The Lion King

There is a point in every child's life when they are too old for Disney cartoons.  That has more to do with kids wanting to seem grown-up than with the quality of Disney animated films.  I hit my teen years right around this time, so while I did (against my better instincts) enjoy Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid, The Lion King held absolutely no appeal for me.  I was too old for kids movies, and I had moved on to more sophisticated types of entertainment, like Saved By the Bell reruns.  As is often the case with the choices I made as a teenager, it turns out that I was an idiot.  I was eventually dragged to see the movie with my little sister, and I loved it.  But I didn't grow up in a family that hoarded Disney movies when they hit the home video market, so The Lion King eventually became a faint (albeit fond) movie memory for me.  To celebrate the super-deluxe BluRay release of the film, Disney put The Lion King back in theaters (in 3D, of course), and I went with my wife and, apparently, every five year-old in town to see it on the big screen.

Dangling baby scenes were made for 3D

The Lion King stands out amongst Disney's animated films for many reasons, especially its plot.  This is not an adaptation of a fairy tale or book.  This is a completely original story, and any similarities you see to Hamlet, Biblical characters, or a long-running anime are absolutely correct imagined by you.  Little Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) is the sole child and heir to Mufasa (James Earl Jones), the lion king.  It appears that this story follows the logic of lions being the king of the jungle, so the lion king is actually the king of all animals, as far as the eye can see.

"Come on, son.  Let's eat one of our subjects."

Mufasa is a well-liked leader and the land around his home base, Pride Rock, is flourishing.  The only one that isn't a Mufasite is his brother, Scar (Jeremy Irons).  Scar isn't as big and strong as his brother, but he's an awful lot more ambitious and clever; he knows that, if something were to happen to Mufasa and Simba--- say, an unfortunate "accident", painstakingly planned by him --- Scar would be the next in line for the lion throne.  What's a little fratricide/regicide between brothers?  Phase one of Scar's plan works like a charm; Mufasa dies and scars the childhoods of all the kids too young to have been scarred by Bambi.  Phase two has a little hitch; Simba survived the initial "accident."  Not wanting to dirty his own paws, Scar approaches the grieving cub and blames him for daddy's death.  Scar convinces Simba to leave town and never come back; as soon as Simba has started to run, Scar sends his hyena underlings to kill the lion prince.  They fail, but Simba leaves with a heavy heart and a ton of guilt.  Sure, he'll live to sing another day, but will he ever be able to live up to his father's legacy?

Yeah, he looks guilt-ridden

One of The Lion King's most famous attributes is the soundtrack, which featured songs written by Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice.  Personally, I usually overlook the songs in most Disney movies --- they're okay, I guess, but nothing I'd put on my iPod --- but this soundtrack was hugely popular.  It's actually the only animated movie soundtrack to become Diamond certified by the RIAA.  So, how is it?  Pretty solid.  Despite my normal aversion to Elton John, I have to admit that I enjoy "The Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata;" the rest of the songs are fine, but those are the standouts to me.  Even after all this time, the African chants that start "The Circle of Life" (and the film itself) still sound pretty cool.

The Lion King followed the immensely popular Aladdin, and (perhaps inspired by Robin Williams' popularity) featured the highest-profile voice cast of any Disney movie to date.  The booming voice of James Earl Jones was perfect as the regal Mufasa.  Jeremy Irons was even better as the dastardly Scar.  This is one of my favorite villain performances (animated or otherwise) because Irons makes Scar seem so happy to be evil.  It helps that he murders his brother and, in a masterly stroke, puts the blame on a child, but the fact that he obviously loves being a class-A jerk is what separates him from other ambitious killers.

Actor name anagram game: Jeremy's Iron

Jonathan Taylor Thomas is okay as little Simba, and so is Matthew Broderick as adult Simba.  But they're just okay, especially compared to the stellar work from Jones and Irons.  Honestly, they might be the worst celebrity voices in this cast.  I liked all the hyenas; Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin were solid, while experienced voice actor Jim Cummings was hilarious as Ed.

Guess which one was funny?  That's right, neither professional comedian.

I normally only tolerate Nathan Lane, but I rather enjoyed him as little Timon.  There are always comedy relief characters in Disney movies, but Timon and Pumba (Ernie Sabella) are some of the more enjoyably over-the-top that Disney has to offer.  Hell, I even liked Rowan Atkinson in this movie, and I don't think I've ever even thought that sentence in any other context.  My favorite character in the film (after Scar, of course) is definitely Robert Guillaume as the idiosyncratic monkey.  He doesn't fling his poo, but he is as infuriating as I imagine monkeys should be.

Direction in animated movies is a little strange, since it seems to be more of a leadership role than a singular artistic vision.  Whatever the case behind the scenes, co- directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff did a very good job blending the bleak, dramatic story with kid-friendly humor and songs.  Do you really need more than that from the directors of your Disney animated movie?  I think not.

If Simba remembered "The Circle of Life," his friends would be dinner

There are some odd aspects to The Lion King, though.  Yeah, I understand that this is a children's movie, so we won't be seeing Simba disemboweling Dumbo.  Still, there are a few times where the lions reference eating other animals, even after we've seen anthropomorphized versions of the animals on-screen.  That's an unusual amount of cognitive dissonance for a cartoon.  I am also frequently amused by how nature responds positively to the heroic carnivores in this film, and so very, very negatively to Scar's team.  After Pride Rock becomes a barren wasteland, what exactly does Simba do to turn it back into an Eden-like paradise?  At a glance, I would assume the area needed new topsoil and irrigation, neither of which are in the wheelhouse of most lions.

No offense, kid

But who really cares about any of that?  The Lion King is arguably the best late-period Disney movie, but it is also unarguably the line in the sand for the company; after this point, Disney animated films would lose their power and stature, while digitally animated films would rapidly ascend to the artistic levels (and beyond) of this very enjoyable kid's movie.  Oh, and in case you were wondering, the 3D effects were okay --- fairly innocuous background stuff, mostly --- and the child-filled audience was pretty damn adorable to listen to.  I don't know if I needed a singalong to "Hakuna Matata," but it's hard to get upset at so many fully engaged kids.

Aladdin

After hearing all the fuss about "white-washing" the cast of The Last Airbender and Prince of Persia this summer, I have to look at Aladdin and chuckle.  I mean, is there a more Caucasian movie about Arabic characters?  It takes its story from a classic Middle Eastern folktale collection, One Thousand and One Nights, and the lead voice actor is...Steve from Full House?  I never realized how ethnic he was!

The movie begins with Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) and his wise-cracking parrot, Iago (Gilbert Gottfried), in the middle of the desert, persuading a thief to enter the Cave of Wonders.  The cave's entrance is shaped like a tiger's head, and it talks.  Would you willingly walk into a giant, talking stone tiger's mouth?  If so, you might be a dirty thief.  The cave eats the thief and tells Jafar that only a "diamond in the rough" can gain access to the cave's treasures.  That doesn't seem hard to find, does it?  And it's not.  With the help of a machine, Jafar is able to learn the identity of this "diamond:" Aladdin (Scott Weinger).  Jafar wants Aladdin because he wants more power and riches than his sorcerer/adviser-to-the-Sultan role can provide him; he wants the power of the magic lamp that lies inside the Cave of Wonders.

Aladdin is a "street rat" in the fictional Arabic city of Agrabah.  With his monkey, Abu, he steals what he needs to survive and spends the rest of his time running for his life while singing.  Here's a tip, folks: if you're trying to evade capture by the police, don't sing your plans to them.  I know, it's a very tempting and natural desire, but it's rarely the right move.  One day, Aladdin notices a pretty girl in the market and protects her from the police.  The two spend the rest of the day together, enjoying each others company and, in the Disney way, falling in love with a speed that would alarm any parent.  Alas, their time together is interrupted by palace guards, who Jafar has sent to capture Aladdin.  The guards and Aladdin are surprised when the girl reveals herself to be Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin), but the guards still take Aladdin away.  Jasmine was slumming it in the city because she felt trapped by her palace life; at almost sixteen years old, Jasmine was practically an old maid by princess standards and her father was pressuring her to choose a husband.  Tired of being pressured, Jasmine snuck out of the castle and met her true love, Aladdin, only to have him taken to the very palace she had escaped from.  It's like ray-eee-ayne on your wedding day.  Seriously, it is.

Back in the desert, at the Cave of Wonders, Jafar tells Aladdin that he can have all the treasures of the cave if he gives Jafar a particular lamp first.  Aladdin is all about it, but his stupid monkey had to touch something that caused the cave to self destruct.  Luckily, a magic carpet helps Aladdin and Abu survive, but they're trapped.  But they have this lamp...and it looks so dirty...I wonder if anyone will want to clean it off, maybe by rubbing it...?  Well, look at that!  Rubbing the lamp gives you a genie that may or may not have the attention span of a coke-fueled squirrel.  So, now Aladdin has the lamp, he has a genie and three wishes.  His new buddy, Genie, would really like wish number three to be freedom from the lamp and his years of servitude, but the first priority is to win Jasmine's heart.  Unfortunately, in the palace, Jafar has found a new way to gain power.  He realizes that he would become Sultan if he married Jasmine.  Who will win her hand in marriage, the underhanded Jafar, or the stupid but earnest Aladdin?

This is, in my mind, the quintessential late-period Disney animated movie.  The animation is in the classic style, but with some digital coloring (mainly for the lava and the magic carpet) that really pops out of the screen.  The hero has a good heart, but is immature and a little stupid.  The heroine is strong-willed and feminist to a point, but really just wants to get married at a young age.  The villain is completely unsympathetic and ugly.  The supporting cast is lovable and goofy.  The songs became pop hits and the movie serves as their music videos.  While these broad storytelling devices make for a fairly predictable plot, it's still an animated Disney movie, which means it's pretty darn adorable.

Like most Disney movies of the time, the cast is primarily made of professional voice actors.  Scott Weiger does a good job as Aladdin, but he (and everyone else) is overshadowed by Robin Williams' manic performance as the Genie.  Williams is what makes this movie work; without him, it's a cute, but mediocre cartoon.  It shouldn't come as a surprise (if you're familiar with his work) that most of Williams' dialogue was ad-libbed; he apparently was given topics and suggestions and allowed to ramble on from there.  What is surprising is the fact that an animation studio would create more work for themselves by waiting on the voice actor before they drew the scenes.  I guess that's the sort of happy inconvenience you're willing to endure to work with a mad genius.  Or Mork.

While Williams raises this movie to great heights, the scenes without him should have been better.  I have no problem with Aladdin's early scenes; they establish his character and the "Street Rat" song was cute.  But what was with the Hammer pants?  I don't particularly like Jasmine at the beginning; she complains about not having choices, like she's being forced into an arranged marriage or something.  She's not.  She keeps having suitors introduced and scares them off.  That's her freedom of choice at work.  It's not that she doesn't want to get married at age sixteen, or that she wants to know her husband before they wed; she just doesn't like the guys she's met.  It's faux-feminism, and if a cartoon is going to feature strong-willed female leads, I would prefer if they grow a (proverbial) pair of balls and stand up for themselves instead of just being moderately picky over men.  By the way, the "pressure" to marry was completely null and void, since her dad can change the laws as it suits him (as the ending proves).  Way to negate her character development, dad.  I liked Jafar as the villain, but would have preferred if his character was more visually interesting, instead of a skinny bald dude with some ugly clothes.  His parrot, Iago, is something else entirely.  I will ignore any questions about Gilbert Gottfried's talent (nonexistent) or the origin of his voice (the seventh circle of Hell) and instead ask why it was necessary to add airplane noises to a scene where he pantomimed crashing and burning.  Aside from being kind of insulting (What?  I can't connect a bird falling, with his wings spread to a crash?), it just doesn't make sense for airplane noises to be in a movie set in the ninth century.  Who is to blame for all these oddities?  Co-directors and co-screenwriters John Muster and Ron Clements; of course, they're also responsible for convincing Williams to sign up and then giving him room to work, so they're not all bad.

And what was with the narrator at the beginning?  Yes, I realize it's Robin Williams, but why is he in the movie at all?  When you set up a narrative bookend, it means that the main story is being told to the audience by a character (like in the original One Thousand and One Nights).  But...we never see the narrator again.  That's just sloppy, Disney.  Walt, somebody should get fired for that.  Right after you defrost.

I don't mind that sloppiness, though.  This is still a fun movie to watch, regardless of age.  The songs are mostly fun and even the pop ballad "A Whole New World" can be goofy with some audience participation.  Go on, whisper "don't you dare close your eyes" to the person next to you when watching this movie.  Hilarity ensues, I guarantee it.  It's a fun movie with some reasonably likable characters finding their way to a happy ending while passing on a few trite lessons for the kids.