Netflix: The Lion King (1994)

[entelein]

The Lion King (1994)

I'm not a big musical theatre fan. I'm really not. Somehow, I get cast in musicals all the damed time. The first role I ever performed on stage (not counting my 6th grade debut as Citizen #11 in a class production of Julius Caesar) was in a musical. I can carry a tune. So trust me when I say that if I admit to liking a musical, it's a pretty big deal.

As a musical, this movie sucks like so many things have never sucked before. The songs were execrable pieces of jarring nonsense that literally made me cringe. Granted, I watched it yesterday, on little sleep, feeling a bit cranky. But! It was still awful! Oh god!

I really cannot explain to you how annoyed I was. The scripting and placement of the songs, the conceits used to get the characters into a dancing and singing frenzy - just terrible. Like most musicals, none of it made sense, it was contrived, the music felt shrill, and none of it inspired any other emotion but severe annoyance.

The silver lining of this is that the songs wouldn't have seemed so terrible if the rest of it weren't so damned awesome. The wildebeast stampede, Rafiki, the presenting of Simba at the very top of the story, Rafiki, Jeremy Irons = Awesome, the fact that I kept forgetting Matthew Broderick was voicing the older Simba, and Rafiki all served to complement some of the lovely animation and feel of anything without songs accompanying it.

They should re-make this one, but without the shitty songs. That would be awesome.

Comments

[phaedra-amunet.livejournal.com]

But...

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Okay, yeah. You're right.

[korvac.livejournal.com]

And on top of that the story's ripped off from 'Kimba, the White Lion'.

Some of the musical parts are good - but they're the ones that aren't forced. Namely the beginning and the end. :)

[clayfoot.livejournal.com]

Beyond the idea of a lion cub taking over for his dead father, I see no rippoff from Kimba to The Lion King. It's certainly not the same story.

Wikipedia: Kimba Controversy

[srallen.livejournal.com]

Actually I can only watch that movie by fastforwarding through damn near every scene that involves the main plot. The secondary characters are great. Simba is a whiny little bitch.

[clayfoot.livejournal.com]

I liked it. The songs were catchy and singable. The plot moved right along and made sense. I paid to see the musical when it came to town, too. The puppets and marionettes from that show were awesome.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

I might enjoy a stage production a lot more, esp. if the actors and director have half a brain.

Seriously, most musicals are written so, so badly. The way this one was put together was no exception.

[clayfoot.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I've ever seen a musical in which it actually made sense for the characters to burst spontaneously into song and dance. At best, I've seen some musicals where the plot wouldn't make sense without the musical numbers, but I've always expected musical interludes to be contrived opportunities.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

I was talking about this with Jinxie a little, and I cited Beauty and the Beast and even Little Mermaid as examples of animated musicals that really worked, for the most part.

Lion King was such a departure, quality-wise, that I found it really jarring.

[loree.livejournal.com]

> They should re-make this one, but without the shitty songs. That would be awesome.

They already did. It's called Hamlet.

[clayfoot.livejournal.com]

The Lion King bears only a passing resemblance to Hamlet. You could argue that the idea came from Hamlet, but not the story.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

Eh, there's shades of Hamlet.

Shakespeare stole from everyone else, anyhow.

[(Anonymous)]

Must...not...reply....

Wolf

[entelein.livejournal.com]

No no, reply! What were you going to say?

[(Anonymous)]

Twist my arm, whydoncha?

I enjoyed the theatrical production.

The film was indeed at least somewhat Hamlet-inspired. I know this as fact. Otherwise..."no comment."

[entelein.livejournal.com]

I know it was somewhat inspired, but you certainly could not take out the songs and get anything remotely resembling the machinations of the Shakespearian play. There just isn't enough correlation to make that even a tiny bit possible.

There's not even an Ophelia. Gertrude is certainly not in play - Simba's mother is quite reluctant to take on her role as first servant to Scar. There's no dumb show, and hardly any supporting characters. Besides the three hyenas with names and the rest of the core players, you have a lot of anonymous, generic animals, and very little actual conspiracy.

It seemed like more of an environmental hoo-ha than a nod to Shakespeare. :)

[ubersaurus.livejournal.com]

Lion King may have been weak, but it was still leagues better than Pocahontas.

Aladdin's held up pretty well, though, the songs I remember from that one seemed to actually work in the context of the story.

Robin Hood is totally the best of the Disney cartoon line.

[thajinx.livejournal.com]

I loved Aladdin, but I'm going to have to mark Beauty and the Beast as my all time favorite.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

pod people to the last.

[ubersaurus.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Beauty and the Beast in so long, I can't honestly tell you what I think of it today.

Oliver & Company will never cease to be awesome, however.