MANILA -- Avid Filipino theatergoers finally ticked off an item from their bucket list after “The Lion King” made its Philippine premiere a little more than 20 years after it debuted on Broadway in 1997.

Manila is the initial stop of the first international tour of “The Lion King,” which had a glittering gala on Wednesday at The Theatre at Solaire with a veritable who’s who in the local theater scene in attendance, including British producer and impresario Cameron Mackintosh.

The ecstatic applause that regularly erupted throughout the two-and-a-half hour production, culminating in a rapturous standing ovation at curtain call, highlighted the timeless appeal of this stage musical adapted from the 1994 Disney animated film.

It doesn’t matter if the first time you saw “The Lion King” movie was as a child or a parent — or any age in between — the moment the “animals” make their way to the stage in the glorious opening “Circle of Life,” you are immediately transformed into a wide-eyed kid enchanted by Disney’s brand of magic.

It’s not so much the story that hooks you. Despite some shades from “Hamlet,” the tale of lion cub Simba who goes into exile wracked with guilt after his father dies, unaware that in reality Mufasa was murdered by his own ambitious brother, Scar, is standard kiddie fare. And the musical’s book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi is on the whole faithful to the movie but with the addition of some scenes and new songs.

Indeed, “The Lion King” lacks the emotional punch of say, “Les Miserables.” It doesn’t have the romantic melodrama of “Miss Saigon” that moves audiences to tears.

If you find yourself crying in “The Lion King,” it’s likely out of joy and wonderment at the sheer genius of director Julie Taymor in bringing this popular, old-school animated movie to the stage. Or that finally you are seeing it here in Manila.

While many musicals feature high-tech gimmicks to wow audiences (think of the crashing chandelier of “The Phantom of the Opera” or the midair transformation of the Beast in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”), Taymor took a more traditional theatrical route. With the crafty use of various forms of puppetry and masks, Taymor has created a distinct and striking vision of the African landscape that never grows old or feels dated.

Quite simply, “The Lion King” is a triumph in overall design, from the evocative lighting to the stylized yet organic sets that glide across the stage, and the gorgeous and detailed costumes suggesting both flora and fauna that create wonderful silhouettes onstage.

More than tracking Simba’s journey as he tries to reclaim his rightful place in the Pride Lands, it is the anticipation of seeing new sets and costumes that truly moves the narrative and keeps audiences in a constant state of awe until the final reprise of “Circle of Life.”

Yet Taymor, who also co-designed the masks, doesn’t forget that there are commercial mandatories that go with a Disney money-maker. The musical retains all the moments that made “The Lion King” one of the most successful movies of all time with the film’s extremely hummable tune “Hakuna Matata” closing Act 1.

But to her credit, it is what the musical’s creative team purposely added to the Disney formula that made “The Lion King” a Tony-winning success. While the original songs of Elton John and Tim Rice translated well onstage, the additional songs by South African composer Lebo M and the team of Mark Mancina and Jay Rifkin gave the musical a truly African flavor to enhance Taymor’s stage vision.

Indeed, apart from “Circle of Life,” the centerpiece of the musical is “He Lives in You,” with its memorable choral arrangement.

The international tour features mostly South African actors, which certainly added an authentic soul to the music, notably in the celebratory Act 2 opener “One by One,” which was performed by the cast, not in animal costumes, but in colorful finery as kites and bird puppets fly around the Solaire theater.

While Calvyn Grandling was charming as the adult Simba and Antony Lawrence was deliciously devious as Scar, the real standouts for this writer were Andre Jewson as Zazu, Jamie McGregor as Timon and Pierre van Heerden as Pumbaa. These three actors make you forget that you’re watching men manipulating puppets as they really brought these animal characters to life.

One must also cite the two young Filipinos, Gabriel Tiongson and Felicity Kyle Napuli, as the young Simba and Nala, respectively. Tiongson, in particular, gave a confident performance as if he had been performing the role for a long time already. He also had a believable stage chemistry with both Lawrence and Mthokozisi Emkay Khanyile, who plays Mufasa.

For the Manila run, the cast added some Filipino words to the dialogue and made references to the more recent Angry Birds and “Frozen,” to further spice up the action. While welcome, these are really unnecessary.

Just like Lebo M’s non-English choral songs or the call of “Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba,” which starts the musical, the beauty of “The Lion King” is transcendent and universally appreciated.

The 20-year wait is so worth it.

“The Lion King” runs until May 6 at The Theatre at Solaire.