THE LION KIIING!!!

This is one of my favorite movies of all time! I love the story line and the characters and how cute Simba and Nala are as cubs. Also, Rafiki is hilarious in how he acts and when he sings and rattles his little stick! The beginning of the movie is so colorful and happy when the pride is celebrating the revealing of Simba and he grows big enough to go play out in the pride land with his friend. Mufasa is such a good father figure to his son and is good at making sure he shows his son the land he will one day rule. They seem to have a good relationship as they play and even when Mufasa has to scold Simba for doing something wrong. However, the section of the movie where Mufasa dies trying to save his son makes me cry almost every time I watch it. It is really messed up how Scar can set all of that up to kill his brother and then blame it on the nephew. It shows how the Shakespearian theme of Hamlet is incorporated into the film. In the play, the uncle killed his brother then tried to kill his nephew but the ghost of the father comes back to help his son and the Uncle is defeated. This is the same as in The Lion King, the ghost of Mufasa speaks to Simba and helps him to defeat Scar and take over the pride as he was destined to do.

The movie can become quite dark at times and the music becomes more intense. With the black and green display of lava shooting out of the ground when scar is singing is one of the scariest parts. And when the hyenas are marching in from of Scar like soldiers while he sits there looking like Hitler makes me want to turn away. During the section of the movie where Simba returns to try to take back over pride rock, all of the backgrounds are dark in color and secrets are revealed. Then fire lights the ground and everything becomes red as the fight begins between the hyenas and the lions. As the battle rages on, the bird, Zazu, the warthog, Pumba, and the meerkat, Timon, provide comical relief! Zazu keeps the laughs coming in every part of the movie he is in just because he is so overprotective yet the lions never care about what he has to say or pay him any mind. He is however very useful in making sure Simba stays safe and when he gets in trouble, he goes and gets Mufasa to come to the rescue! I feel like even in movies that are semi-serious, they always try to have one character that can make the audience laugh and take some of the tension away. Most cartoon movies make the comical character bright in color and odd looking so they automatically draw attention!

As the movie comes to an end, Simba and Nala end up becoming the “leaders” of the pride and a couple starting their own family with a female cub, whose name isn’t revealed until the next movie. She is presented to the pride by Rafiki just as Simba was and the movie comes full circle, but still has plenty of room for a sequel to be made, and it is. The ending has a way of bringing a smile across the audiences face, young and old. I know grandparents that love the movie just as the three year olds do. It’s hard not to like cartoon movies as I have said in my previous blog. They are just so intricate with the details of the characters and the facial expressions and the way the changes in weather patterns are drawn. Most anyone likes a movie that turns out well in the end and everyone is happy. Even if it is cliché, and doesn’t turn out as it exactly would in the real world, when everything works out perfectly, it fills that little spot in our heart that builds us up and makes us feel good when the movie is finally over.