The Lion King (1994)
Featuring the voices of Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Cheech Marin, and Whoopi Goldberg
Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
Don't get me wrong. The Lion King is a solid member of Disney's animation canon, but something just doesn't connect with me here and although I admittedly have a difficult time figuring out what my issue is with it, I think it stems from the fact that nothing in this movie is a stand-out. Everything skates by being better than average, but nothing screams "EXCELLENT" which, ultimately is a detriment that likely keeps this film outside of my Top Ten Disney Movies of All Time. [A list, by the way, which I need to get to one of these days on this blog.]
Let's look at the story, for starters. Despite a few amazing moments -- the stampede, the "Circle of Life" number, Scar as an overall villain -- the film feels too bogged down in metaphysical gobbledy-gook. Despite the fact that Rafiki is an amusing character, his swami-style New Age-y vibe gets under my craw at times. Additionally, I can' help but feel that Simba much too quickly agrees to return home upon his reunion with Nala. I just feel like there's no conflict there for him to overcome in order to want to return home. In general, Simba as an adult feels greatly underdeveloped and, with Simba as your main character, that's a bit of a problem. [The less said about the slow motion finale battle sequence the better...I'll just say it comes off as a horrible choice by the animators and it's almost laughable nearly two decades later.]
Music-wise, "Circle of Life" is stellar and "Be Prepared" is deliciously evil, but "I Just Can't Wait to Be King is a colorful disappointment, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" furthers the lack of development in the adult Simba as I mentioned above, and "Hakuna Matata," while funny, will always be the song in which Disney crafted a tune around bodily odors. Still, I remember thinking when this first came out that there was a lack of songs in this flick (and considering this came out in the era of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin this definitely has the least amount of songs in a Disney animated flick at that time). This time around, though, I feel like the songs are appropriately spaced and never seem out of place. The addition of more songs (like "The Morning Report" which was tacked on for the dvd release and thankfully doesn't show up in this theatrical rerelease) would have felt like overkill.
But enough about the criticisms...let's focus on some positives. Firstly, the humor here is better than I remembered. I worried that Timon and Pumbaa would come across as annoying sidekicks, but their one-liners were still quite successful. Similarly, the hyenas -- Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed -- were also just as funny as I remembered them and were quite effective.
The voice talent is also certainly a positive here. Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the young Simba probably has the most difficult part acting-wise, having to range from childhood innocence to sheer despair, and he's quite successful. Ratcheting up the humor, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella are the perfect duo in Timon and Pumbaa. Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin are also stand-outs as the aforementioned hyenas. And, despite the fact that I'm not a big fan of the character, Robert Guillaume brings a unique spin to the baboon Rafiki.
But perhaps the best part of the film and the reason it works as well as it does lies in Jeremy Irons's Scar. A perfect meld of voice acting, character design, animation, and story, Scar is one fantastic villain -- a stand-out amongst Disney films. Over-the-top at times, Scar is quite the campy theatrical villain...but I mean that in the most positive way (and considering the flick is loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet, perhaps the screenwriters drew some inspiration from the Bard's evildoers).
The Lion King is certainly a successful animated film, but (and I realize I'm probably alone in this assessment) it's simply not a standout to me in the Disney pantheon. A good premise filled with some amazing moments, but it doesn't quite add up to a great film.
[As far as the 3D goes...the less said, the better, I guess. It's not the the film looks bad (and if 3D is what it takes to see this up on the big screen again then so be it), but I think I'm over the 3D fad. There has yet to be a 3D film that matches the genius of the experiences you have when you see the short 3D movies at theme parks. Granted, those flicks go for gimmickry, but in the end, isn't 3D a gimmick in and of itself? I want the gimmicks when I watch something in 3D and 99% of the time, they aren't present in theatrically released 3D.]
[It also should be noted that, in the grand scheme of things, I feel like I've maybe been spoiled by seeing Broadway's version of The Lion King twice since I last watched the film. Considering that the Broadway musical is perhaps the best thing I've seen on stage makes the film a bit more of a letdown for me. The play manages to significantly improve the role of Simba which is a big step up from the film.]
Let's look at the story, for starters. Despite a few amazing moments -- the stampede, the "Circle of Life" number, Scar as an overall villain -- the film feels too bogged down in metaphysical gobbledy-gook. Despite the fact that Rafiki is an amusing character, his swami-style New Age-y vibe gets under my craw at times. Additionally, I can' help but feel that Simba much too quickly agrees to return home upon his reunion with Nala. I just feel like there's no conflict there for him to overcome in order to want to return home. In general, Simba as an adult feels greatly underdeveloped and, with Simba as your main character, that's a bit of a problem. [The less said about the slow motion finale battle sequence the better...I'll just say it comes off as a horrible choice by the animators and it's almost laughable nearly two decades later.]
Music-wise, "Circle of Life" is stellar and "Be Prepared" is deliciously evil, but "I Just Can't Wait to Be King is a colorful disappointment, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" furthers the lack of development in the adult Simba as I mentioned above, and "Hakuna Matata," while funny, will always be the song in which Disney crafted a tune around bodily odors. Still, I remember thinking when this first came out that there was a lack of songs in this flick (and considering this came out in the era of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin this definitely has the least amount of songs in a Disney animated flick at that time). This time around, though, I feel like the songs are appropriately spaced and never seem out of place. The addition of more songs (like "The Morning Report" which was tacked on for the dvd release and thankfully doesn't show up in this theatrical rerelease) would have felt like overkill.
But enough about the criticisms...let's focus on some positives. Firstly, the humor here is better than I remembered. I worried that Timon and Pumbaa would come across as annoying sidekicks, but their one-liners were still quite successful. Similarly, the hyenas -- Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed -- were also just as funny as I remembered them and were quite effective.
The voice talent is also certainly a positive here. Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the young Simba probably has the most difficult part acting-wise, having to range from childhood innocence to sheer despair, and he's quite successful. Ratcheting up the humor, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella are the perfect duo in Timon and Pumbaa. Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin are also stand-outs as the aforementioned hyenas. And, despite the fact that I'm not a big fan of the character, Robert Guillaume brings a unique spin to the baboon Rafiki.
But perhaps the best part of the film and the reason it works as well as it does lies in Jeremy Irons's Scar. A perfect meld of voice acting, character design, animation, and story, Scar is one fantastic villain -- a stand-out amongst Disney films. Over-the-top at times, Scar is quite the campy theatrical villain...but I mean that in the most positive way (and considering the flick is loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet, perhaps the screenwriters drew some inspiration from the Bard's evildoers).
The Lion King is certainly a successful animated film, but (and I realize I'm probably alone in this assessment) it's simply not a standout to me in the Disney pantheon. A good premise filled with some amazing moments, but it doesn't quite add up to a great film.
[As far as the 3D goes...the less said, the better, I guess. It's not the the film looks bad (and if 3D is what it takes to see this up on the big screen again then so be it), but I think I'm over the 3D fad. There has yet to be a 3D film that matches the genius of the experiences you have when you see the short 3D movies at theme parks. Granted, those flicks go for gimmickry, but in the end, isn't 3D a gimmick in and of itself? I want the gimmicks when I watch something in 3D and 99% of the time, they aren't present in theatrically released 3D.]
[It also should be noted that, in the grand scheme of things, I feel like I've maybe been spoiled by seeing Broadway's version of The Lion King twice since I last watched the film. Considering that the Broadway musical is perhaps the best thing I've seen on stage makes the film a bit more of a letdown for me. The play manages to significantly improve the role of Simba which is a big step up from the film.]
The RyMickey Rating: B
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