"The movie's crowning achievement was the scene where Simba tore apart Pumbaa's bloody carcass after gnawing at Timon like a drumstick," said film critic Gene Schrader, recalling the immersive experience of watching the doomed meerkat and warthog desperately run for their lives after offering Simba some grubs to eat. "The realism of it all was simply breathtaking. We truly saw the circle of life in action right before our eyes as Simba savagely hunted down and feasted on these beloved characters before leaving their decomposing remains for the hyenas to polish off."

Schrader praised the film's cutting edge animation for bringing the gritty realism of the predator-prey relationship to life on the big screen, giving moviegoers an authentic window into the torturous deaths of wild animals like Timon and Pumbaa all around the world.

"The animation was so detailed that you could see the horse flies gathering around Pumbaa's blood-soaked entrails as Simba disemboweled him," Schrader said, marveling at the vivid image of Simba sinking his fangs into the mutilated flesh of his endearing movie costars. "Thanks to incredible advances in CGI technology, this new take on the classic story of 'The Lion King' didn't have to shy away from the gruesome reality of the food chain."

Critics were also wowed by the natural appearance of Mufasa's mangled corpse rotting in the dirt after being trampled to death by a herd of wildebeests.