Elton John doesn't seem like a natural choice to write for a Disney musical, but he rose to the task on The Lion King, transcending his usual penchant for the softest of soft rock. Sir Elton's collaboration with Tim Rice (former writing partner of Andrew Lloyd Webber) helps connect the soundtrack to the theatrical lineage of all Disney musicals--so much so that, like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King was eventually adapted for Broadway. Undistinguished songs like "Can … mehrYou Feel the Love Tonight?" are far outnumbered by stirring, stately tunes that lent the film so much of its sense of pageant and play. --John Sanchez weniger