The Lion King, the movie, was perhaps the greatest animated film ever made. A deep intricate story involving betrayal, power fused with themes about growth, life and choice, coupled with extraordinary music and visuals, the film represented the Apex of Disney Studio’s creative genius. A film with this much going for it, and with a set of songs already written, demanded to be transferred to the stage. This past week in London, I finally got around to seeing what was a spectacular financial and critical success.

What impressed me the most was not the music (which was great) or the story (which was great) but the set design and choreography. The most impressive piece of set design and choreography is when Simba sees King Mufasa’s face in the water bowl. In the film we see Mufasa’s face shimmer in the stars. In this play we see Mufasa’s face shimmer on stage. And shimmer it did. The over-sized face that was put together like a set of Lego bricks, shimmered and gave the impression of floating in the water that Simba was looking at.

Worth every penny. The Lion King the Musical is great.