Title: The Lion KingYear: 1994
Synopsis: Everyone knows the Lion King and Simba's story... for any of you that don't Simba is a young lion cub set to take his father's place as king of Pride Rock. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse when Mufasa is murdered. Blamed for his father's death and cast out by his scheming uncle Scar, Simba flees. Out in the wilderness he meets the smelly hog Pumba, and the fast talking, enigmating Timone. Together they spend their time singing and eating bugs, but Simba is always haunted by his past. Will he ever find the courage to return to Pride Rock, face his uncle and his dirty secret?
Most have seen The Lion King, and although they won't admit it, probably know most of the songs word for word too. I know I do, but then I was borne of the generation to be brought up by Disney classics such as this. It comes as no surprise to most that I collect the classics as they're very cleverly drip-fed to us by Disney.
When I found out that TLK was being brought back to cinemas for a limited time I was pretty stoked. Given, it was in 3D and I'm not really interested in this new wave of 3D films as they do little for me, but just like Avatar, some films are worth paying for to see in 3D. And pay I did, for the two of us I got very little back out of £20. When you add in the extortionate cost of ice cream into that, the cinema has definitely become a treat instead of an option for something to do on a rainy day!
A couple of interesting points have been brought to my attention regarding this film, for an example, when Simba, Timone and Pumba are talking about what they think stars are, and Simba walks away, he slumps into the dust and sends a cloud into the air. The rumour goes that the cloud of dust spells out the word 'sex' when in actual fact it spells 'sfx' and that it was put there in purpose by the special effects team. A caged Zazu (voiced by none other than Rowan Atkinson) sings 'It's a small world after all' to which Scar yells 'NO! Anything but that!'. If you've ever visited DisneyWorld or DisneyLand Paris, and been on the very same ride, or heard the song you can understand why. It's a definite ear worm, once it's in there it doesn't go away for a very very long time.
The opening song, 'The Circle of Life' was never intended for the opening credits. Instead, the producers wanted a very heavy, but quiet narrative. But when they heard Hanz Zimmer's extended version of the song, they decided to use it instead. Great choice if you ask me! Mickey Mouse makes two appearences in the film, once as a pair of ears on a grub that Timone pulls out of the log when they're eating, and again later in a pattern of stars as Timone, Pumba and Simba are watching the stars. And talking of stars, when Simba explains he believes the stars are the Gods of the past, you can also see the constellation of Leo the lion.
When Rafiki sings 'Asante sana Squash banana, wewe nugu mimi hapana' he's actually singing 'thank you very much, squash banana, you're a baboon and I'm not'. So when Simba asks what it means and Rafiki says 'it means you're a baboon and I'm not' he's not lying!
It was the amount of research that was deemed necessary that shocked me. Animators were taken on safari to study lions in prides and they even tied a long rope to the Jeep to study cubs who would run after the slow moving vehicle to swat at the rope just like cats do. This was now the young Simba and Nala were born! While back in the studio a lion, vulture and a baboon were brought in so artists could learn how they moved, the baboon was given a staff so the animators could see how Rafiki might have moved.
I could go on all day about the interesting facts I picked up on looking into this film. But I think the fact that The Lion King was the highest grossing movie of 1994 and it still holds the record for the highest grossing traditionally animated film of all time speaks for itself. It's suitable for all ages, and never fails to get a few tears out of most.
It's one of my favourite Disney films of all time, and well deserves a solid 10/10.
Until next time, film fans.
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