Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.
Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.
And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize
Once again I'm starting an entry that is perceivable of being derivate. But hey, sometimes you cannot escape being derivative. So here you go.
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| We were so awestruck by the King that we had to join him :) |
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| Don't worry, they've been frozen, so therefore they're absent of bacterias :) |
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| And yet I'm standing ;) |
knows the immortal position of The Lion King. It's
everlasting and royal placement is universally known not only among
Disney buffs, but among moviegoers/buffs as well. Regardless of it's
Legacy, there was another legit reason to celebrate this Royal Feline
movie. As it happened to turn 25 the year this entry was written
(incredibly enough). For people who grew up with this movie (like
myself) have probably felt like it's been there forever. So it's hard to realize that it's haven't always been like that.
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| Yes, I'm conceited, so therefore I'm replacing Simba :) |
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| It was just made to comfort him :) |
underdog
movie has changed many young people's lives forever. And that has been
truly influential, both for Disney and other properties. It`s Legacy has
lived on for many years in various forms. Yet it was revived again with
it's very successful Jon Favreau remake, which happens to be pretty much an uncanny valley carbon copy of it's original.
There's no question that these remakes, no matter how you feel about them, are successful cash cows. So The Lion King headed for a very successful July opening (the biggest to date until then) and quickly crossed the $1 Billion mark. More faster than the live action of Aladdin did). Despite how some Lion King
purists will groan about it's success, at least it has made this Royal
feline's Legacy more alive than ever. Perhaps it's no coincidence that
it was released on it's Silver Anniversary. To prove that it could live
on an Quarter Century after.
A Scrutiny About the Similarities and Differences Between These Two Versions of The Lion King
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| Yes, one is chubbier than the other :) |
Out of this current live action boom, The Lion King was probably not an unexpected choice to receive one. Yet it may be a contradictory one, since it's not technically an live action property (which made the remake the Highest Grossing Animated Film of All Time. Before Frozen II took it`s spot). Yet regardless of it's predictable success, it's was received poorly criticially. And overall perceived as being inferior copy of it's animated predecessor (one criticism is how the characters were so uncanny that they lacked emotion.
Which I agree with. But it was a conscious choice, as the creators
wanted the characters to be as naturalistic as possible). Which pretty
much leads to another issue that these remakes have been stuck with
recently: Of being inferior to their animated predecessors. Perhaps that
stigma isn't strange after all, since these remakes are mostly
cash-grabs (let's be real here, guys). Yet it seems like it has become an general norm to not consider these remakes as superior to their animated counterparts (after all, they've been
immortalized for their classic staple). Yet what differentiates the
likes of the remakes of the Renaissance pictures than from those from
Walt's period, is that they've practically been carbon copies of their
predecessors. 
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| It should've been The Lion King and his Prince :) |
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| Don't worry, we won't eat ya yet, until we become adults :) |
However,
to get to an in-depth analysis of certain pivotal changes: Mufasa's
speech to adult Simba in the clouds was improved, confirming that he was
proud of his son (something that frankly could've been in the
original). Scar's subplot of desiring Sarabi was an intriguing addition,
yet it was vaguely explored and elaborated (which frankly could've
been another version of Scar desiring Nala). At least the Jungle is
given more inhabitants, some of them being skeptical of Simba and
addressing the fact that he's a part of the Food Chain. The new
introduction to adult Nala was also a neat addition. Enhancing her
screentime as an adult, something that certainly could've been in the
animated version (and yes, we all know that our dear Nala was voiced by a
certain Beyonce. Who actually did a fairly competent job, despite being
instantly recognizable). Zazu volunteering to tell the other
lionesses during the stampede was also an improvement. Due to how Zazu
is knocked by Scar in the animated movie when it happens. In fact, this
movie was balanced in fixing certain criticisms of it's animated
predecessor. Unlike the desperate attempt of the live action version of Beauty and the Beast, who tried so desperately to fix the most pivotal ones.
The Rivalry Between The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast & My Personal Opinion About The Lion King
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| This is my mane, I made it myself :) |
It's well known that Disney always had the tendency to expose and praise their most popular properties and less to their other ones. The Lion King
is an example of the former and it's been very overexposed. Yet
considering the two properties that got the most credit and belonged to
IMDb Top 250, as The Lion King (Beauty and the Beast used to be on the list, it`s was removed from it and being replaced by Aladdin), there seems to be a certain more affection for Beauty by Disney themselves than for Lion King.  |
| We were confused of the different directions we had to pull :) |
In fact, while it may seem like I'm flamebaiting, there's a clear evidence of this; Beauty has been given praise for being the movie the Disney crew (at the time) clearly enjoyed to work on the most.
And has been given more elaborate making-off material. Heck, there`s
been even written two making of-books about the film; One by Bob Thomas
during it's release and one by Charles Solomon, written 19 years later. So yes, there`s a rivarly between Beauty and Lion King fans.  |
| It's so Special that it won't be seen :) |
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| We're trying to convince ya that we are friends, not food :) |
And as I've mentioned in previous entry for this film, there are many who don't consider The Lion King to be the Pinnacle of Disney Animation. In fact, there has been several campaigns about it. Yet the Box Office numbers have proven that there is a general love for The Lion King. A love that is deserved. Still in my adult years I can personally confess that my impression of The Lion King is not as biased as it used to be. It's a great film that deserved it success. Yet I don't put in on personal pedestal of being the epitome of a perfect film anymore.
The Most Serious of the Early Renaissance Features
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| At least it's a clean version of me :) |
The Lion King is a very serious film. Indeed the most serious of the
actual Renaissance productions, which had their moments of pathos,
still not in the same league. And wihile it has become known as being an
often breezy, happy-go-lucky movie for it's light parts, it does take
in some pretty Big Themes. Not least the “Circle of Life” from Birth to
Death. As well as stressing the message of responsibility and coming of
age.  |
| Yes, gas can came out your mouth as well :) |
The pretensious and pompous tone also adds to The Lion King's wistful nature. Sure, there are some fun sequences.
But the overall pace screams “mood” from every frame. Yet of course
Disney would go on to continue the serious, sweeping epic trend with
their follow-ups with Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Who unfortunately were hampered by their seriousness. But also not being as crowdpleasers as the earlier Renaissance films. |
| At least it's not The Morning Report :) |
Yet no matter how technical you get with the Renaissance, it's true that The Lion King was technically the end of the short-lived Renaissance. Yet was also somewhat perceived of belonging to the serious trend that Pocahontas and Hunchback started (regardless of how both of them surpassed Lion King in their solemn nature, there's a certain pretentiousness to Lion King that isn't found in it's followers, in my opinion). In fact, while the seriousness may not be the biggest flaw of the film, since the story is filled with depth and layers, which it`s been praised for. Yet the pompous nature has been one of the things that has drawn some reviewers and people from the movie, nonetheless.
The Flaws of The Lion King
If there's a flaw in The Lion King and a minor one, it must be that Simba's venture to the Elephant Graveyeard feels somewhat of a separate storyline to the main story. True,
it has it's own purpose, like introducing the issue of responsibility.
As well as enhacing the Hyenas's screentime and setting up Scar's
furtherplan. Yet the storyline feels somewhat of it's own mini-story and
not as glued to the actual plot.  |
| At least it's not gotta catch them all :) |
Sure, The Lion King is often labeled for being the epitome of perfection. Still there`s been a couple of ongoing complaints about it. Like how cub Simba is essentially a cocky and conceited brat (despite that I had my own personal bias for Simba as a child, like most children happen to adore the protagonists of the Disney movies.
Since let's face it, they are the center and thus easy to identify
with. Regardless of how the comic sidekicks are often seen as being put
for the kids).
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| I'm a feline version of Maleficent :) |
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| Yay, you touched me without farting :) |
The Strengths of The Lion King
But those are some minor nitpicks with what is, in all other terms, a masterfully told story and an excellently made movie. There's no doubt that no matter what could be said about The Lion King, it truly has some great components and moments. Which makes it easy to see why it's so loved (and why I loved it). It
may sound contradictory of me to point this out, due to my
aforementioned rants. But hey, every movie has it's flaws and not
everything that you love cannot always bring you the same affection. 
True that The Lion King is
(in my opinion) more successful in its second half. where the skillful
and dramatic storytelling meshes well with the light and playful comedy
(despite how the The Circle of Life is a landmark of it's own and I Just Can't to Be King and the Wilderbeest stampede are some definite highlights). The second half truly shows the greatness of the movie. With Can You Feel the Love Tonight and
various epic battles and epiphanic scenes in with great flair.
Accompanied by Hans Zimmer's excellent and terrifc score (it's
remarkable that Zimmer has never been brought on a Disney animated
property again ever since). Of course The Lion King has resonated with people due to it's allegorical themes and mythological paralells. And for it's archetypical story and hero's journey structure.
Mufasa`s Death
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| AC/DC would've loved me now :) |
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| At least you're not Zeus :) |
Yet regardless of how The Lion King is explicit about this, we'llhave to remember that the death in Bambi was pretty frankly controversial at the time. However, we could regardless spin around that The Lion King was made for it's time. and regardless of how controversial it truly was, at least it was made for a right time to an audience. And way of storytelling that could truly show such things. Since storytelling has evolved and audiences craves for more intelligent and layered storytelling.
Simba`s Guilt
If there's one thing the movie vaguely dwells on, it`s Simba's famous
guilt. As Simba is blamed of being responsible for his fathers death by
Scar, yet the film truly dismisses it's internal logic. Because if we`re really going to scrutinize this issue; Let's be real guys, it's pretty implausible that a young cub could even do what he was accused for. But since The Lion King is mostly an children`s movie, it's tip taps on such a subject without truly diving deep to it. Of course it's remarkable how The Lion King even dares to have such a subject in the first place. Yet it's also a part of it's maturity and sophistication. But it's still a pity that the movie never truly elaborates on it what it truly means. Had The Lion King been another movie genre, it would've been most likely elaborated more. It's a nitpick with the film that my scrutinizing self has pondered about as adult (since we live in a scrutinizing era after all, so I'm allowed, haha).
Yet if we're actually bringing up those who's truly pondered about the consequences of this issue, then it's no other than Our Dearest Doug Walker (a.k.a. Nostalgia Critic). Who's pointed out in his reviews that he consider to be a flaw that Simba is not supported by his Pride when he confesses that he's been responsible for the death. And how Scar is only attacked when he confesses the truth.
Well, I guess it's a fair way of looking at it and it would be easy to
perceive it that way. Yet personally I never used to used think so.
Perhaps I don't think it's as severe as Doug thinks, but we could blame
the writing for that issue (no offense to the writers).
How the Spinoff-Projects Have Continued the Saga
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| This will be a new ride at DisneyWorld :) |
Well, however. We all know that The Lion King has been milked in various ways; A Broadway show. Several attractions on the Disney Parks. A couple of spinoff-series. And a couple of Direct-to-Video cheapquels. The Lion King also inspired a couple of spinoff books that cemented a couple of facts; That Simba's cub was supposed to be a male named Kopa. Of course this issue was broken with Kiara in Simba's Pride (which certainly was a contradiction, due to how even book adaptations of The Lion King cited that Simba's cub was a male). Yet it was never as disastrous as it wasn't fixable. While Simba's Pride was essentially the ending of The Lion King saga at the time, since The Lion King 1 1/2 would be a remake of the first story.  |
| Yes, you should obey me, since I can burn you :) |
However, the true continuation to Simba's Pride was The Lion Guard. Which was another spin off series. Released in 2015 and ended in 2019. Whatever could be said about The Lion Guard, at least it's one property that truly messed with the continuity of The Lion King. And gave Simba a new son that shares the same age as Kiara. While I`ve ranted about this issue previously, at least the finales of the series has mended this continuity error. And integrated the events of Simba`s Pride within The Lion Guard. Of course The Lion Guard haven't been the only Disney spinoff property that has messed with already established continutiy (*cough, Disney Cheapquels, cough*).
Yet regardless of that issue, the choice of giving Simba another son
that isn't even Kopa is not particularly cohesive (and certainly
something that irked Kopa purists, no offense to the writers). When it
could've easily continued Kiara and Kovu's story, since they grew up in
the sequel after all. 
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| It's not just copyright Rafiki anymore :) |
Yet regarding this issue, there's nothing particularly wrong with the quality of The Lion Guard itself. In fact, it comes across as the kind of series that I personally wished that Disney made at the peak of The Lion King: A naturalistic series which centered around the life in Pride Rock, rather than the comedic Timon & Pumbaa-series that happened to be a departure from the tone of the movie. The Lion Guard is fine enough, whhile of course it's made for a less adult audience in mind. At least Disney shall have credit for at continuing miliking The Lion King franchise. Since it would be more relevant to milk all their newest properties for the sake of currency.
Epilogue
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| At least it's not London Bridge ;) |
Despite how the "live action" remake has been dismissed at the expense of it's animated predecessor, at least it has kept the Legacy of The Lion King
going. A Legacy that shows that the affection for this film was still
relevant. And frankly always will be relevant, for the huge strengths
that Lion King possesses. |
| I must take the opportunity to hold him, soon he'll be heavy :) |
But I guess that's inevitable, considering how opinions will differ, anyway (for obvious reasons). But despite how this entry wasn`t exactly meant to synergize with it`s Silver Anniversary, At the end there's nothing more to say than to wish The Lion King an happy 30th Anniversary and wishing it to get many more. And yes, I
know that it probably seemed as if I was bashing the movie previously.
But I do have my affection for Lion King nonetheless, despite it's faults.
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| At least it's not The Lion Squad :) |
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| I`m the Lion Shadow :) Don`t ask me why :) |
Roar on my updates on https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100035703494050 and https://twitter.com/NerdyLunada.
References:
The Lion King Platinum Edition DVD.
Mouse Under Glass (David Koenig)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM0nyOupkas - Top 11 Disney Villains - Nostalgia Critic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnyHqxxsD8g&t=1611s - The Lion King - Nostalgia Critic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8vrmBqJcwg - The Lion King - Disneycember
https://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32447&sid=62f17d7e35757565a4e7a73f47cc10c8&start=580
https://animatedviews.com/2019/simba-roars-mighty-as-the-lion-king-makes-the-record-books/
https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/the-lion-king-crosses-1-billion-worldwide/
https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-lion-king-2019
https://www.google.no/search?source=hp&ei=eYRDXbvjFojSrgTAwL_YDQ&q=The+Lion+King+overrated&oq=The+Lion+King+overrated&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i203j0i22i30.61468.64429..64582...1.0..1.482.2819.19j2j0j2j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..35i39j0i131j0i67j0j0i10i203j0i13j0i13i30.fI2Q4vI_R-E&ved=0ahUKEwj7g5Th9-LjAhUIqYsKHUDgD9sQ4dUDCAk&uact=5
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lionkingliveaction.htm
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lionking.htm
https://www.her.ie/entertainment/the-circle-of-life-20-reasons-the-lion-king-is-the-greatest-disney-film-of-all-time-150887
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hot22 (Nostalgia Chick The Lion King)
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5d4080f1e4b01d8c9782714a/amp?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHZkaXp6eS5jb20vZm9ydW0vdmlld3RvcGljLnBocD9mPTEmdD0zMjQ0NyZzdGFydD01ODA&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMLKZWzFD_uSXW4OGXyTpQDKw39pYfZ0dmT1XB97LRScoI4ZUBJG36WZmU1NWx41JwJSewPfi4r2Mb3IngfIBtqUA0L122VHu9Z7dNYZXN7ibqh5tt4t8lurIbIuPsesW4aZA2Rnwuzbe5d7D6xINBD4I2yTxykLjXlsicX54sX-
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2294629/?ref_=bo_se_r_1
https://animatedviews.com/2019/simba-roars-mighty-as-the-lion-king-makes-the-record-books/
https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/the-lion-king-crosses-1-billion-worldwide/
https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-lion-king-2019
https://www.google.no/search?source=hp&ei=eYRDXbvjFojSrgTAwL_YDQ&q=The+Lion+King+overrated&oq=The+Lion+King+overrated&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i203j0i22i30.61468.64429..64582...1.0..1.482.2819.19j2j0j2j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..35i39j0i131j0i67j0j0i10i203j0i13j0i13i30.fI2Q4vI_R-E&ved=0ahUKEwj7g5Th9-LjAhUIqYsKHUDgD9sQ4dUDCAk&uact=5
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lionkingliveaction.htm
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lionking.htm
https://www.her.ie/entertainment/the-circle-of-life-20-reasons-the-lion-king-is-the-greatest-disney-film-of-all-time-150887
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hot22 (Nostalgia Chick The Lion King)
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5d4080f1e4b01d8c9782714a/amp?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHZkaXp6eS5jb20vZm9ydW0vdmlld3RvcGljLnBocD9mPTEmdD0zMjQ0NyZzdGFydD01ODA&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMLKZWzFD_uSXW4OGXyTpQDKw39pYfZ0dmT1XB97LRScoI4ZUBJG36WZmU1NWx41JwJSewPfi4r2Mb3IngfIBtqUA0L122VHu9Z7dNYZXN7ibqh5tt4t8lurIbIuPsesW4aZA2Rnwuzbe5d7D6xINBD4I2yTxykLjXlsicX54sX-
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2294629/?ref_=bo_se_r_1
