One of the biggest films of the year is the live film re-make of the classic cartoon The Lion King.
This is one of a series of film-remakes by Disney in recent years, starting with Cinderella and recently including Dumbo and Aladdin.
The Lion King (2019)
What's it like: exciting, realistic, awe-inspiring. The animals are all depicted in v realistic CGI visuals. Not as emotive and engaging as the cartoon.
What's it about: (It's the same story as the cartoon.) Simba is the son of Mufasa and Sarabi. Mufasa is the lion king of pride rock and the surrounding savannah area, ruling over the animals in a good way, maintaining balance in nature and ensuring the area continues to thrive. Mufasa explains to Simba that one day he, Simba, will be king and rule over this land - on hearing this, Simba can't wait to be king. However, Scar, Mufasa's brother, holds a serious grudge against Mufasa for being the ruler; and his dark plans put Simba, Mufasa and indeed the whole community in great danger ....
Themes in the film: Not surprisingly, with the same plot, the themes are very much the same: a theme of whether to obey the rules or go your own way; and a wider theme about whether it's OK to just take life easy or whether we should face up to responsibilities. But there are some differences: more than the cartoon, there's a lot about ecology and balance in nature (the circle of life), reflecting heightened concern about the environment in the 2010s; and the film actually has quite a serious philosophical debate at one point on whether or not life has meaning: is it a circle of life or 'a meaningless line of indifference' ?
Comment: The CGI visuals are stunningly good: they are v realistic depictions of the animal characters, both at close up range and at a distance; and many different species depicted. You really feel that you are there on the savannah. This is a massive achievement.
However, CGI brings losses as well as gains: because they are realistic, the animal characters cannot depict the same emotions or be humanised as in the cartoon, so the film overall is less engaging than the original cartoon. The film still depicts the strength and majesty of the lions, but the gentler, more relational side is less clear; and I'm not sure the light characters such as the meerkat and warthog come across as such fun (particular in the fun part, I found myself referring back to the cartoon to fill in what was missing from the film). Another consequence of CGI was that the story is not as strongly depicted. (I'm perhaps strongly impacted on this point because I watched the cartoon recently, so it was still fresh in my memory. It would be interesting to know what people who've never seen the cartoon make of the film in terms of character and story.)
The story is exactly the same as the cartoon, with almost the same script. In parts (such as the opening sequence), the film is frame by frame the same as the cartoon. Some critics think it would have freshened up the cartoon to add more invention. It's v difficult to win on this sort of thing: if you change the original, people can also be unhappy.
However, there are a few variations from the original: the final scenes on Pride Rock have a slightly different plotline; and there is an extra song 'Spirit'.
Famous actors: Mufasa's voice is narrated by James Earl Jones as in the original. Nala, Simba's best friend, is narrated by Beyonce.
What do the public think: Widely varied but on average quite positive. Overall score 69%. It's doing roaringly well at the box office: over $700m after a few weeks and also the highest opening weekend for a Disney film re-make.
What do the critics think: A very wide range of opinion, from excellent (9/10) to poor (2/10). Overall, 55%.
What do the naturalists think: They've applauded the film's nature realism and the strong theme of looking after balance in nature, in order to maintain life and the environment. But they do point out that both the film and cartoon are completely wrong in their depiction of lion communities: in real life, the male lions are not leaders, as depicted - the lionesses are the permanent community leaders, and the male lions only stay for a few years at a time; secondly male lions in a community are not rivals (as with Mufasa and Scar); and thirdly lion fathers and sons don't have long-term relationships - the sons leave the group after about five years. How ‘The Lion King’ Gets Real-Life Lion Family Dynamics Wrong<How ‘The Lion King’ Gets Real-Life Lion Family Dynamics Wrong>
Verdict: 4/5. Great for realistic visuals of animals, not as engaging as the cartoon. Long-term, the film will probably be seen as a different version of the cartoon which is more and less than the original.
The Lion King (1994)
What's it like: Joyous, warm, moving, amusing, thought-provoking. an engrossing and moving story.
What's it about: same story as the film (see above)
Comment: It's a classic. A very successful and rich blend of political drama, tragedy, musical, comedy and light documentary, with action, reflection, fun and relationship. It really has something for everyone, all blended together into a whole.
There is a good balance, with several plots running alongside each other: the Mufasa-Simba father-son relationship; the friendship of Nala and Simba; the wicked designs of the villain Scar; the lion community; the wider network of animals in the plain; and the light-hearted sections in the jungle, away from the savannah.
There is good character development: Simbah starts out as an over-confident young cub who 'can't wait to be king', but as life becomes difficult, he shies away from his destiny.
The songs are mostly top-class and tie in well with the film by expressing key themes: The Circle of Life, I Can't Wait To Be King, Hakuna Matata, Can You Feel The Love Tonight.
Transition to modern cartoons: With The Lion King, Disney almost complete their transition to modern-type cartoons. Most elements are there: a cartoon which adults can watch; good quality modern pop songs; clever knowing humour (eg one hyena says 'It's pretty tough here down at the bottom of the food chain') There is still one foot in the past, though: Scar the Lion is portrayed as a comic-show villain, harking back to the 50s and 60s - I think he would have been portrayed in a more direct way in later years.
Film reflection: Like The Lion King, major popular films are often blends of different elements (eg Gladiator, Titanic, The Sound of Music). I suppose this gives them their richness and makes them more life-like.
Interesting fact 1: It grossed over $960m at the box office. It is the highest grossing hand-drawn animation of all time. At the time, it was the second highest grossing film ever, after Jurassic Park.
Interesting fact 2: It is now the ninth highest grossing animated film. Since 1994, cartoons have become big business and it has been overtaken by many others, eg Toy Story, Incredibles, Frozen.
Interesting fact 3: Although it was the 32nd Disney cartoon, amazingly it was the first to have a wholly original story. All the others were based on pre-existing stories eg Cinderella, Snow White, Robin Hood.
Interesting fact 4: The Lion King was a long time in preparation and changed a lot . The original idea came in 1988 and work began in earnest in 1991. The original script was v different: it was about conflict between lions and hyenas and had the same characters but in different species. It took some time to decide what type of film it would be eg a semi-documentary about African wildlife or a musical or a life-lessons drama - as we know, the final version had elements of all three.
Interesting fact 5: The plot owes something to 'Hamlet' by Shakespeare. If you reflect on the story, you will see why.
Interesting fact 6: Disney was not expecting it to be a major hit during most of the production, though were probably more optimistic by the time of release. Pocahontas was being made at the same time as was expected to be a big hit but in fact it didn't do as well comparatively. Many at Disney chose to work on Pocahontas because it was expected to be a bigger hit.
Interesting fact 7: Tim Rice asked for Elton John as his co-songwriter and Disney thought there was no chance they could hire such a major star. In fact, Elton was a long-term Disney fan and jumped at the chance to write music for the film.
Elton John wrote a very romantic song 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight ?' for the film. The production crew turned it into a comic send-up song, sung by the meerkat and warthog. Elton objected strongly, and they reverted to the original romantic setting. (Elton was right, of course - it is one of the high points of the film, like the 'A Whole New World' sequence in Aladdin.) However, in the final film, the first verse of the song is indeed still sung as comic send-up by the meerkat and warthog - the production crew wouldn't entirely let it go.
Interesting fact 8: The huge Los Angeles earthquake in 1994 disrupted production, with many homes and offices out of use. Many of the production team lived in tents and much of the work was done in people's homes and garages.
Interesting fact 9: The other top hit films of 1994 were Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction. Other major ones were: Shawshank Redemption, Speed, Four Weddings and A Funeral, The Mask. It was a vintage year.
Interesting fact 10: The animators spent time watching and sketching live lions to observe typical actions and movements.
Interesting fact 11: The cartoon 'Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa' is partly a spoof of The Lion King.
Interesting fact 12: 'Hakuna Matata' is a Swahili saying meaning 'there are no troubles'.
Verdict: 5/5. A classic, rich and v well put together. V beloved. In the long run, I think people will hold the cartoon in more affection.
And finally, something extra - a Lion King Personality Test !
Just answer the question below and find out what sort of a Lion King character you are.
Question: when you look up at the sky at night and see all the stars, what do you think they are ?
1. A bunch of fireflies that got stuck to the big bluish-black thing that's up there.
2. Huge burning globes of gas billions of miles away
3. The great kings of the past watching over us.
< scroll down for answer >
Answers
1. You have a lively visual imagination and a sassy street-talking manner. You are like Timon.
2. You are a v accurate observer with a sensible assessment of things. You are like Pumbaa.
3. You are a soulful dreamer, with a deep sense of tradition. You are like Simbah. 2 August 2019
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