Grab a mate, purchase your popcorn, and sit back and enjoy The Lion King. Watch one of the best Disney classics, well-crafted with amazing acting, intense plots, and dramatic music.
The Lion King is a clever, suspenseful movie with a gripping plot. The movie portrays the ‘circle of life’. Directors Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers present another movie, famous for holding the title of the highest-grossing cartoon animated film. This is a movie to watch, and a movie to remember.
The Lion King highlights a young cub Simba, heir to the throne of the harmonious and prosperous pride lands. However, that future was tragically banished when he witnesses the death of his father. Worse still, the innocent Simba was deceived by his malicious uncle Scar into believing that he caused the death.
Simba then escaped to a far land where he was fortunate to start a new beginning, finding adventures with new friends. After Simba grew up, he was discovered by an old friend Nala, who also encouraged him to return and take over the Pridelands, which Scar had desecrated and ruined.
Incredulous and ambivalent at first, Simba painfully overcame himself, he challenged Scar for the throne and won the battle. As a result, the circle of life was gloriously recovered.
Jeremy Irons convincingly speaks the part of the venomous lion Scar, who is the brother of the King and is jealous about it. Scar symbolizes menace, as he has a black mane, black claws, and black eyelashes, all representing death. Jeremy Irons’ voice suits Scar perfectly, the deep scary tone expertly provides suitable audio. An example of this is in the homophonic song ‘Be Prepared’, and it dramatizes the corruption of the Pridelands with not only Scar as a leader but also the invitation of the hyenas. This song also enhances the ironic nature of the plot.
A film review completed by 2018 students reflects similar opinions to mine. They agreed that the audio provided a wonderful backdrop for this animated film.
A clever use of filming techniques is to be unstintingly praised. High-canted angles and extreme close-ups were effectively used at some turning points. For example, Simba’s mental fight with the decision to return to Pride Rock was distinctly illustrated through high-angled shots. This exaggerates the indecisiveness and his struggle, rousing the audience’s sympathy. Furthermore, The Lion King’s soundtrack has even become world-famous overnight. Has anyone not heard of ‘Hakuna Matata’? or ‘Can you feel the love tonight’? Just by the soundtrack, The Lion King instantly overtakes other movies, such as Aladdin and Finding Nemo.
The main theme of The Lion King is the circle of life and this is manifestly conveyed through the death of the king, followed by the rise of a new king. We evidently get the overarching theme, however, there were a few theme let-downs. Firstly, the opening conveys a toxic idea that everyone was born to be unequal, which is far removed from the value underpinning Australian society. This was shown through the scene where all the animals bowed down to just a newborn cub. Furthermore, when Scar rules Prideland, all the animals were blindly obsequious to Scar’s inability. Nobody questions, nobody stands up, and nobody brings Scar to justice by law and order, only because Scar was heir to the throne after Simba! Even Scar says, “Life’s not fair”. Other than the theme let-down, it was well-effectively manipulated from The Lion King.
To conclude, Disney’s masterpiece, The Lion King is an uplifting and inspirational animation that I strongly suggest every student watch.