The Lion King, “Circle of Life” (1998)

From the opening blare of Lesotho-born singer Tsidii Le Loka’s pulsing Zulu call, it is clear that Julie Taymor’s visionary reimagining of Disney’s animated movie is no trip to the theme park, but an expedition through gorgeous new terrain. And as the music morphs into Elton John's familiar tune from the soundtrack, Taymor produces a fantastical menagerie of puppet beasts—flocks of birds, herds of antelopes, jungle cats, giraffes, an elephant and a rhino lumbering up the aisles of Radio City Music Hall. Overlaying the source material’s essential songs and story with African pride and ingenious theatricality, “Circle of Life” announced to anyone watching that this was not your children’s Lion King.