Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at The Lion King

NAAAAAAANTS INGONYAMA BAGITHI BABA!!

I’ve always wanted to do that. Anyway, welcome back to a king-sized edition of Deep Dive Disney where today we’re looking at arguably one of Disney’s biggest hits, The Lion King. This movie pretty much took over the world in 1994 (The same year as that another Disney Property that we’ve discussed at length came about as it happens) and it’s not hard to see why. The film feels truly larger than life with some of the most epic animation, storytelling and characters the company has ever produced. The film also boasts as all-star cast including the likes of Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Rowan Atkinson and so much more. So, what’s the story? Loosely adapted from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (and possibly also from something called Kimba the White Lion but that’s whole other can of worms) the Lion King tells the story of a young lion cub named Simba who is destined to succeed his father Mufasa as king of the Pride Lands. Meanwhile, Simba’s scheming uncle, Scar, has allied with the hyenas, the enemies of the Pride Lands, and has put into motion a plan to kill his brother and nephew so he can claim the throne for himself. Scar’s plan successfully takes out Mufasa with Simba surviving. Blaming himself for his father’s death and afraid to face the consequences, Simba goes into exile while Scar and the Hyenas plunge the kingdom into ruin. Years later, a now fully-grown Simba returns to face his past, avenge his father and claim his rightful place as king. It’s one of Disney’s biggest hits and I only hope I can do it justice. So, let us waste no further time and dive right into, The Lion King

Main Character:

As cub, Simba, voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, is very cocky and sure of himself. What I like about young Simba is that he acts like a realistic child would act. He’s excited about the prospect of becoming king but fails to recognize the implications of what being a king really means. To young Simba, being a king is exactly what a young child would think it was, an excuse to boss people around and get your way all the time. Be honest, who among you hasn’t had that exact fantasy as a child. Simba is brave, but also very impulsive, a combination that leads him to ill-advised actions like heading into the elephant graveyard to prove himself. He’s not a jerk or anything, he’s just a kid who’s still learning what things like bravery and being a good king really mean.

When Simba becomes an adult lion, now voiced by Ferris Bueller himself, Matthew Broderick, he has long since lost his way, having hooked up with Timon and Pumbaa and adopted their bohemian lifestyle. Simba had forgotten the responsibilities that his father had tried to instill within him at an early age. However, once Simba gets some sense knocked into him, we do see the beginnings of how he could one day be a great ruler. Simba’s arc throughout the movie is that of learning to accept responsibility. Being a king is not about being fearless as Simba assumes as a cub or about titles and respect as Scar seems to see it. It is about a duty to one’s kingdom and the wellbeing of those within it. Seeing how devastated the Pride Lands became under Scar’s regime shows Simba what running from his responsibilities has cost those he cares about and spurs him on to finally set things right.

Villain:

Arguably one of the more popular Disney Villains, Scar is certainly a threatening customer. With his claws always out and sporting his namesake on his left eye Scar certainly looks the part of a Disney bad guy, probably why he’s one of the most popular of Disney’s franchise villains. Can you believe we only have two of those left after this one? Anywho, it’s no secret that Scar is voiced brilliantly by the always awesome Jeremy Irons but what you may not know is that Scar is yet another character who was supposed to be played by Sir Patrick Stewart. Take a shot! At his core, Scar’s motivations are born purely out of jealousy. He may tell others, and himself, that he’d be a better king than Mufasa, but ultimately he just wants what his brother has without fully understanding the implications of what being a king means. He’s actually a lot like young Simba in that regard. However, Scar’s got something Simba doesn’t, an ARMY OF NAZI HYENAS!! The three main Hyenas, who, in my opinion, rank among the most intimidating of Disney Villain sidekicks, are Shenzi, voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Banzai, voiced by Cheech Marin, and Ed, voiced by Jim Cummings who also partially voices Scar during the song Be Prepared. I like how these three are made to feel like a serious threat with or without Scar in their corner. Something I noticed this time around that I hadn’t before was how the Hyenas are clearly and visibly terrified of Mufasa but openly mock Scar. Now, this could simply indicate that the Hyenas have nothing to fear from Scar since he’s on their side, but more likely, at least as I see it, it seems to suggest that Scar’s alliance with the Hyenas is not quite as stable as he would like to believe. This actually brings me to an interesting point. Lorerunner, a YouTuber whose work I greatly admire, brought up the theory that Scar isn’t as intelligent as he asserts himself to be. He’s definitely not stupid since he’s clever enough to negotiate an alliance with the hyenas and put together a fairly solid plan to bump off Mufasa and Simba, the latter only really managing to survive thanks to sheer dumb luck more than anything else. However, once Scar assumes power, it very quickly becomes clear that Scar didn’t really have a plan past simply becoming king in the first place and as it turns out, he kind of sucks as a ruler. As king, Scar allows the Pride Lands to become occupied by a foreign power, fails to deliver on any of his promises, does nothing as a drought causes food to become scarce and his subjects to starve, refuses to listen to reason when told his people are suffering, acts solely in his own interest instead of the interest of his kingdom and when his back is against the wall, he pathetically begs for his life and throws his allies under the bus. Seriously, between this guy and Prince John from Robin Hood, what is it with evil lions in these movies and unintentional similarities with a certain former U.S. President? Frankly, even if Simba hadn’t returned to claim his throne, it probably would only have been a matter of time before the hyenas turned on him anyway. Short-sightedness aside, Scar is still one of the most memorable Disney villains in the bunch and a great foe for the story this film is telling.

Side Characters:

We have a lot to get through here so let’s just dive right in.

Voiced by Darth Vader himself, James Earl Jones, Mufasa is a great character. Even though he can be regal and authoritative when he needs to be, I really appreciate the fact that he comes across as a dad first and a king second. He expects much of Simba knowing the burden of leadership that awaits him, but never forgets that he is still a child with a lot to learn. He’s harsh when Simba disobeys him sure, but still has an adorable relationship with his son, even cracking a few jokes here and there. Out of all the characters, Mufasa seems to understand best that being a king is a heavy burden that comes with great responsibility, unlike Scar who only sees it as a title that means he’s better than everyone else.

Zazu, Mufasa’s advisor, fills the role of comic relief until Timon and Pumbaa show up. Honestly, I actually thought Zazu was a little funnier than Timon and Pumbaa but that could just be because he’s voiced by comedic genius Rowan Atkinson and I’ve always been a huge Blackadder fan.

Rafiki, the Shaman of the pride lands is a fun character. He’s not above trolling people and he’s clearly a hell of a fighter as evidenced by how he used his sweet karate moves to fight off a group of hyenas during the climax, but he’s also very wise and is the one who ultimately convinces Simba to go back to the Pride Lands.

Nala is a great character and I actually appreciate her chemistry with Simba. She clearly cares about her people and is the first of the lionesses to actively oppose Scar. Something I appreciate is how both as a child and as an adult, Nala always wins when she and Simba fight. This makes sense because in real life, female lions are way stronger than males. I always thought that was a nice touch.

And then there’s Timon and Pumbaa, Disney’s answer to Ren & Stimpy. Most people seem to either love or hate these characters. Personally, while they can be a little grating sometimes, they’re mostly harmless They definitely provide Simba the friendship he needs and ultimately are the reason he is able to survive outside the pride lands, but they also are the ones who teach him to avoid his responsibility. Still though, once Simba makes up his mind to go back and fight Scar, they support him without hesitation so they are good dudes even if their way of life may seem questionable. I guess you could say that, as characters, they’re a little slimy, yet satisfying.

Songs:

Oh boy, here we go. Remember what I said about Beauty & The Beast and how great that soundtrack was? Well, this completely blows that film out of the water. With the legendary Elton John spearheading the soundtrack, I don’t think there’s a single bad song in the bunch. And before you say anything, no, we’re not counting The Morning Report. That song was cut from the original theatrical version for a reason.

I normally don’t comment on the score of a film, but man, Lion King provides some of my favorite instrumental tracks of any Disney animated film ever. I especially like the song that plays when Simba heads back to the Pride Lands. Listen closely next time you watch the film and hear for yourself.

On to the actual musical numbers, we may as well start at the very beginning with Circle of Life. With the possible exception of the opening theme of Star Wars, I cannot think of a piece of music that is able to open up a film with quite the same level of impact as the opening lines of Circle of Life. After that, the song is still pretty awesome. The lyrics are solid and the visuals make the film feel larger than life even before we meet our main characters.

I Just Can’t Wait To Be King has a great melody that you just can’t help but dance to. The song has great lyrics, exciting visuals and even a few laughs. It also happens to be the most balls hard platforming level in the old Lion King SNES game. Seriously, video games didn’t pull their punches back in the Super Nintendo days.

Be Prepared is often considered the Gold Standard to which other Disney Villain songs are held. It’s a ton of fun and really makes Scar look intimidating, especially with the previously mentioned ARMY OF NAZI HYENAS!! You want to see something messed up? Look up Be Prepared in German set to old Hitler footage. It’s disturbing how well it syncs up.

Hakuna Matata is a lot of fun and it’s certainly hard to resist belting out the chorus when it comes around. Still, I feel that Bare Necessities managed to accomplish the same thing without stopping in the middle for a shameless fart joke.

And then, there’s my favorite song in the film, Can You Feel the Love Tonight. What can I say, it’s a great love song and I love both the film version and the version performed by Elton John himself. Fun story, I met my first serious girlfriend because of this song. I was walking through a crowded college campus singing Disney songs… because reasons, and this blind girl came up to me and said I had a beautiful singing voice. We’ve since parted ways romantically, but it’s still a fun memory.

Memorable Scenes:

There are actually three scenes I’d like to discuss here, and all of them epic in different ways. First and foremost, there’s the iconic stampede scene. Simba waits alone in the gorge, having been lured there by Scar when suddenly the ground begins to shake and over the hill comes a massive stampede of wildebeest. Every second of this scene your heart is pounding even if you’ve seen this movie as many times as I have. The epic score combined with the dire situation create effective tension. Let us also not forget that this scene ends with one of the most iconic Disney Villain moments as Scar digs his claws into Mufasa’s paws and utters the famous line “Long Live the King” before dropping his brother to his death.

Next up is the “Remember Who You are scene in which Simba sees the ghost of his father and is finally convinced to return and claim his lost throne. I’d write all this off as a hallucination but knowing the strange stuff introduced to this universe in the Lion Guard TV show, this may very well be the actual ghost of Mufasa. Seriously, The Lion Guard is fucking weird. How weird? Scar is resurrected as a goddamned Volcano Demon, that’s how weird!

And finally, there’s the absolutely awesome climax. I absolutely love the final battle between Simba and Scar. It’s rare that the hero is made to look every bit as threatening as the villain and I was loving it. It can be easy to forget while you’re grooving to a song like Hakuna Matata but these are mother fucking lions and they’re at the top of the food chain for a reason. The fight is a knockdown drag out brawl that rivals, if not surpasses, the climax of The Great Mouse Detective in sheer brutality. This also gives us the amazing visual of Scar leaping straight at the camera through the flames. That was fun when I saw this film in 3D let me tell you.

Story:

We’ve already discussed the theme of what true leadership means in great detail in the other sections, so I won’t bother repeating myself here. The other message of the film is nicely spelled out for us by Rafiki. The past can hurt, but you can either run from it, or learn from it. That’s a nice message even if it’s not executed as well as it could be. Both themes seem to stem from the greater theme of personal responsibility, something Simba had to learn before he returned and something Scar was unable to understand.

The Dark Disney Factor:

There’s plenty I could discuss here. I could talk about the disturbing implication that the ruling party of the Pride Lands must eat their loyal subjects in order to survive, the unsettling implication that Simba and Nala are probably related since there are only two adult male lions in the entire pride and both are Simba’s blood relatives or the previously mentioned ARMY OF NAZI HYENAS and how Scar’s demise comes when said Hyena’s savagely rip him apart. However, the part the really scarred everyone for life was the death of Mufasa. Anyone who says that Bambi’s mom was the most disturbing Disney death can kiss my ass. You know what happens right after that scene? You get scene with a bunch of happy singing birdies! Well there are no happy birdies this time, just Simba desperately trying to wake up his father’s lifeless body as the realization that he’s dead slowly sets in. Simba desperately cries for help, but no one answers. Not sure what to do, the poor cub simply curls up against his father’s lifeless body and sobs. As if on cue, Scar shows up to manipulate the emotionally vulnerable child and convinces him to leave his home forever before sending his Hyena goons to kill him and cement his position as king. If this scene didn’t mess you up as a child, then I’m sorry, you don’t have a soul.

Final Thoughts: Wow, this movie more than earns its reputation as one of Disney's biggest and best. It's a film full of some of Disney's most memorable characters, songs and moments. Honestly, it's not surprising to me that the 2019 remake was met with such disdain since this movie never needed a remake. It's damn near perfect as is. However, as great as this film is, next time we're covering something that is, in my opinion, even better. We've discussed my Big 5 several times, but our next movie stands out even in that elite group. It is not only my favorite Disney film ever made, it is one of my favorite movies of all time period. Join me next time for everybody as Deep Dive Disney proudly looks at, A Goofy Movie.