Subject:  The Lion King |
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Gnat
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Date Posted: 08:12:18 03/07/03 Fri
Nathalie Costello
English 2
Lusby
7 March 2003
The Lion King
Since 1942 Walt Disney has been producing movies for people and children of all ages. One of these movies is The Lion King, the story of a young cub destined to be king and his evil uncle’s only desire is to become king. It is a story of courage, bravery, facing the ghosts of the past, rich characters, and amazing music. Because of the music, The Lion King became a Broadway musical. Although, before the musical made Broadway, there was already a large community of people who drew Lion King style art, and had written their own Lion King stories, and these people are the ones who really have the story live on. Disney’s The Lion King has greatly impacted the last decade of the twentieth century; the mania began with the first movie, then progressed with the second, and continues to affect the devoted fans that write and draw their own Lion King based worlds.
The Lion King is a story about young cub, Simba, who is the future king of a great savannah, the Pridelands. The movie opens with the “The Circle of Life,” an Oscar nominated song by Elton John, and a scene filled with richly colored animals making their way to Pride Rock, the “capital” of the savannah. A mandrill begins coming up the rock, all the animals that had crowded around parting for him, showing him respect. He goes into the lion’s cave and gets the newborn cub, Simba. He raises Simba up on the top of Pride Rock for all the other animals to see.
When the song ends, the movie turns to Scar, Simba’s uncle. He is complaining that he cannot be king now that this cub is born. He did not go to the ceremony for Simba. Mufasa, Simba’s father, tells Scar he is disappointed he did not attend the ceremony. He does not hurt Scar in any way and just walks off.
The next scene starts with Simba waking his father. Mufasa begins teaching him what his duties as king will be. At this point, on the storyboards, there was to be a song, but the directors had a problem because James Earl Jones, the voice of Mufasa, could not sing. Instead, they had Mufasa simply give Simba a lecture. Simba’s journey through the Pridelands is shortened when Mufasa learns that there are hyena’s in their land. Mufasa orders Zazu, his adviser, to take Simba back to Pride Rock.
The next day Scar thinks of a plan to kill Mufasa and Simba. Scar leaves Simba in a gorge and tells his hyena friends to chase a herd of wildebeest down the gorge leaving Simba helpless. Scar then goes to tell Mufasa what is happening, and they run together to save Simba. Mufasa leaps down into the stampede and saves Simba. After he saves Simba, he falls back into the stampeding wildebeest. Mufasa leaps onto the same wall the Scar is perched on and reaches out for his brother’s help. However, Scar lets him fall back into the herd. When Mufasa dies, Scar tells Simba that it is his fault, the pride will be disappointed, and hate him. In the direct words of Scar from the movie, “But the king is dead. And if it weren't for you, he'd still be alive. Oh! What will your mother think?” Scar then tells him to run away.
He runs into a desert with no food or water. While he his on the brink of death, Timon and Pumbaa, a meercat and a warthog, find him. They bring him to the safety of the jungle. Simba grows up there, living with the philosophy of Hakuna Matata, which means “no worries.”
Simba’s childhood friend, Nala, appears chasing Pumbaa. Simba runs to his rescue and begins fighting with Nala. Nala ends up pinning him like she once did many years ago, which reminds Simba of who she is. Nala tells Simba of all the problems they are having in the Pridelands, of how Scar let the hyenas take over, and that all the livestock ran off. She also tells him that Scar said he had died with his father the day of the stampede.
Simba, confused as to what he should do, runs off. He runs into Rafiki but does not remember him. Rafiki shows Simba how his father is a part of him. While with Rafiki, Mufasa’s ghost appears to Simba. Mufasa tells Simba that he has to go back, that he has to reclaim his kingdom. He obeys his father and returns to the Pridelands. He is surprised that Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa join him.
When they return to Pride Rock, Scar talks about the day Mufasa died. Scar tricks Simba into publicly admitting responsibility for his father’s death, as described in the following dialog:
SCAR. Well, Simba, now’s your chance to tell them. Tell them who is responsible for Mufasa’s death!
SIMBA. I am.
Simba tries to explain that it was an accident. He and Scar begin to fight. During the fight Simba started to slip of the ledge just as his father right before he died. Scar whispers, “And here’s my little secret: I killed Mufasa.” This gives Simba the strength to defeat Scar.
The movie ends with a reprise of “The Circle of Life” with Simba and Nala with their cub, completing the circle of life.
While I was researching The Lion King I found out many interesting facts. I discovered The Lion King was actually based on Hamlet. Both are stories about a prince, whose evil uncle kills the protagonist’s father, and takes his place as king. Also, when the main character is banished, he meets two comical characters who befriend him. The ghost of the father appears in both and instructs him to go home and take their place as king. Some thought that the word “sex” appeared on the screen in one scene. Actually, “SFX” was written on the screen, which stands for “special effects.” I found out The Lion King is the number one animated movie of all time, and the seventh movie of all time. Because James Earl Jones’s voice was so massive and sound so much like what a lion’s would if they could actually speak, the directed surrounded him with microphones. By doing this they got the full effect of his great voice.
Simba’s Pride, the sequel to The Lion King, was released direct to video in 1998. It sold more copies than any other direct to video movie. The majority of the actors who’s voices were used in the first movie returned. It received and Outstanding Achievement Annie Award. People spent around “$300 million on The Lion King II” and it had more receipts than any other animated movie, with one exception, “the $313 million of the original.” (Ziebarth, Christian. Kiara's Sahifa)
Simba’s Pride is the story of Kiara, Simba’s daughter, and the Outlanders who are still loyal to the late Scar. Unlike the first movie, this one focuses on how love can overcome all.
The movie opens with a sunrise. With the call to the Pride Rock for another presentation of a newly born cub, the opening scene mirrors the first movie’s opening scene. After Rafiki presents the newly born, Timon and Pumbaa begin talking about how it will be just like old times, but to their surprise the baby is female. Simba and Nala name her Kiara.
When Kiara grows into a young cub she is a lot like her father at that age. She is adventurous and always getting into trouble. One day she wonders to the Outlands, the place where all of Scar’s loyalist live. She meets Kovu, a cub about her age, and begins playing with him. They find their way back to the Pridelands, not know that Zira, Kovu’s mother and Scar’s widowed mate, was following them. They get into a mock fight. At the same moment in the movie, Simba and Zira appear to claim their cubs. Neither knew the other was there. Simba reminds Zira that she had been banished from the Pridelands. Simba demands his pound of flesh and Zira offers him Kovu. He then relents and just tells them to leave.
When Zira and Kovu return to their home, Zira yells at Nuka, Kovu’s half brother and babysitter, for not watching him. Kovu then blames himself, and Zira’s anger turns to him. She scolds him for attempting to make friends with a Pridelander, and then realizes that it is a good idea. If he becomes friends with the daughter of Simba he will get on Simba’s good side and he will be able to get near Simba and more easily attack him.
When Kiara becomes a young adult, she goes on her first lone hunt. She asks her father to promise that he will let her hunt on her own. He agrees, but without her knowing still sends Timon and Pumbaa to follow her. When she sees them following her she runs to the outlands to hunt there so she can really be alone. While there, Nuka and Vitani start a fire in the grass, and Kiara faints from all the smoke. Kovu saves her and brings her back to the Pridelands. When Simba sees them, he believes that Kovu started the fire and was hurting Kiara, but Rafiki tells him otherwise. In the movie, Kovu then asks Simba, “I have left the Outsiders. I am a rogue. Judge me now, for what I am... or am I to be blamed for a crime I didn't commit?” Simba decided to reserve judgment until he gets to know Kovu better.
The next morning Kovu begins teaching Kiara how to hunt correctly, or at least tries to. What actually happens is Kiara teaches Kovu how to have fun. They first chase a flock of birds out for Timon and Pumbaa. Then the flock of birds meets some rhinoceroses and chases them. That evening Kiara and Kovu figures out of the stars in the sky. Kiara mentions that she had learned that the great kings of the past were in the stars. Kovu then asks if Scar is up there, but he gets up and walks away remembering what the Pridelanders think of Scar. Rafiki stops him and drags him back to Kiara. He then breaks into song about love, or in Swahili, upendi. They realize they are in love. They return to Pride Rock where Simba actually lets Kovu sleep in the cave instead of outside in the cold.
The next morning Kovu decides to tell Kiara the truth. He wants to tell her Zira’s original plan for him to become friends with Kiara so he could get close to Simba and kill him. Before he has a chance to talk to her, Simba says that he wants to talk to Kovu. Simba tells Kovu the story of Scar from his eyes. Simba says, “Scar couldn't let go of his hate, and in the end, it destroyed him.” Kovu was surprised at the story from this point of view and realized that Scar really was a killer. While walking through the scorched land, Simba makes an analogy on how he views Kovu, “Sometimes, what's left behind can grow better than the generation before, if given the chance.” Kovu reflects on what Simba has told him and seems to understand.
Suddenly the Outsiders and ambush Simba and Kovu. Simba believes that Kovu had helped set the plan up, even though he did not. Even though he was being attacked, Simba manages to escape. The Outsiders catch up with him at the dame. Nuka, longing for his mother’s approval, attacks Simba, but Simba manages to shake him off. Nuka falls to his death, and Zira blames in on Kovu. She slaps him across the face with her claws extended leaving him with a scar identical to Scar’s. She then banishes him from the Outsiders.
Kovu runs to the Pridelands, hoping that maybe Kiara could convince Simba to still accept him. When Simba saw Kovu he banished him. Because Kiara tried to convince him otherwise, he grounded her to Pride Rock. Luckily, she managed to escape and find Kovu.
Kovu suggested that they start their own pride, but Kiara said no. When Kovu had said they were one, she remembered how her father once sang to her about the same thing, and that it was up to them to reunite the prides.
Meanwhile in the Pridelands, a war between the Pridelanders and Outlanders began. Kovu and Kiara ran in, forcing them to stop the war.
In the end, the Pridelanders and Outlanders reunited, with the exception of Zira. Zira fell off a cliff, and would not take Kiara’s paw to save her own life.
In my opinion, the second movie could not compare to the first. Simba’s mane looks like a blob around his neck. Nala’s eyes were originally green, in the second movie the changed to blue. Nala’s chin, grew, and was out of proportion to the rest of her face as well. The skies lost their bright blue color and became golden and red. This seemed to dull the whole film, and the vibrant color were gone. One fan that I interviewed, Michael, said, “It [Simba’s Pride] has some really good characters who just aren’t explored enough, like Vitani and Nuka have so much potential but have tiny parts to play.” Many others agree with Michael and I that the second movie could never live up to the first.
Even though there are no other sequels, The Lion King lives on through the fans. The fans rage from all ages, including Michael who first saw The Lion King when he was 21, instantly falling in love with it. Even today he gets criticized, he says that many people come up to him and say, “Oh my god, you’re 22 and you like cartoons?!” But to the true fans, it does not matter. Some fans write their own stories about Lion King characters; others draw their own Lion King style art. A lot do both, including myself.
The most well know place for fan art is The Lion King Fan Art Archive. The archive holds “currently featuring 1664 artists.” Amazingly, between the artists, there is “a total of 71,875” pictures (Tiemann, Brian. Lion King Fan-Art Archive). Many at the archive honored people related to the September 11th tragedy by making crossover art to respect them. Brian Tiemann, who runs the archive, made a special section specifically dedicated to it, and it is on the main page for all to see all the time. The Archive also has a place for artist to copyright their characters and pictures. I know many people who joined for that reason alone. In all, the archive is one of the most wonderful services for Lion King fans.
One artist at the archive, to me, stands out. Her online name is Tallon, and in real life, no one is really sure. She has been a member since December 1st, 2000. In the past two years she has uploaded more the 830 images. She uploads new pictures practically daily, as her last update was on March 3, 2003. All her hard work paid off, for she was voted artist of the month for March 2002.
If a person has ever been into The Lion King’s online fan community, they will have surely heard of Vitani Da Real (VDR). VDR’s real name is Tanja Freese, and she lives in Germany. She runs the Furry Form, a message board for any and all Lion King fans to hang out and talk about anything and everything. Tanja Freese has created her own online pride to represent her family and is very protective of it and her characters. On her official web page she said, “The Weu Ukoo Clan is my own creation – the idea, the characters, the designs, personalities, the story and everything are no copies, but own imaginations” (Freese, Tanja. WeuKoo Clan). In my opinion, she is the biggest Lion King fan in the world.
Outlander’s Revenge is an online role-playing game. The owner of the game is Paula Millington-Flay from Australia. She often tells the players of the game how much they mean to her and how they are better friends than some of the people she has met in real life. The characters of the Lion King live on through her game because people role-play as the characters and make new plots and stories. She has had more than 2000 people hit her website, and it has over 40 members. It breathes new life into old plots by bringing in different creatures, such as cheetahs and leopards. Even now there is a cheetah king instead of a lion in one of the lands. She loves her game and will never let it die, nor will the players let it die.
Even though The Lion King has changed with the animation in the first to the second movie, people’s love for it has not. Even if there is no third movie, people will always remember the tale of Simba. People will always remember the beautiful songs, whether it is just a simple basic rhythm or they have copies of every soundtrack in their room. The Lion King captured the hearts of people from all ages, and it continues to do so, in an IMAX theater, or just simply at home. Disney really made an achievement with this movie; it is the number one animated film of all time. What will Disney think of next?
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