The Lion King is a timeless classic that not only shows how the circle of life works through animation, but also stands as a metaphor to Disney’s return as king to the animation world, something it slipped on in the late 80s and early 90s (prior to Beauty and the Beast). It is truly perfect in almost every way.
A coming-of-age film that is a perfect example of how it’s done.
Official Synopsis
“The Lion King” follows the adventures of Simba, a feisty lion cub who cannot wait to be king, as he searches for his destiny in the great “Circle of Life.”
That is one short and sweet synopsis, which is uncommon for movies these days. Anyway, just like the synopsis, the movie itself is simple, precise and doesn’t beat around the bush. It preaches what the story talks about, which is the concept of a ‘circle of life’. In fact, if you look at that term it will directly correlate with how the story flows. It starts with life, stumbles onto death, but then ends with life. Again, incredibly simple, yet fascinatingly entertaining from beginning to end with a sprinkle of humor, a touch of tragedy and a sense of large stakes to keep you glued. It’s a perfect film, even after nearly 25 years.
With that said, and if you’ve been under a rock or dead set on avoiding Disney films for some stupid reason, let’s go through the story.
The first act of the film has our main cub Simba born into Mufasa’s, his father, reign. Mufasa wants to teach his feisty cub about ruling over the lighted land and how to treat each animal, sans the Hyena, with respect, even if they’re food. Half-listening, and mostly being a young cub, Simba constantly finds himself in trouble. From going to the forbidden elephant graveyard to being naive to the impending evil shadow of his bitter uncle, Scar, who wants nothing else then to see Mufasa, and his son Simba, erased from existence, Simba finds himself on the short end of the stick constantly. The latter of Simba’s problem list, Scar, sets up Simba to cause the death of his father, while pinning the guilt directly onto Simba himself, which drives the young cub away from his pride. All of this is act one, and the end capper, the death of Mufasa, is still as devastating as it was in 1994.
What I find particularly fond about the opening act of The Lion King, outside of the hand-drawn beauty of the film, is how unforgiving and treacherous the storyline is when let loose. The risks in the movie seem real, especially when you see the death of Mufasa, which kills the humor entirely, as well as Simba’s innocence. The end of act one is pivotal to the rest of the film’s sense of scale and powerfulness. It certainly hits all the right marks to set up the second act, while leaving such a mess for poor Simba to figure out, which is the journey the cub must take in the second act to try and grow up. Act one is a thing of beauty and is unrivaled by most animated features of its type.
Act two begins with Simba meeting Timon and Pumbaa, two footloose and fancy free bug-eating freeloaders. They live life without worries and cares, which makes them more relaxed than Simba could ever hope. Eventually, Simba falls into line with the two fellows and finds himself slowly releasing the guilt he has maintained from his father’s tragic end. As the circle of life goes, Simba’s past catches up with him and he ends up back in his pride, which has been devastated by Scar’s cruel rule. The second act begins with Simba preparing himself for a final battle with Scar, which could mean the future of his pride, as well as the future of the animals he rules over.
The second act is just as significant as the first. You get a real sense of closure, or at least somewhat on its way closure for Simba and his father’s death. You also get a properly developed overshadowing and unfulfilled destiny that pulls Simba back to a dangerous part of his life that he is trying to avoid — his destiny to be king. The story here is so well-crafted that all of it leads perfectly into the third act.
As you can guess, and I know we’re being dumb about this, we’re not going to reveal the obvious third act out of respect for those who have never seen the film. You can pretty much guess how it ends, but seeing it conclude in all its glory will show you how well it was all put together and crafted. Such a beautiful story, though, again, very simple in structure.
The Lion King is a timeless classic that not only shows how the circle of life works through animation, but also stands as a metaphor to Disney’s return as king to the animation world, something it slipped on in the late 80s and early 90s (prior to Beauty and the Beast). It is truly perfect in almost every way.
In terms of its animation, it has been cleaned up just like previous signature releases. It’s visually perfect on this Blu-ray release and falls in line with what Disney is trying to do with all its hit movies. Bravo to them for bringing the best out of its finest.
On the special features side of things here’s what you’re looking at:
• Brand New Sing-Along Version
• Audio Commentary – View the film with commentary by producer Don Hahn and co-directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff.
• Visualizing a Villain
• The Recording Sessions
• Nathan and Matthew: The Extended Lion King Conversation
• Inside the Story Room
o Circle of Life
o Simba & Nala
o Simba Takes Nala Out to Play
o Hakuna Matata
o Rafiki and Reflecting Pool
• Music & More – Sing along to your favorite songs from the movie!
o “Circle of Life”
o “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”
o “Be Prepared”
o “Hakuna Matata”
o “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”
• Galleries
o Visual Development
o Character Design
o Storyboards
o Layouts
o Backgrounds & Layouts
As with most of the Disney Signature Collection editions, this one comes packed with extra goodies and archival footage. They really dug deep to make this worthwhile. In addition, this also comes with a set of frames from the actual film. That in itself will probably make Disney fans happy.
