I am actually viewing and re-viewing The Lion King a million times for the purpose of my university dissertation. Believe it or not, despite having watched this movie thousands of time, I am still not fed up with it. I personally think that The Lion King most certainly deserves its title as one of the highest grossing movies in Disney Cinema. It is a movie that I particularly appreciate because of it clearly differs from the other Disney films that were so much in rage during that period of time when Lion King came out. I believe that this movie is also so widely appreciated all over because of the wide rage of thematic elements that it offers, and also because of the originality in which Disney managed to convey many strong emotions and quite a few moral lessons for children.
Plot: Mufasa is the beloved King of Prideland, and head of his pack of lions. Along with his wife, the Queen Sarabi, they are extremely proud and happy to include their first son, Simba in their midst. As Simba grows up, he lives a carefree, happy and sheltered life and spends his time roaming the countryside with his best friend, a little lioness called Nala. However, Mufasa jealous brother Scar is extremely angry at Simba’s birth because this means that following the death of Mufasa one day, it is Simba who will
become King of Prideland, and not Scar…
Many people say that this movie contains too many dark thematic features to be considered as an “appropriate” film for children. It is true that this movie has certain dark aspects to it, with a dash of Shakespearean tragic touch (The Lion King is based off Hamlet). But I will not go to the extent of saying that it is not an appropriate film for kids since I personally do not think that children will be more engrossed in Scar’s plotting to uproot the king than in Simba’s many antics. Many of my little cousins, nieces and nephews have watched this film a lot of times and none of them got traumatized for life! In fact, I would say that this is quite an excellent film for children to watch. There are lots of moral lessons like obeying parents (and seeing what happens when they do not obey), friendship, family ties and of course, the typical good always wins over evil. I would say that Simba is quite an example for kids and adults alike: He is far from being perfect and the producers do not attempt to mask any sort of weakness in his personality.
I do think that this really help people in being able to relate to Simba, even if certain happenings in the film may be far from being what is occurring in the lives of the audience. But I think that it is quite refreshing to see one Disney character who is clearly painted with all his flaws and weaknesses. I was getting a little fed up with the pristine perfect Disney Princesses, and Simba really provides a refreshing touch in the list of Disney characters. There also is the wise madrill who often pops unexpectedly pops in the film as the voice of reason and I would personally attribute a lot of these moral lessons for kids to that particular character.
In addition, I also think that this is the movie that really introduces two characters that will simply go down in history as one of the best and funniest on-screen sidekicks in animated cinematography: Timon and Pumba. For those of you who are familiar with Hamlet, I would say that Timon and Pumba are the funny version of Rosencrantz and Guilderstern. I have never seen a funnier or more entertaining pair than these two! Timon and Pumba are quite easily my favorites in the film. I think it is truly amazing how between the two of them, they manage to introduce so much comic relief and wonderful one liners in the film. In fact, I would say that these two are the main reasons why the dark aspect of The Lion King kind of fades in the background. I tried to imagine the movie without the presence of Timon and Pumba and it did sound very bleak indeed. They are so, so entertaining and I would say that the choice of a meekrat being best friends with a warthog is quite a hilarious touch from producers!
I rather saw family ties, rather than love and romanticism at the foreground of the film. Still, there are a few romantic scenes and my favorite one is a scene with Elton John’s “Can you Feel the Love Tonight” plays in the background. I particularly love this scene because I think that the setting, the characters present, as well as the general atmosphere match marvelously well with this part in the movie. In fact, romantic scenes or not, the songs largely contribute towards my huge appreciation of The Lion King. They do provide breaks in the plot and the song also manage to depict certain characters in their true element: There is in fact a scene where Scar sings and to me, he looked genuinely evil in the film!
No one can also mention The Lion King without talking of the hyenas. Despite their portrayal as being the enemies from the very beginning of the movie, I still liked their presence in the film. I would describe the hyenas as being these sort of villains that the audience both like and dislike- they certainly form part of the dark side but they are really funny and stupid at times and they largely contribute to a lot of slapstick humor in the movie. Whoopu Goldberg depicted Shenzi, the main hyena and I think that she did an excellent job! Her tone of voice, along with her numerous hyena laughs were more than appropriate to play Shenzi
The main voice actors include: • Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Cub Simba • Matthew Broderick as Adult Simba • Jeremy Irons as Scar • Moira Kelly as Nala • Nathan Lane as Timon • Eernie Sabella as Pumba • Robert Guillaume as Rafiki
DVD Bonus features: • Songs • Audio Commentary • Featurettes • Deleted Scenes
I particularly loved the audio commentary, it was not only extremely helpful for the purpose of my dissertation, but it was also extremely informative when it came to the cast information and trivia about the film.
Overall, this is a very highly recommended movie!
Thanks for reading!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: stunning animation, great showtunes, well written characters Disadvantages: The support cast tends to steal the show. Surely this shouldn't happen?
Advantages: stunning animation, great showtunes, well written characters Disadvantages: The support cast tends to steal the show. Surely this shouldn't happen?
exceptional by (17%):
very helpful by (83%):
