The Lion King Film Response

I knew that it was coming. I'd seen it so many times that I could literally close my eyes and picture the scene, but when I watched Mufasa die while watching The Lion King this past weekend, I couldn't help but feel a huge lump in my throat once again. There's just something about the scene that is so powerful and human that it's impossible not to feel emotionally ravaged. In many ways, I feel like the emotional depth of that one scene encompasses the film as a whole which arguably plays with the viewer's emotions more than any other Disney film.

Despite the cruel tragedy of Mufasa's death, The Lion King is undoubtedly one of my favorite non-Pixar Disney films out there. Unlike other stereotypical Disney "love story blah blah blah" films, The Lion King took a more unique coming of age bildungsroman approach that results in an epic overarching storyline that follows Simba's growth in a true lion king. While the film certainly has its flaws as we discussed in class that send negative messages regarding a stratified social hierarchy. While I understand that Disney may very well have intended to promote a rigid class hierarchy. In addition, racism is peppered throughout the film with the hyena's voiced by Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin. Despite these apparent shady aspects in the film, I can openly admit that a mixture of nostalgia and legitimate appreciation for the film makes me more than slightly biased when it comes to The Lion King.

Me holding an actual baby lion like Simba is one of my life's defining moments

What makes the film truly special to me is that despite there being no actually human characters, the plot feels more human than any other Disney film. While other films have a somewhat superficial aspect to them with a forced and overly formulaic love story, The Lion King puts its love story as a secondary plot element to Simba's evolution and story arc, something that I've always loved. Moreover, The Lion King is an incredible film that I could write about for way more than I should, so I'm just gonna end my blog with the intro to the film that plays "The Circle of Life", one of my top 3 favorite songs.