"You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life." — Mufasa
Initial thoughts before viewing: I love, love, love The Lion King. I had tons of animal figurines when I was a kid and I used to reenact entire scenes from this movie (with my own spin, of course). This was the first movie I remember watching in a movie theater (I was 6 years-old). It very well could have started me down the path of loving and appreciating animals, particularly big cats (they're still my favorite). I even love the sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, a rare instance of a very decent direct-to-video sequel (the songs slap).
If you have never seen The Lion King (does this person even exist?) or need a refresher, here is a link to the movie's Disney Wiki page where you can read the plot summary.
Highlights:
-Has there ever been a more iconic opening to a movie? ☀️ Every person on this earth knows this song. But imagine what it was like to experience this sequence for the first time. Could you even comprehend what you were watching? Disney knew they had something extra special with this, so they did something they had never before done: in 1993, they released a trailer which consisted solely of this "Circle of Life" opening sequence. Audiences were stunned and enthusiastic, and fans of The Lion King were born even before the movie premiered.
-The Lion King hits you over the head (literally) with life lessons. ✔️ I can't tell you how many times I've unconsciously relied on advice I learned from The Lion King. Here are my favorites:
Being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble. You meet hard times when necessary, and then brace for a way to see a way through it.
Hakuna matata. As a person who lives with anxiety, this is in an invaluable one to remember. Like the movie says, sometimes things happen that you can't control, so sometimes it's best to adopt an attitude of go with the flow, no worries.
He lives in you. Those we love never truly leave us; they live in our memories and hearts, and therefor they live on through us.
Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it. An effective and wise lesson from Rafiki, this sage advice reminds us that mistakes are valuable because they can teach us how to ultimately be better. When you know better, you do better.
-Simba finally steps up. 👑 The film's final scene where Simba slowly walks up Pride Rock in the rain is easily in my top of the top for best Disney moment ever. The combination of the epic score by Hans Zimmer and Simba's unsure but determined look brings me to tears every single time. Mufasa's voice breaking through the clouds echoing "Remember" is the icing on the cake. This is Disney magic, people. DISNEY MAGIC.
-Is Scar the most evil Disney villain ever? 😈 Scar is voiced to perfection by Jeremy Irons, an incredible actor who brings Scar to life with an elegant yet conniving brilliance. He is the king (ha) of plotting and psychological manipulation. When it comes to ultimate Disney villains, Scar is notably one of the only villains who actually achieves his main goal. He's also ultimately responsible for one of the most heartbreaking and traumatizing scenes in cinematic history: Mufasa's on-screen death and Simba's oh so sad nuzzle sesh with his father's corpse. The crazy thing is that if Scar had been a halfway decent king, he probably could have managed to keep control of Pride Rock, Nala would never had left, Simba would never had come back, etc. As far as where Scar falls on the most evil animated Disney villains ranking, murdering your brother and ordering the death of your nephew puts you pretty high on that list. It also doesn't hurt that "Be Prepared" is easily one of the best villains songs to date. Long live King Scar!
-Cactus butt. 🤣 I just need everyone to appreciate this scene when Shenzi says, "There ain't no way I'm going in there. What, you want me to come out looking like you, cactus butt?" It made me laugh then, and it makes me laugh now.
-An appreciation of JTT. 💖 In case you forgot (shame!), '90s icon Jonathan Taylor Thomas voiced young Simba (to perfection, I may add).
Disliked:
-The hyenas are problematic. 🔥 In an majority white voice cast (for a movie about Africa), the hyenas are voiced by minority actors Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin, who played them as low-life outcasts who speak in slang and live tucked away in a shadowy corner of the Pride Lands—the wrong side of the tracks. Many agree that consciously done or not, the hyenas are coded as ethnic and social minorities, not only in their accents but also in their skin color, which is actually darker than the hides of real hyenas. Dan Hassler-Forest, a professor of cultural studies at the University of Utrecht, also famously said "The three prominent hyenas fit neatly into notoriously stereotypical depictions of black, Hispanic, and mentally disabled depictions of the lower-class residents of ghettos.” Mind blown.
-Ferris Bueller is adult Simba? 😒 I've always thought that Matthew Broderick was miscast as the voice of adult Simba. He does an okay job, but a different actor could have probably knocked this major (lead!) role out of the park. I'd take young Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas!) over adult Simba any day.
Random Thoughts I Had While Watching:
-Can a lion really survive on a diet of bugs? 🐞 According to this article, "How Many Bugs Would Simba Have To Eat To Survive In The Jungle All Those Years?," the short answer is a resounding NOPE.
-The gift of Nala. 🎁 Did Disney realize that Nala (which means "gift" in Swahili) would become one of the most popular names for pets EVER? I've personally known dozens of cats AND dogs named Nala, and man does that name just seem to grow in popularity. Even in 2020, 27 years after The Lion King first came out, Nala ranked #13 in popularity for dog names in America, and #6 in popularity for cat names. It's the pet name that lives on.
Closing Thoughts:
-The Lion King has a tone problem. Aside from the problematic hyenas, my other issue with this movie is that upon re-watch, I found it to be a little uneven and even pretentious. This is mainly because the movie alternates between scenes of epic melodrama and low-comedy silliness. For a movie that is so Shakespearean in scale and inspiration (hello Halmet), it's very clear that the filmmakers made a very conscious effort to not lose the kids during this grand tale. This lead to a number low-comedy hijinks and gags, most of which land decently enough (see my aforementioned "cactus butt" shout out), while others like the running joke of Pumbaa's flatulence now seems, well, crude? Even as a kid, Timon and Pumbaa were never my favorite part of the movie. Now as an adult, it's crystal clear that this duo was added primarily for comedic relief and to win over the children in the audience. The movie's big tonal shifts from dramatic, serious moments like Mufasa's death to Pumbaa singing about farting too much is jarring to say the least.
-Where The Lion King reigns supreme. Although it often alternates between scenes of epic melodrama and low-comedy silliness, The Lion King does hit hard emotionally. At its purest interpretation, The Lion King has a soulful message of personal growth and evolution. Like Bambi before it, its circle of life themes of loss and love resonate mightily with those of all ages. It has instantly memorable characters, an Oscar-winning soundtrack, and a meaningful story; it hits the perfect trifecta of core ingredients for a great animated feature film.
There's a reason why everyone loves The Lion King; it's a movie without people, yet it has the unique power of stirring the most human of emotions in all of us.
My Rating: 8.5/10
References
"The original 'Lion King' has a racist hyena problem. The new film fixes that, with mixed results." Talib Visram, Fast Company
