are going to get the soundtrack anyway.

It is very disapointing that Disney didn't go more out here to truly make this a special edition for Lion King fans. Like maybe putting the edited out part that Timon had in Hakuna Matata that we find in deleted scenes on the DVD, or the Timon version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" Just something to really add something new and "SPECIAL" to this CD. It comes off more as a cheap ploy to milk more money on things people have by making them want to buy it again and all I can say is get this if you don't have the original soundtrack already but otherwise don't bother as it just doesn't offer enough that is differnet or truly special.

My father bought me the initial edition of this soundtrack when I was an 8-year-old pupil, and I was attracted by it, then I listened to it before I went to bed every night. After The Lion King's platinum edition series have been published, I bought the DVD, and also collected this special edition soundtrack. In fact, the songs in this special edition soundtrack are not very different from the ones in the initial, except the new song "The Morning Report". But I think this special edition soundtrack is really collectable to Lion King fans.
Actually, till today, I can't say which song is the theme song of this movie, "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" or "Circle of Life"? They're both so good and very famous, they have wonderful melody and excellent backgroud music. "Circle of Life" has faithful and beautiful lyric that tell us the endlessness and strength of life. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" has romantic lyric, and the romantic atmosphere often attract our attention and will always be remembered by everyone. When I was young, the song "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" was the most impressive and attractive to me. Maybe it was because that I was at the age of Simba and had the emotions and thoughts that Simba had. Besides, the tune and vocals of this song are great and funny. "Be Prepare" is a good song too, it expressed the absolute careerism of Scar, the rhythm and musical instruments that used are good and suitable. "Hakuna Matata" is a very humorous and comical song, it makes me feels that leading a problem-free life is wonderful. The new song "The Morning Report" is funny, but I think Simba's dubber in this song was not very good, the voice was too different from the initial dubber's of Simba. The scores are so glorious, sometimes I think they feel like symphony! I love "To Die For" and "King of Pride Rock" very much. "To Die For" is so powerful, while "King of Pride Rock" is very inspired, especially the last several seconds that the chorus sang "Circle of Life", it's so beautiful!
Well, when I'm listening to this special edition soundtrack, my emotions and feelings are a little different from that I had about 11 years ago when I first listened to the initial edition, though the songs are almost the same. Maybe it's because that I just enjoyed myself when I was first listening to it 11 years ago, but now, I can often recall many good memories in my childhood when I'm listening to this, including the laughter and tears when I first watched this glorious movie. This soundtrack is a great thing to who was moved by "The Lion King" and love it so much.

Lion King is a great movie with great music! First there's the full-of-spirit "Circle of Life", performed by the wonderful Carmen Twillie and Lebo M., and another version performed by Elton John, as well. Then there's the lively "I Just Can't Wait To Be King", performed by Jason Weaver, Rowan Atkinson as Zazu and Laura Williams as Nala. "Be Prepared" is the song that warns us about Simba's evil uncle's plans of becoming king. "Hakuna Matata" will always be a classic,with Timon and Pumbaa telling about how to live a worry-free life. And the lovely "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" as a perfect love song, also performed beautifully by Elton John. It's a great soundtrack for fans of the movie or beautiful music!

( im not a kid, i just don't want to give my email )
I have read probably every review on this soundtrack and on the other lion king soundtrack, and i see everyone talking about the songs like "cant wait to be king","can you feel the love tonight" and all those other songs with lyrics and how good they are blah blah blah.

I think the true spirit and grace of this album comes COMPLETELY from mista Hans Zimmer.
Only 4 tracks!!!??? i think thats a crime, and he should've said something. I own almost every one of his soundtracks and the lion kings is one of (if not THE best) soundtrack he's made. There was just to little. I think they should have made a completely seperate soundtrack for JUST HIS music, and the music from the EXPANDED scores, which i thought was screwed up becuase i REALLY like the music when simba and scar fought, and now i can't get it. Turst me, if he put ALL his songs on one album, it would be quite a decent size soundtrack and worth EVERY penny from every lion king fan out there. Zimmer was underated on this one, simple as that. So for all you out there who listen to nothing but the Elton John stuff etc.m instead try listening to tracks:
6. This Land, 8. Under the Stars,...and
YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST listen to the End of 9.King of Pride Rock
fast forward to 4:18 into the song for (in my opinion) the most powerful and beatiful part of the WHOLE album.
You'll remeber the scene from the movie INSTANTLY, trust me ;)
Listen to those tracks, and you'll understand Zimmer's true gift of expression through the sound of music.
( i would give ZIMMER'S songs 1000/5 stars if i could :P )

I loved this soundtrack. The music from "The Lion King" movie is really wonderful. The music is very easy to memorize and it just stays in your head forever because it is very catchy. "The Lion King" itself was a brillent masterpiece, and so is this soundtrack. If you liked the movie (or loved it) then you will fall in love with the soundtrack. It is exactly like the movie-there's no change to it. And Elton John's voice and Tim Rice's music comes from the very deepest heart and soul. They fill these songs with emotion, and you will remember every part of the movie for years to come just by listening to this soundtrack. Elton John and Tim Rice work brillently together-this is probably their best work ever created!

When I was 13, I watched the movie and until that time, I've been listening only Pop-Music without knowing what I'm missing. This score and songs were that brilliant, so I only listened to this CD for 1.5 years. Then I bought all Disney Soundtracks and I can easily say that The Lion King is the best Disney music ever. There's no second I can say "in average". Every single second is worth to listen again and again. I cannot tell more with words, buy this CD and feel it. Thanks to you Elton John, Tim Rice and especially Hans Zimmer for changing me so much.

Disney has a talent for creating entertaining and stunningly produced music. Sometimes soundtracks to their films are extremely childish, but I feel the Lion King is their masterpiece. This soundtrack is far more worth the money than the special edition one, which has the disgusting track "the morning report". The lyrical pieces are touching and hold lines that I feel only adults could truly see the humor in. The instrumental pieces are sweeping and emotional, stunning on many levels. Elton John's personal reditions are also beautiful. I would rate this soundtrack 10 out of 5 if I could because it is an amazing album and I suggest it to old and young alike.

As you probably know, "The Lion King" is one of Disney's most popular movies. The soundtrack has been acclaimed for years as being one of the best ever for an animated film.

The five songs that were featured in the movie are good, to be sure. "Be Prepared" is arguably the best song Disney has ever given one of its villians to sing, and "Hakuna Matata" makes the transition from Simba's youth to adulthood very smooth. I've always felt that the songs in "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast" were better, but the songs from "The Lion King" are still among Disney's best.

The instrumental material is even stronger. The four tracks are instantly recognizable as being from "The Lion King." Sweeping, majestic, beautiful...Those words describe the tracks without exaggeration. They fit perfectly into the movie, but it's nice to know that they still sound great without the accompanying animation.

Unfortunately, the new material on the soundtrack isn't as successful as the original songs. "The Morning Report" grows old very quickly, and the Simba/Mufasa dialogue doesn't fit into the song very well. SImba's vocals are even more irritating, but that is mostly due to the fact that he suddenly sounds feminine. That wouldn't be a problem, but his voice doesn't sound at all like it did in "Hakuna Matata" or "I Just Can't Wait to Be King." The third version of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" isn't a justifiable addition; it wasn't featured anywhere in the movie, and we didn't need two versions of the Elton John cover to begin with.

The Elton John songs don't fit with the rest of the tracks and I've always felt that they detract from the album. They're at the CD's end, though, so they're easy to skip.

All in all, this is one of Disney's strongest soundtracks. The new songs don't warrant a purchase if you own the original, but for anyone else, the CD is well worth your money.

I'm French but I don't want to listen nor watch the score or the movie in french! Why? Well because, it is not well sung, Simba's young voice is heard like a baby's voice who cannot even sing, the lyrics are very poor and mean nothing: they are not well searched as the lyrics in English so they are not original, the voices are stupid and it doesn't even make me laugh when there's a gag!

But in English... WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
Awesome it is, the voices are 10 000 000 better, all the songs are great, the lyrics too, thanks to Mr Elton John and Mr Tim Rice! It makes me cry, it makes me laugh and Simba's young voice is so tuneful, it looks like a teen's voice instead of Simba's awful French voice! The score is magnificent and powerful! It describes all the feelings of the characters and it touches us very deeply in our heart. And the African choir, WOW! We would think ourselves in the savana! It brings a bonus to the score and always reminds us were in Africa!

So, buy it and don't listen to the French one!

There are four Disney animated masterpieces that stand out as my favorites. They are Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Lion King. Perhaps not coincidentally, I also see them as the four Disney movies with the best music in them. But Lion King stands out for one reason; because the only reason I like Disney movie scores is because of the composer Alan Menken, and the only reason Disney deserves any praise for its use of music is Alan Menken.
With the exception of THIS score.
The themes are breathtakingly beautiful. All of the music takes you staight to Africa. There are only four tracks of score, but each one is powerful in its own way. I especially love "...To Die For" and the Danny Elfman-like eeriness in the middle of "King of Pride Rock." For not being Alan Menken...Alan who?...and for this being his first try with Disney, Hans Zimmer did an amazing job on the score.
To say something about the "sing-along" songs by our favorite rock and roll writer Elton John, I was surprised to find which of the songs I liked the best. The part of the movie when the characters sing "Hakuna Matata" is not usually the most exciting scene for me now that I`ve seen it a million times, but as soon as I started listening to the song on the CD I really heard it like I never had before. Listening to that song automatically makes me happy, no matter what. "It means no worries, for the rest of your days...our problem-free philosophy..." How can it not cheer you up? Plus the singing of both the young and grown-up Simba in that song is very well-done. This song plus the four tracks of the score make the whole soundtrack well worth a five-star rating.