I know what you're thinking,” Why am I seeing a Disney review if you decided to do them as part of your 12 Days Of Christmas Countdown?" Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking and I came to the conclusion that there's no way I'm going to cover as many Disney films as I like during a 12 Day of Christmas countdown. Plus, I felt like that maybe I shouldn't either since Doug Walker reviewed Disney movies during the month of December. Even though my intentions are mostly based on Walt Disney being born and dying on the same Month, I didn't want to come off as a copycat. Furthermore, I already reviewed a bunch of Disney films before I decided to review it on that Month. As for the Disney review on "Snow White" that I wrote during that Month, consider it more as a tribute to Disney for being his first film. With that out of the way, it's time to do things the old fashioned way. Here's my review on...
Alright, I'm going to cut to the major controversy with this film before I review it.
DID "THE LION KING" RIP OFF "KIMBA, THE WHITE LION"?
As much as I love "The Lion King", and as much as it pains me to say this, but pretty much so. The designs and characters are similar, and the animated sequences look pretty identical in some scenes. As for the story, I do see a few similarities to the "Kimba" series, but with that said, the film does have its own originality while also being more of a Lion version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet". I'm sorry for not defending it like I did with other films, but the similarities are just too obvious. In fact Simba (who's name closely resembles Kimba even though Simba is Lion in Swahili) was originally going to be White. However, a lot of people, including myself, as well as the Nostalgia Chick don't care if it's a rip off or not because there are many great things to talk about this film. Why is the film an exceptional rip off of "Kimba, The White Lion"; ON WITH THE REVIEW...
A lion cub named Simba is next in line to be king, however, his wicked Uncle Scar wants to be king and decides to kill both King Mufusa and Simba. However, Simba survives, but is left to believe that he was responsible for the death of his Father. He runs away and decides to put his past behind while also making new friends. However, a friend from the past runs into Simba, tells him how bad Scar is running things and Simba must face his past and take back the kingdom.
Before I talk about the characters, I'm going to talk about how the film was influenced and resemble "Hamlet".
First, let's start with the characters. Simba is Hamlet (Hero), Mufusa is Hamlet's father (Deceased Father), Scar is Claudius (Villain), Nala is Ophelia (Wife), Timon and Pumba are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Friends), Zazu is Polonious (Kings stooge), and Serabi is the Mother (Hamlet's Mother). Hamlet sees the ghost of his Father, like Simba saw the specter of his Father. Claudius kills Hamlets Father so he can be king,which is exactly what Scar's plan is. Hamlet is forced to leave, meets new friends, and Claudius orders a hit on Hamlet. Simba leaves the Pride Lands after being believed to be responsible for his death; Scar orders his Hyenas to kill Simba, and Simba meets Timon and Pumba. Hamlet comes back to challenge Claudius and so does Simba as he comes back to challenge Scar. There's a few more, but then I'd kind of be spoiling the film for newcomers.
Our Hero Simba is indeed a great character. When we first see him as a cub voiced by Johnathan Taylor Thomas, he's is fun, cute, innocent, likable, and yes, you do feel bad for him when something tragic happens. Then we have Adult Simba voiced by Matthew Broderick who I think fits the role perfectly. Like young Simba, he's enjoyable, he's fun, and you can also feel his emotional struggles with his past. And at the end after seeing him weep throughout the film, he looks and act heroic, which I'm surprised how well Broderick pulled that part off. Now my favorite critic Doug Walker, did make an interesting point on how the moral is ignored when Simba tells everyone about the death of his father while Simba's fears are coming back to him as no one helps him. While making a good point, my personal thoughts on the reason why no one's helping Simba is because they're more shocked and traumatized than purposely not helping him. I mean come on, they suddenly find out that Simba's still alive after all these years, and then discover that Simba had a hand in his Father's death. That's a lot to process. As for Simba's fears coming back, that's actually a normal reaction in life. Yeah, maybe in a way it makes the moral a mixed message, however, it is a normal reaction in life and the film depicts some aspects of life, especially the reality of when coming back to face your fears. In fact, when Simba does face his fear and accepts that he did do wrong, he does indeed get rewarded for it. So what I think that the film was trying to do is face your fears and accept wrong doings even if it's not easy, and in the end you'll be rewarded and forgiven, which I don't find to be a bad message, I find that to be unique actually.
Now the villain Scar who is voiced by Jeremy Irons. He's like Shere Khan mixed with a Bond villain. He's classy, very smart, enjoyable, and actually succeeds in killing one of the characters in the story. He has everything that a great Disney villain should have. However, some people do complain a few things about him though. First people say (Including my favorite critic) that once he has power, he stops being enjoyable and makes for a lousy king. That's clearly what his character is supposed to be in the second act to show why he's not next line to be King. People also ask why he didn't just kill Simba after the death of his Father. Scar is a villain who relies on his Hyena henchman doing the work for him. Sure, he killed Mufusa himself, but that's because he was vulnerable and only one claw away from falling to his doom. Scar, as he said when we first meet him is not a good fighter nor does he have the strength compared to his Brother or even the Hyenas. Also, if he tried to kill Simba, where he isn't as vulnerable as Mufasa was, his plan might fail if Simba gets away which can lead to serious consequences.
The Hyenas that work Scar are funny characters along with their killer animal instincts So why is everyone calling them racist stereotypes? What, just because they're enemies in a different land that are voiced by a Mexican and an African American. Ok, I can see the argument, however, did you know that Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella were originally going to play the Hyenas? In fact, Cheech and Chong were also going to be the Hyenas of this movie. While still having Cheech Marin on the project they had to find someone popular and famous at the time, which was Whoopi Goldberg. The film also has a majority of black actors voicing different characters, including James Earl Jones as Simba's Father. Also, do you actually think that kids are going to leave the movie thinking African Americans and Spanish people are evil and we should be segregated from them? If you want to get technical I always saw this film as class warfare then segregated racial warfare. Also in reality, Hyenas are indeed enemies to Lions as well. What about the stupid one named Ed like as in special Ed, really people we're going to attack a stupid side kick which is an overused cartoon cliche just because of his name? If you're going to nitpick Ed then you might as well nitpick the cartoon characters "Ed, Edd N Eddy". As for Scar having a black Mame, most villains in fantasy films are supposed to look dark and evil so they can stand out more, because they clearly are on the dark side. If an African American did the voice instead of a smart and classy British man, then you might have something to go on about. To me, this is all just a stupid nit pick that I think we're reading a little too much into it.
Now the supporting characters. Let's start with the comic relief characters in this film. First, there's the Hornbill bird Zazu voiced by Mr.Bean himself Rowan Atkinson, who gets some very funny dialogue, as well as really bringing a lot of life and personality to his character. Next, there's Rafiki the mandrill voiced by Robert Guillaume who is very comical and over the top, but is ironically the wisest character in the whole film. Finally, there's Timon the Meerkat voiced by Nathan Lane, and Pumba the Warthog voiced by Erine Sabella and you know what they still hold as fun characters with some really funny scenes and lines of dialogue. Then there's Simba's love interest Nala voiced by Moria Kelly as her as an adult and Niketa Calame as her as a cub, and her character and chemistry with Simba is brilliant to the point where you really can feel the love between them (Even if it's all shown for a short amount of time). Voicing Simba's Mom is Madge Sinclair and even though she appears little in the film, she's still is a likable character. Of course, my favorite character in the whole film is Simba's Father Mufasa voiced by James Earl Joans who does an epic job voicing him. What makes him a great character that you can cry about after his death is he's a wise Father who loves his son, can be very playful, and teaches his son so many things, not only about ruling as King, but also lessons on life itself. However, while loving his son greatly, he still can come across as a very intimidating and badass leader. He's probably the best Father figure on film since Gregory Peck played Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird", who ironically really loves this movie as well.
The songs by Tim Rice and Elton John are timeless, catchy and memorable tunes that we all find ourselves after so many years. First, you have the epic opening of the film "The Circle Of Life" that really pulls you into the film with the words epic written all over it. Then there's "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" which is a very fun and colorful sequence that still holds up as a catchy song. The villain song "Be Prepared" is one of the best villain songs that I've ever heard that has an uncomfortable vibe that's creepy but enjoyable at the same time. Then you have Timon and Pumba's buddy song "Hakuna Matata" which is a song that's so catchy and fun, that it's hard not to forget it. But as much as I praise the songs, there are two songs that I didn't like. The first one being "Can You Feel The Love Tonight". Now hold the phone, I'm NOT talking about the Elton John version, I'm talking about the films version. Now to be fair, the film version does tell the story fine, but if you listen to it on its own, it's not too memorable. I'd personally rather they instead put Elton John's version in the sequence than having the characters sing it because the song itself would fit the romantic tone and atmosphere perfectly as we watch Simba and Nala silently fall in love with each other. Which I think is more effecting than hearing a comical version from Timon and Pumba, to hearing the characters thoughts that we already know what they're thinking about and feeling. The other song is the newly put in song "The Morning Report" which kills the comedy out of Simba's pouncing lesson. Finally the score. The score is so epic, so touching, so uplifting, so beautiful that you just have to hear it to believe it and the choir backing it up is powerfully haunting. I just can't put it into words!
Now, finally, the animation. It's one of the most big and epic pieces of animation that I ever seen. In the beginning, when you see the sun rise; the animals walking to Pride Rock; and seeing the baby cub being lifted to the heavenly light over Pride Rock is so incredible that it's one of the best openings that I've ever seen on film. The Stampede scene when seeing the running herd, while Mufasa has to try to save Simba is completely outstanding and thrilling, while also leading to the saddest scene in the film. The "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" sequence is really colorful, surreal, and over the top, while the "Be Prepared" sequence is dark, gritty, and hellish with amazing symbolism of Scar turning the Hyenas into the Third Reich to show Scar's lust for power. The scene when Simba sees the specter of his Dad is incredibly animated, as well as having such touching voice acted. The use of slow motion between the fight between Simba and Scar is breath taking and cool. And the landscape designs for the land where our characters live is really out of this world. It's truly one of Disney's best if not thee best!
The film is one of Disney's most epic films. Their take on making a Lion version of "Hamlet" is great. The characters are likable. The voice acting's amazing. The songs are timeless. And the animation is outstanding. Yeah, it kind of does rip off "Kimba, The White Lion", but then again so did other classic films. The classic film "Nosferatu" was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula". And "A Fistful Of Dollars" ripped off "Yojimbo". but the reason why they're successful is because they have their own style and originality, which is exactly what "The Lion King" did. However, I do wish Disney would confess that they were inspired by the series rather then hiding it, because some anime films were inspired by Disney and they shared it, so why not Disney"?
RATING 5/5
A lion cub named Simba is next in line to be king, however, his wicked Uncle Scar wants to be king and decides to kill both King Mufusa and Simba. However, Simba survives, but is left to believe that he was responsible for the death of his Father. He runs away and decides to put his past behind while also making new friends. However, a friend from the past runs into Simba, tells him how bad Scar is running things and Simba must face his past and take back the kingdom.
Before I talk about the characters, I'm going to talk about how the film was influenced and resemble "Hamlet".
First, let's start with the characters. Simba is Hamlet (Hero), Mufusa is Hamlet's father (Deceased Father), Scar is Claudius (Villain), Nala is Ophelia (Wife), Timon and Pumba are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Friends), Zazu is Polonious (Kings stooge), and Serabi is the Mother (Hamlet's Mother). Hamlet sees the ghost of his Father, like Simba saw the specter of his Father. Claudius kills Hamlets Father so he can be king,which is exactly what Scar's plan is. Hamlet is forced to leave, meets new friends, and Claudius orders a hit on Hamlet. Simba leaves the Pride Lands after being believed to be responsible for his death; Scar orders his Hyenas to kill Simba, and Simba meets Timon and Pumba. Hamlet comes back to challenge Claudius and so does Simba as he comes back to challenge Scar. There's a few more, but then I'd kind of be spoiling the film for newcomers.
Our Hero Simba is indeed a great character. When we first see him as a cub voiced by Johnathan Taylor Thomas, he's is fun, cute, innocent, likable, and yes, you do feel bad for him when something tragic happens. Then we have Adult Simba voiced by Matthew Broderick who I think fits the role perfectly. Like young Simba, he's enjoyable, he's fun, and you can also feel his emotional struggles with his past. And at the end after seeing him weep throughout the film, he looks and act heroic, which I'm surprised how well Broderick pulled that part off. Now my favorite critic Doug Walker, did make an interesting point on how the moral is ignored when Simba tells everyone about the death of his father while Simba's fears are coming back to him as no one helps him. While making a good point, my personal thoughts on the reason why no one's helping Simba is because they're more shocked and traumatized than purposely not helping him. I mean come on, they suddenly find out that Simba's still alive after all these years, and then discover that Simba had a hand in his Father's death. That's a lot to process. As for Simba's fears coming back, that's actually a normal reaction in life. Yeah, maybe in a way it makes the moral a mixed message, however, it is a normal reaction in life and the film depicts some aspects of life, especially the reality of when coming back to face your fears. In fact, when Simba does face his fear and accepts that he did do wrong, he does indeed get rewarded for it. So what I think that the film was trying to do is face your fears and accept wrong doings even if it's not easy, and in the end you'll be rewarded and forgiven, which I don't find to be a bad message, I find that to be unique actually.
Now the villain Scar who is voiced by Jeremy Irons. He's like Shere Khan mixed with a Bond villain. He's classy, very smart, enjoyable, and actually succeeds in killing one of the characters in the story. He has everything that a great Disney villain should have. However, some people do complain a few things about him though. First people say (Including my favorite critic) that once he has power, he stops being enjoyable and makes for a lousy king. That's clearly what his character is supposed to be in the second act to show why he's not next line to be King. People also ask why he didn't just kill Simba after the death of his Father. Scar is a villain who relies on his Hyena henchman doing the work for him. Sure, he killed Mufusa himself, but that's because he was vulnerable and only one claw away from falling to his doom. Scar, as he said when we first meet him is not a good fighter nor does he have the strength compared to his Brother or even the Hyenas. Also, if he tried to kill Simba, where he isn't as vulnerable as Mufasa was, his plan might fail if Simba gets away which can lead to serious consequences.
The Hyenas that work Scar are funny characters along with their killer animal instincts So why is everyone calling them racist stereotypes? What, just because they're enemies in a different land that are voiced by a Mexican and an African American. Ok, I can see the argument, however, did you know that Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella were originally going to play the Hyenas? In fact, Cheech and Chong were also going to be the Hyenas of this movie. While still having Cheech Marin on the project they had to find someone popular and famous at the time, which was Whoopi Goldberg. The film also has a majority of black actors voicing different characters, including James Earl Jones as Simba's Father. Also, do you actually think that kids are going to leave the movie thinking African Americans and Spanish people are evil and we should be segregated from them? If you want to get technical I always saw this film as class warfare then segregated racial warfare. Also in reality, Hyenas are indeed enemies to Lions as well. What about the stupid one named Ed like as in special Ed, really people we're going to attack a stupid side kick which is an overused cartoon cliche just because of his name? If you're going to nitpick Ed then you might as well nitpick the cartoon characters "Ed, Edd N Eddy". As for Scar having a black Mame, most villains in fantasy films are supposed to look dark and evil so they can stand out more, because they clearly are on the dark side. If an African American did the voice instead of a smart and classy British man, then you might have something to go on about. To me, this is all just a stupid nit pick that I think we're reading a little too much into it.
Now the supporting characters. Let's start with the comic relief characters in this film. First, there's the Hornbill bird Zazu voiced by Mr.Bean himself Rowan Atkinson, who gets some very funny dialogue, as well as really bringing a lot of life and personality to his character. Next, there's Rafiki the mandrill voiced by Robert Guillaume who is very comical and over the top, but is ironically the wisest character in the whole film. Finally, there's Timon the Meerkat voiced by Nathan Lane, and Pumba the Warthog voiced by Erine Sabella and you know what they still hold as fun characters with some really funny scenes and lines of dialogue. Then there's Simba's love interest Nala voiced by Moria Kelly as her as an adult and Niketa Calame as her as a cub, and her character and chemistry with Simba is brilliant to the point where you really can feel the love between them (Even if it's all shown for a short amount of time). Voicing Simba's Mom is Madge Sinclair and even though she appears little in the film, she's still is a likable character. Of course, my favorite character in the whole film is Simba's Father Mufasa voiced by James Earl Joans who does an epic job voicing him. What makes him a great character that you can cry about after his death is he's a wise Father who loves his son, can be very playful, and teaches his son so many things, not only about ruling as King, but also lessons on life itself. However, while loving his son greatly, he still can come across as a very intimidating and badass leader. He's probably the best Father figure on film since Gregory Peck played Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird", who ironically really loves this movie as well.
The songs by Tim Rice and Elton John are timeless, catchy and memorable tunes that we all find ourselves after so many years. First, you have the epic opening of the film "The Circle Of Life" that really pulls you into the film with the words epic written all over it. Then there's "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" which is a very fun and colorful sequence that still holds up as a catchy song. The villain song "Be Prepared" is one of the best villain songs that I've ever heard that has an uncomfortable vibe that's creepy but enjoyable at the same time. Then you have Timon and Pumba's buddy song "Hakuna Matata" which is a song that's so catchy and fun, that it's hard not to forget it. But as much as I praise the songs, there are two songs that I didn't like. The first one being "Can You Feel The Love Tonight". Now hold the phone, I'm NOT talking about the Elton John version, I'm talking about the films version. Now to be fair, the film version does tell the story fine, but if you listen to it on its own, it's not too memorable. I'd personally rather they instead put Elton John's version in the sequence than having the characters sing it because the song itself would fit the romantic tone and atmosphere perfectly as we watch Simba and Nala silently fall in love with each other. Which I think is more effecting than hearing a comical version from Timon and Pumba, to hearing the characters thoughts that we already know what they're thinking about and feeling. The other song is the newly put in song "The Morning Report" which kills the comedy out of Simba's pouncing lesson. Finally the score. The score is so epic, so touching, so uplifting, so beautiful that you just have to hear it to believe it and the choir backing it up is powerfully haunting. I just can't put it into words!
Now, finally, the animation. It's one of the most big and epic pieces of animation that I ever seen. In the beginning, when you see the sun rise; the animals walking to Pride Rock; and seeing the baby cub being lifted to the heavenly light over Pride Rock is so incredible that it's one of the best openings that I've ever seen on film. The Stampede scene when seeing the running herd, while Mufasa has to try to save Simba is completely outstanding and thrilling, while also leading to the saddest scene in the film. The "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" sequence is really colorful, surreal, and over the top, while the "Be Prepared" sequence is dark, gritty, and hellish with amazing symbolism of Scar turning the Hyenas into the Third Reich to show Scar's lust for power. The scene when Simba sees the specter of his Dad is incredibly animated, as well as having such touching voice acted. The use of slow motion between the fight between Simba and Scar is breath taking and cool. And the landscape designs for the land where our characters live is really out of this world. It's truly one of Disney's best if not thee best!
The film is one of Disney's most epic films. Their take on making a Lion version of "Hamlet" is great. The characters are likable. The voice acting's amazing. The songs are timeless. And the animation is outstanding. Yeah, it kind of does rip off "Kimba, The White Lion", but then again so did other classic films. The classic film "Nosferatu" was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula". And "A Fistful Of Dollars" ripped off "Yojimbo". but the reason why they're successful is because they have their own style and originality, which is exactly what "The Lion King" did. However, I do wish Disney would confess that they were inspired by the series rather then hiding it, because some anime films were inspired by Disney and they shared it, so why not Disney"?
RATING 5/5
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