I have to admit, being a 2nd generation Indian-American millennial I was definitely more of a The Jungle Book (1967) guy in terms of Disney movies I grew up with. However, I can’t pretend that The Lion King didn’t leave a big impression on me in my childhood. As a matter of fact, I still have fond memories playing my VHS recording of a TV broadcast of the movie over and over again growing up. From the gorgeous opening shot of the sunrise over the African savanna with Elton John’s Circle of Life playing in the background to the wildebeest stampede and of course the Hakuna Matata musical number, The Lion King is definitely of those quintessential Disney movies that left a huge impression on me just from a visual standpoint.
While I didn’t love the film dearly, I think partly because the characters and story of The Lion King just didn’t resonate with me as much as other Disney films of the era like Mulan (1998) or Aladdin (1992) did, I could still even as a small boy get the idea that this was a giant movie. The absolutely gorgeous animation simmering with detail and color, catchy songs, and epic story are without a doubt some of the factors that it made it one of the biggest box office juggernauts on the ‘90s. And even now more than 26 years after its original release, we still see how much the movie has resonated in our consciousness with the merchandise, sequels, TV series, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical adaptation, and of course the recent 2019 live-action remake that also grossed a fortune at the box office. It is for that reason that watching The Lion King now as an adult, although I don’t consider it to be one of my favorite Disney films, I can clearly understand why this movie has been such a phenomenon and now that I am older, I can appreciate the technical mastery and artistry that went into making The Lion King the cultural milestone it is.
For the few of you that may not have seen the movie yet, the story of The Lion King is not so subtly inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. It tells the now-iconic coming of age story of a lion cub named Simba who is destined to succeed his father Mufasa, voiced by the one-and-only James Earl Jones in his signature baritone voice, as king of the Pride Rock grasslands in Africa. However, his diabolical uncle Scar wants the throne for himself so he plots to have Mufasa killed in the harrowing wildebeest stampede sequence and manipulates Simba into believing that he was responsible for his father’s death. The shot of a dead Mufasa’s corpse and Simba desperately trying to wake his father up is one childhood memory I will never forget.
Simba then runs away and befriends the meerkat and warthog duo of Timon and Pumbaa who quasi-adopt him and teach him the ways of their carefree lifestyles and embrace “Hakuna Matata” or “no worries” in the musical sequence that was stuck in my head for as long as I can remember as a child. Not to mention the shots of Simba and Timon guzzling down bugs as if they were candy or licorice also stuck with me as a kid.
Simba then spends the next few years of his life growing up carefree with Timon and Pumbaa. However, Scar later turns out to be a cruel and tyrannical ruler so the baboon mentor Rafiki convinces Simba that he must return to confront Scar and take his rightful place as King of the Pride Rock as well come to terms with the demons of his own past. It’s a very standard coming of age story, but one that is beautifully and captivatingly told regardless.
Being inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Lion King tells a story that is obviously very serious and mature for an animated Disney film of that era. However, the characters and the story aren’t developed in a way that is particularly interesting and there could have been more nuances in the characterizations. Despite the strong themes, the dialogue is so overt and in your face and lacking much subtlety that the characters can often times in the movie come across as being a bit bland.
And as the late great critic Gene Siskel even pointed out in his original review of The Lion King, there could have been more time taken to develop the characters and their various relationships particularly that of the main protagonist Simba. That wasn’t the case if you think about it with Beauty and the Beast (1991) that took its time to develop the character of Belle and her relationship with the beast or Aladdin that also took its time to develop the characters and relationships within the story. Or even the older vintage Disney films of the 1940’s and 50’s like Bambi (1942) or Alice in Wonderland (1951) while simple stories had more subtlety in the storytelling. But despite some of those flaws, the storywriters of The Lion King deserve an immense amount of credit for taking the relatively mature and adult themes of family, death, betrayal, and other Shakespearian themes and presenting in a way that children could understand just as well as adults.
And although the characters are somewhat generic stock archetypes, they got incredible actors to lend their voices to the roles such as James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin mix dark humor and comic relief to voice the devious hyenas, Matthew Broderick as the adult Simba, Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa, and of course Nathan Lane who lends great comedic chops to the character of Timon. These talented actors give their characters just enough personality and dynamism to make their characters memorable even when the development maybe a bit lacking. This coupled with the incredible hand drawn artistry that really give life to the animated animal characters and make them so expressive and emotive are really the aspects that make the film truly memorable. An ensemble piece in an animated film if there ever was one.
The technical mastery of the animation and the blending of CGI and traditional hand drawn animation particularly in the harrowing wildebeest stampede sequence also make the film truly groundbreaking from a technological standpoint. The movie took hand drawn animation to a new level. The Lion King without a doubt was the high point of the so-called “Disney Renaissance” era spearheaded by Jeffrey Katzenberg who later on became one of the founders of Dreamworks Studios. The film won scores of awards including multiple Golden Globes and Oscars. The unforgettable imagery such as the sweeping vistas of the African jungle and landscape, the opening sunrise shot of the Circle of Life musical sequence undoubtedly inspired by the first shot of the sunrise over the Arabian desert in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962) that follows right after the shot of Peter O’Toole blowing out the candle, the beautifully drawn animals, and the absolute explosion of color on the screen wrapped up in the sweeping cinematography.
And what can be said about the iconic songs that hasn’t already been said. All of it is captivating from Circle of Life to Can’t Wait to Be King to Be Prepared and of course Hakuna Matata. All of these ingredients are what make The Lion King a classic and must watch for any lover of animated films. It is without a doubt a great movie despite some flaws in its storytelling and character, it has withstood the test of time.
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