There is no question that the magic of Walt Disney has made a triumphant return entering the 2010s. With all the talk of the studio’s latest entry in its lethargic animated canon, “Frozen”, its apparent that the Walt Disney Company hasn’t lost its luster. “Frozen” shocked the general public and the media alike when the nontraditional animated picture debuted on November 27, 2013 to universal acclaim. Not only was the film a major box office success, but it drew a worldwide following that hasn’t been seen since Disney’s epic run in the 1990s.
Growing up during the Disney Renaissance, I can personally relate to the treasury and significance those films had on my childhood as well as my adulthood. I am not afraid to admit that since my childhood, I have always been a Disney diehard. During the days of my youth, Disney was the cornerstone of every child’s imagination and fantasy as we viewed films. There was something mesmerizing about these cartoons that is simply unexplainable. These films reached us differently as individuals and touched us in ways not even we could expound. Some of my personal favorites are “Aladdin”, “The Rescuers Down Under”, “The Great Mouse Detective”, “Robin Hood”, and “The Sword In the Stone. “I usually caught myself appreciating the lesser-known Disney products more often than not such as “The Great Mouse Detective” and “The Sword In the Stone” primarily due to their distinctive messages, splendid animation design, evoking character studies, underlying morals, and lack of musical accompaniment. While I certainly cherish those rare elements a particular title happens to belong to the critically-lauded “The Lion King.”
“The Lion King” shares a place in my heart unlike any Disney film or animated film I saw throughout my childhood. It was one of the first films I saw in theaters as a child and let me just say that it is a perilous enterprising journey that I have endured one too many throughout my lifetime. Approximately 20 years ago on June 15, 1994, “The Lion King” was released to acclamation and applause around the world. When audience left the theater on June 15, the stupefaction and astonishment changed the face of popular culture and cinema forever. “The Lion King” has left a lasting impression on the planet years after its release and upon its 20th anniversary it is truly astounding how well the film has aged in a generation where CGI divisions have monopolized animation for the last decade and a half. “The Lion King” by its scale and story outwitted much of its competition in 1994 and thus far following a 3D re-release in 2011, with earnings of over US $987 million worldwide as of 2011, has become the highest-grossing hand-drawn film in history, the highest-grossing 2D animated film in the United States and the 19th-highest-grossing feature film of all time. With that being said the film today bears many questions – Why is “The Lion King” widely-heralded? What made “The Lion King” so defining and worthy of numerous accolades such as the Academy Awards it won for Best Original Score and Best Original Song? And last but not least – How does it hold up today?
“The Lion King” is can only be summed-up with one word – remarkable. It is merely difficult to explain one quality of “The Lion King” without explaining all of them. “The Lion King” is such a beloved work of art that it’s literally impossible find anything displeasing about the picture in its entirety. Out of all of the Disney films released during the 1990s, “The Lion King’s” trial-and-error tale it not only relatable to being human but identifiable to anyone who has made a colossal mistake. The film almost plays like a grand opera, a Shakespearian narrative such as Hamlet or Biblical verse found in The New Testament. Just by its thematic criteria and dense message alone, “The Lion King” becomes more than a children’s film after each time it’s previewed and slowly transforms into a virtuous bodega as the film’s protagonist seeks himself after presuming a lifelong mistake in which he carries as a burden.
The film’s premise is one that goes without saying but it never hurts to summarize the opulent screenplay. “The Lion King “tells the story of Simba, a young adventurous lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as king of the Pride Lands in Kenya. However, after Simba’s uncle Scar has Mufasa murdered in a stampede of wildebeests, Simba is fooled into believing he was solely responsible for his father’s death and flees the Pride Lands into exile only to encounter feelings of shame and despair. Upon maturation living amongst two laidback wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, whom he encounters in exile before returning to challenge Scar to end his reign of tyranny and lastly the spirit of his departed father who reminds the young lion to “remember who you are.”
The casting for “The Lion King” is nothing short of spectacular as James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, and Jeremy Irons are perhaps the film’s largest standouts. Jones’ provision of Mufasa is simply larger than life. Not only is Jones’ strong masculine voice fitting for a proud father and the king of the Pride Lands, but only alludes depth and concentration for the film’s audience. Mufasa is a character as vivid and moral as a leader in resemblence to Gandhi or a scholar such as Confucius. His words of wisdom and his glowing presence throughout the sequence of the film only sets the stage for the intervening plot in which Scar schemes to dethrone his prosperous brother. Mufasa is a humble king at best and while he is nothing but warm and protective to his loyal followers and friends, the king can also be assertive during times of danger especially when loved ones such as when Simba and Nala encounter the purging hyenas.
His brother, Scar, however falls very far from the Pride Lands tree as Scar’s vision of the kingdom differs from Mufasa’s. Provided by British actor, Jeremy Irons of Reversal of Fortune fame, Scar is certainly the highlight of the film’s inventive plot. Menacing and diabolical, Irons’ portrayal of Scar is a romp as he manages to become one of the most enjoyable aspects of the film as he hatches the assassination of Mufasa and the exile of Simba with a simple stroke. Envious and hateful towards his brother, Scar prevails to remove the line of succession and assumes the role as king of the Pride Lands where the law that demands lions and hyenas must survive together. Slowly but surely the savannah transitions into an arid lifeless wasteland in which Scar becomes a figure of greed and totalitarian power. In contrast to Mufasa, once Scar is given sole power of the kingdom he becomes less threatening and more cowardly. When Simba gallantly returns to the Pride Lands, he manages to defeat Scar without even laying a paw on his uncle as the antagonist seals his own fate when he accuses the hyenas for Mufasa’s death and the conquest of Pride Rock. Simba spares Scar’s life due to the righteous constitution adopted from his father and Rifiki and even offers him a chance to run away. Scar instead attacks Simba in which the new king heaves his uncle off the devastating cliff of Pride Rock where he becomes a fatality.
Simba himself is provided and contemplated by Matthew Broderick whose charm and bravado makes the Ferris Bueller star ideal for a lion of great caliber. Aside from the dramatic talents of Broderick, Jones, and Irons the film does not stray from the comical energy it builds upon. The comic relief duo that is Timon and Pumbaa, jumpstarts the film after the heartbreaking banishment of Simba and opens the young lion’s eyes to a world where the glass half full. Through the truism of “Hakuna Matata” meaning “no worries,” Simba adopts a new outlook on life and is convinced to put his horrific past behind him. Timon and Pumbaa played by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella collaborate once again after teaming up for the 1992 broadway production of “Guys & Dolls” and boy do these guys bring their A-game. The jokes the duo compiles are on point and at times appear slightly improvised making for larger array of laughs and better reception. As you can see “The Lion King” embellishes on its strengths as it maintains a strong cast, a powerful story, an epic score by Hans Zimmer and brilliant execution by directing tag team, Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. As far as “The Lion King’s” significance today, I believe the film only gets better with age similar to the viscosity of a fine cabernet. Each time I watch The Lion King I find more and more reasons to appreciate it than I did previously. The Lion King has a moral center that one must bite into after several previews. It surrounds its audience with an appealing epimyth that explains the consequences of overt-courage and troublesome mentalities but primarily deals with our ability to trust others and most importantly handle mistakes in a proper manner. Even though Simba wasn’t responsible for his father’s death he ultimately learned to deal with his unpleasant past and confront his problems without committing the same atrocities his uncle bestowed. Maybe my analysis of this film is too deep and for the most part overlong, but when you have seen the film as much as I have and probably the likes of other 1990s babies, you will realize that you can’t help but take notice in it overall quality and breathtaking conception.
Drew Mattiola is a third-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at RM814408@wcupa.edu.