Wednesday, July 27, 2011

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: The Lion King, 1994


So, The Lion King. I know this must seem in the sequence of films we've had so far, but I love it. I haven't been able to watch it, though, because all the copies have vanished off the face of the Earth in anticipation of a 3D release and a new release on DVD in November, so I have to go off what I remember and what I can find on YouTube. So, Disney corporate, that's my excuse for the clips, okay?

The first thing is the amazing opening sequence that shows you the splendor of the African landscape and creatures. This is a world unto itself and the scene has no dialogue, but for the Circle of Life song, the first in a brilliant soundtrack by Elton John and Tim Rice. Incidentally, I have a distant relative called Abaku who was in The Lion King on Broadway. I'm not sure if that's how you spell it, anyway, distant. The scene is fantastic, it's giving you the entire stakes of the film and mesmerizing you at the same time.


Then of course, we have some joyous, happy time but this is Disney and that can never last. I'm talking about Mufasa's death.

I cried, you cried let's just all admit it. I do not like death scenes, Disney is trying to give me serious psychological scars. Also, does it seem like as king of the animals, Mufasa probably should have just yelled at the wildebeests to stop for a minute while he got his kid? Any future lion kings, just keep that in mind.

Then, what do they do? They give you a warthog and a meerkat singing quite possibly the catchiest tune ever.


At its core, this song exemplifies the challenge Simba is going to face. Is he going to keep on with his carefree lifestyle and stand idly by as Scar rules the kingdom into ruin and decay? Or is he going to defeat the demons of his past, step up and become the Lion King? I think I just seriously over analyzed that.


And we have another lion king. And I cry. Again. Freaking Circle of Life, making me cry. Let's see what the Tenth Doctor has to say about it.


What else? Seriously, Rowan Atkinson plays a bird. You've got great performances, an epic story. One of my favorites, comments, concerns, that's what the comments section is for.

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