Alright, so I'll be separating this into several categories. Let's start with...

Story
The story is well written, and is narrated by a couple of, um, er...meerkat...gopher things? Rodents. Anyway, this is technically a sequel to another film made by the same company. Sadly, it was never released in English and it never got to see the light of day. The sequel, however, focuses on the conflict between the two ruling fathers on both sides of the border (aka the Lion King and the extremely notorious Black Panther) and their sons. While they are both enemies, the subtle parallels between each of them definitely lends credence to the movie. The search for the diamond also kept me intrigued, and it definitely did disappoint! I really like the cliffhanger this movie leaves us on, too. While it seems to tie everything up and the end, there are still some unanswered questions that will most likely be addressed in the sequel.
Oh yeah, the message is also pretty good. They subtly incorporated a message to donate to the society of endangered animals. If you missed it, then I suggest rewatching the movie but paying closer attention. It's pretty hard to get though.

Animation

Look, I know a lot of people give this movie shit for having terrible animation, but I completely disagree with that. The preschoolers they hired as illustrators did a great job drawing the stock backgrounds and tracing artwork of the Lion King characters, and I won't believe anyone who says otherwise. And despite having a slightly lower budgets than most modern Hollywood films, they still managed to have arrays and arrays of fully unique animations which they never even repeated once. So you have to give them credit for that.

Characters

As I mentioned earlier, there are some definite parallels between some characters, but I feel honestly that some stuff went unexplored. Like the love triangle between Robin, Mew Mew and Dundee. I feel that they honestly could have put in a bit more conflict but as it stands now it's also fine. I can see why some people find Robin kind of an asshole, but only literally. That nose is disgusting. But other than that? Absolutely not. He treated both Dundee and Mew Mew fairly and equally, and never once said anything to them that he shouldn't have. Now that's what I call a likeable character. The side characters are appropriately annoying, and the fathers are both terrible. I do wonder why Mew Mew's mother is a gorilla, but I'd rather not know.

Voice Acting

Once again, I have to defend the VAs. A lot of people think they're terrible, they're not. This is honestly one of the best anime dubs I've ever heard, and I have to give credit to both the VAs for pulling it off, considering they were also the VAs in the original dub. The fathers both sound like they're high, the cubs sound uninterested in everything that's happening, Dundee is trying too hard to pull off an Australian accent considering he's never spoken English in his life, the elephants are drunk, the female characters are forgettable, the monkeys are hellspawn and the bird....just why? Why is that bird so screechy?
Anyway, I'm getting off track. The VAs did a great job with the characters and you can't deny it.

Comedy

The comedy...speaks for itself. Here are some highlights:

1. "The diamonds, MUH GOD!"
2. "Even if it's just a joke, it's not DONE!"
3. "It's hard when your father's the king."
4. "Your father the black panther is your father?!"
5. "Shall we be friends?"
"Hmm, I dunno. I think we should be enemies."
"Okay"
6. "Do you know where the hiding place is?"
"That's not an easy question to answer. Do you know where the hiding place is?"
7. "Shut up, Dundee."

If you're not converted by the end of this, then I dunno what to tell you.

Overall Thoughts

Clearly, Lion and the King is the best movie ever made. Every aspect of this movie is the best thing ever. On a scale of 1-10, I give this film a 11/10, partially because 11 doesn't exist on a scale of 1-10. I can't wait for the sequel where the temporary armistice between the two leaders ends and more unnecessary conflict arises.