Leo the Lion: King of the Jungle (1994)
Leo is the lion king of the jungle, but unfortunately he doesn't know well what a king's job is. He believes it is his right to do as he pleases, even if it means disrupting the peace of others or being plain rude to them, as a king, Leo thinks everyone should look out for his well-being and comfort. One day, Leo meets a lion cub named Tooey whose mother has been recently taken away and who comes to Leo for help, being as selfish as he is, Leo turns the young lion away. However, after several different adventures, Leo learns what his place as a king is and how he must behave and treat the creatures who have almost lost all faith in him. Leo rallies the jungle animals to the rescue, and in the epilogue, the narrator Michael Donovan says that Leo asked Tooey's mother to be his queen, and the cub himself grew into a strong young lion, now called Leo II and one day he would be the Jungle King.
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I love this movie so much
It is a performances centric movie
Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
I had very fond memories of Leo the Lion as a kid, and while it is not quite as good as I remembered it is one of Jetlag's better efforts. I do prefer Heidi, Magic Gift of the Snowman, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella(all of which held up watching them again from an adult perspective), but I also find it superior to A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland, Jungle Book and Hunchback of Notre Dame(neither are unwatchable though, just left wanting). Leo the Lion is not perfect, the weakest asset being the animation quality, which I found uneven. I liked the colourful backgrounds, but the character design and movements were jerky and could have done with being much more graceful. However, things more than make up for that, because the characters are actually likable- true the villains are on the clichéd side but that is hardly the first case for an animation- and the voice acting is much better than the likes of Snow White and Alice in Wonderland, much more empathetic and not as corny. The story has a couple of predictable spots, but at least there is one, that it doesn't try too hard and it is mostly engaging for primarily the target audience. The writing is simple, but again unlike A Christmas Carol and Alice in Wonderland doesn't feel overly-so, some of it is quite witty. The best asset of Leo the Lion is the soundtrack, the score is alongside Heidi and The Nutcracker one of their best individual scores with some both rousing and whimsical moments. The three songs are really well done also, with Jetlag either all three are great(Magic Gift of the Snowman), two are great but one not so much(Hunchback of Notre Dame) or there is just one song that sticks out(A Christmas Carol), or there are one or two Jetlags where the singing could have been much better(Hercules). Leo the Lion is one of those cases of all three songs working. King of the Jungle is very upbeat and catchy, and I'm a Really Nice Guy makes its point across and does move the story forward. I'm Alone, emphasising Tooey's loneliness, is effective in its poignancy. In a nutshell, I liked Leo the Lion actually, it's not perfect and perhaps not Jetlag's very best but it doesn't deserve I feel to be disregarded as a cheap rip-off. 8/10 Bethany Cox
The faults of this film are many. For starters, what could have been an interesting story was completely wrecked by bad delivery. The animation is choppy and the timing is badly directed to the point of confusing rather than supporting the story. Long pauses and unnecessary scenes contort the plot until it takes physical effort to sit and watch. Vocal talent is OK, but the voices are wasted on mediocre music writing and weird songs: songs memorable only for their strange lyrics. And while the music is bad, the sound effects are horrible!All in all, this movie isn't worth the money it costs or the time it takes to watch it. I can imagine really, really little kids enjoying it some, but anyone older then 3 will find this movie extremely boring. Life is too short to waste it on things like this!
Leo the Lion seems to have been released at a time when lions were "hot."The release date of this film coincides with the 1994 release of a redone "Kimba the White Lion" series on television, and of course The Lion King in theaters.In fact, The 1994 release of Kimba shares voice talent with Leo the Lion.I suggest that you simply find DVDs of Kimba from the 60's or view the 1997 theatrical release of Osamu Tezuka's Jungle Emperor Leo, which is also out on DVD and can be found on IMDb.A word of warning though. Jungle Emperor Leo, although animated, is probably not for younger children.
i am a massive Disney fan and have seen every movie jungle book being my favourite then i came across the good times library and sure enough i watched all off their movies and guesse what they were terrible their titles were all the same as Disney hear is a list Aladdin Alice in wonderland jungle book hunchback Hercules Cinderella snow white Pinocchio little mermaid and the above all i have to say is this movie is a lion king RIP off and shouldn't be viewed unless your desperate. Disney could sue have good times never heard off copywright. if i was the producers i would think off looking at their notes before relesing anymore movies