A film that gave me much
A lot of feelings come up watching “The Lion King”, an essentially perfect piece of cinema in every way possible. I’m reminded of how greatly fortunate I was to see it in a theater, how my relationship with movies as a envelope-pushing medium coincided with Disney’s gradual risk-taking during their renaissance, of the musical artists, animators, and large casts all coming together to form what, to any kid, felt like an epic event.
But more specifically this time you can’t help but think of the film’s beating heart in James Earl Jones. The film is a father-son story when you get right down to it and it’s interesting 30 years later that it still chokes me up. Jones, a voice of God if there ever was one, does what very few other actors could do with Mufasa, so much so Disney didn’t even try to replace him in the remake. His grace here is too infectious to deny.
Authoritative but always magnanimous, when Mufasa talks, you listen. Every one of his scenes, from how the circle of life works to how our ancestors guide us has a genuine, specific value. His mentorship and wisdom are essential; the film’s main lesson of being too young and stupid to fully understand why these truths require patience, not arrogance, is a perfect example of why these movies work for young and old. They hit different the older you get, but hit just the same. But other than mentorship, Mufasa is a dad first. The two are inseparable- Simba’s admiration and Mufasa’s concern and playful nature with him are deeply felt and translate to the tragic later on.
The opening to this is a masterpiece of set-up without dialogue. The visual of Pride Rock gets brighter and more lush everytime I see it. The first of Elton John’s majestically beautiful songs kicks in and we witness the hierarchy and way of things as all the animals of the African grassland come to pay tribute to what will be their future king. There is balance and understanding among them that they are all connected according to a plan and they are there to pay fealty to a future king responsible for it.
The music continues to play a great role in how this all goes down. “I just Can’t Wait to be King” is another classic that informs Simba’s hard-headed, over-eager little cub. There is also a joyful, kinetic energy to it that doesn’t come from dance so much as just pure exuberance. The same comes later with “Hakuna Matata”.
I can’t think of a single Disney movie that didn’t hit a homerun with their villains and Scar ranks as the very best. Right behind Jones is Jeremy Irons, bringing bemused, devious delights to this manipulative, power hungry schemer. Concealing his contempt behind sarcasm and fake concern, Scar doesn’t so much as move but creep. He’s as selfish and ruthless a villain as they come- scoring even more points with the fiendishly dark musical number “Be Prepared”.
It’s in him that Disney also decided it’s time to pull another “Bambi”..actually no, this one is probably worse cause we can see the violent delight in how the regicide is carried out. That, plus the stampede of gazelle also presents a frightening image, one so rough it’s hard to believe the film escaped with a G rating back then. There was a bravery to it- opening up a world of adult concepts that came with greater amounts of edge.
The film can be grim and awe-inspiringly cruel even at times but it does a great job of coming back around to its message- which is there is power in self and facing your own past and fears. I complain a lot about kids movies today- mostly because they cynically treat them as empty, cash cow franchises- and this movie is why. We’re missing the fables and decency of older generation films and I think kids suffer for it.
Directors Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers balance it out with nicely placed comic relief. Not one person in the cast goes wasted; from Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella’s Timon and Pumbaa coming in at just the right time after the film’s most devastating blow, to Rowan Atkinson’s nerdy, uptight hornbill Zazu, to Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings playing Scar’s yapping, wisecracking hyena henchmen.
Kids raised on this movie were also part of the early generation to see the great promise of computers. In addition to spectacular views of the African plain, dusty wastelands, and the lovely star-lit nights where songs like “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” take place, we also get great CGI related stuff like the stampede or the final, slo-mo fight between Scar and Simba, probably the most epic ending Disney has ever done.
The result is a movie that feels far more adult. Only later did I realize the film takes from “Hamlet” and mythology and whatnot. And it kicked off another passion of mine, is that that stuff always comes off a little more interesting if you can also update it to modern times. Disney and others should remember that. In the meantime, “Lion King” is a movie that should be shared again and again if for nothing else but the phen