The Lion King (1994)

In 1994 the Lion King, the second highest grossing animated movie of all time (the highest grossing I’ve since learned is Toy Story 3), was released and I would go to see it in theaters at least three times. At the time I was convinced that it was the greatest Disney movie ever made and so too were a lot of other people it seems. Today, however, I find that Disney’s great block buster hasn’t aged very well and, while remaining an entertaining spectacle, that much of its pretense crumbles under scrutiny.

The Lion King represents the end of the line for the “Disney Renaissance” as soon after its initial release Jeffrey Katzenberg, the douchey yet effective Disney executive in charge of Disney’s film division, would quit, go on to get one of the biggest severance packages in world history (it’s a long story, read Disney War), and start his own animated production company to compete with Disney in the form of Dreamworks. Without him Disney’s talented animators and not so talented storytellers were left without much direction and subsequent films, while often showing glimpses of brilliance, were typically confused, out of touch, and not a little pretentious. Anyone who doubts the importance of Jeffrey Katzenberg to Disney at this time might be surprised to find out that the overall story and form of what would become the Lion King was actually mostly his idea (and Osamu Tezuka’s but this is beside my point). Though, while he of course handed the project over to the creative animators at Disney, he retained a firm grip on the direction of the movie from beginning to end.

Inspired by Katzenberg’s real life relationship with his own father (it is claimed), Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and according to some sources, Greek tragedy, the Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young lion prince who is heir to the throne of his father King Mufasa, the ruler of the African plains. Scar, Mufasa’s younger and envious brother, hatches a plan to kill the king and usurp the throne for himself. In the course of the drama Simba mistakenly comes to believe that he is the primary cause of his father’s death and shirking responsibility he runs off into the jungle, therefore allowing his uncle Scar to impose a tyrannical rule that is deliberately modeled on Nazi aesthetics (with goose-stepping Hyena storm troopers). Meanwhile, in the jungle, Simba is befriended by the comical Timon and Pumba, a meerkat and a warthog respectively, who teach him a “Bear Necessities" style (see the Jungle Book) of frivolous self-reliance and Simba grows-up to essentially become the lion equivalent of that guy who’s still playing beer-pong when he’s thirty. Of course there is a big revelation that changes everything, thanks to a yogic baboon and a now iconic moment with a talking cloud, and Simba returns to, somehow, and for some reason, single-handedly save the day. Oh, and he gets the girl too, late in the movie, and for some other reason.

The Lion King is an “epic” monster of a movie. It’s got a melodramatic plot that transcends anything ever attempted in a Disney movie being filled with political intrigue, betrayal, murder, and revenge. At the same time, thanks to extensive computer work, it has spectacular and sometimes jaw dropping visuals. Who doesn’t remember the intensity of the wildebeest stampede? Or the sense of majesty conveyed as Rafiki raises the newborn Simba in the air over Pride Rock (a sort of seat of government for the lions)? The animation is crisp and smooth, the characters and musical sequences blister with creativity. Scar is an awesome villain. Matthew Broderick can apparently read very well. Whoopi Goldberg manages to be funny. Shoot, even the music in this movie is above average.

But for how great the production values are, and how involving the Shakespearean plot can be, I just can’t help but feel miffed by how egregiously silly so much of this movie really is. Take the Circle of Life sequence at the beginning, which we all remember and no doubt loved...but have you ever payed close attention to how ridonkulous those lyrics are? To call it ignorant New Age fluff would probably be to give it too much credit, but it’s amazing how good it all sounds as written by Elton John.... just as long as you don’t listen to what’s being said that is. Further, Simba’s movement from Jungle-loser to King of the World just doesn’t make any sense, at all, and is entirely undeserved in the context of the narrative. He doesn’t really grow as a person, he learns nothing, he changes nothing.....he just comes back and, boom, it’s a fast finish and everyone embraces him. He’s the new Lion King and the “Circle of Life” continues until, I suppose, his own younger brother decides to knock him off. That’s lame, even Mark Hamill had to get his hand cutoff and learn more about the Schwartz before he earned his dramatic comeback, why does this bug eating lion who’s never been in a real fight in his whole life get off so easy?

It’s well crafted, as I’ve said, but the content of the movie is deeply flawed and only superficially profound or meaningful. The result is a highly polished, entertaining movie, but it’s only polished and entertaining in the way that a monkey would be if someone dressed it up in a little suite....now that’s comedy.

I give it 3.8 Kimba the White Lions (look it up, and enjoy the controversy)