Theatrical Review: The Lion King

Date: Sunday July 28 2019
Location: Cinemark Theater in Stroud Mall
Time: 11am
Party: 3 (my mom, sister and I)

Director: Jon Favreau 
Writers: Jeff Nathanson (screenplay) and Brenda Chapman (story)
Composers: Hans Zimmer (score), Elton John (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics)

Cast:
Simba- Donald Glover
Nala- Beyonce 
Scar- Chiwetel Ejiofor
Zazu- John Oliver
Rafiki- John Kani
Sarabi- Alfre Woodard
Shenzi- Florence Kasumba
Keegan-Michael Key- Kamari
Eric Andre- Azizi
Timon- Billy Eichner
Pumbaa- Seth Rogen
Mufasa- James Earl Jones (seriously- who else?!)
JD McCrary- Young Simba
Shahadi Wright Joseph- Young Nala

(hopefully that's everyone... )


Duration: 118 minutes (+7 previews)


Introduction

OMG- I have been looking forward to this for a long time. I forgot where I ranked it in my top 100, but The Lion King is one of my all-time favorite movies. Not just animated or Disney, but all time. I think the only thing that beat it with animation was Spirited Away. But this one is very close to my heart and a big part of my childhood. Heck, I still have all of my lion plushies- a lion from the Ringling Bros. (a cirus that had no lion tamer, by the way- I'm still disappointed about that), a lioness and three Disney plushies of young Simba, Kiara and Kovu because I LOVED the direct-to-video sequel.  

But after seeing Aladdin, I still had some nerves about what kind of adaptation this would be. Even with Beauty and the Beast, as good as it is, there were still some bits I didn't like how they changed it.

Just to get it out of the way, I am very pleased with this version of Lion King. In some respects, it's actually better than the original... or I just liked how they did some things in this version more. And there are parts I prefer from the original and that'll never change. This is one DVD I'll definitely be getting. 

One thing I will add about the theater. It filled up a bit, but it wasn't full. But this felt like the stiffest audience. There was no cheering after the Circle of Life and no cheering after the credits. Maybe a chuckle or two, but still... was everyone still asleep or were they really not that impressed? 
And I'm not easily impressed either- especially something I feel this strongly about. 

Trailers

Clearly these trailers were geared towards kids more than adults... but there were a couple exceptions. 

The Art of Racing in the Rain- I'm not seeing a dog movie in the theater again after "Marley & Me", but the fact Milo from "This Is Us" is in it, I might google spoilers to see if anyone dies in the end so I can spare myself the grief. 

Playing With Fire- either John Cena has the same agent as Dwayne Johnson or his agent saw The Rock's successful crossover from wrestling to movies to Sexiest Man Alive and wants him to follow the same route. He was kinda funny in "Trainwreck," his acting debut, but a little over the top. Now he's doing a lot of Nickelodeon stuff like hosting "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" This movie-- it's almost as goofy looking as The Tooth Fairy was (somehow The Rock got past that and made something bigger out of his career... the Furious franchie might have helped with that). But John Cena and these firefighters adopt these kids after a fire destroys their house and it's full of stupid humor. Although the kid getting his mastiff to obey in an instant was hilarious...

Dora and the Lost City- this is a weird one for me... Dora the Explorer came around way after I was too old to like kiddie shows, but it's still kinda weird that they're making a live action version of her all grown up. I'm not sure if that same nostaglia factor will be in there. Plus it seems to have that self-aware humor a lot of Nickelodeon stuff has nowadays. 

Cats- ooh, mixed feelings about this one... PBS aired the original musical on Greatest Performances years ago. I think I was in 8th grade at the time. I don't know if it was the music or the visuals or the fact the TV was on too loud, but I went to bed halfway through and couldn't sleep. Then I got out of bed, saw the end... and I barely slept and I had school the next day. I love cats in general, but something about this show, I find a little unsettling. Thinking about "Memory" and the ending-- it was a happy ending too... it makes me burst into tears. 
I haven't read any comments on the trailer that was just released, but I'm already under the impression that a lot of people aren't going to like this version. The overall look of it is a little strange- although motion capture is a better move than what they did with Mike Meyers and the Cat in the Hat. Some of the same characters from the original I can pick out- like the lithe female white cat, Rum-Tum-Tugger and Deuteronomy (what, that's Judi Dench's character?! That's supposed to be a male character... not sure if I like that). But Jennifer Hudson seems to be playing Grizabella, the cat singing "Memory"... and she's just a diva cat that had her heyday and has become a hasbeen. I'm sure some die-hard fans of the play are not going to like that particular part of the adaptation. Not the diva angle or the race angle, but because she doesn't look old enough for that part. Elaine Paige's talent can't be denied, but the makeup and costume for Grizabella, for me, was scary beyond all reason. I mean, they had a song prior to "Memory" where the other cats were dismissive of her, almost like they were pegging her as a scary old woman that nobody should go near. So they're making her a little more approachable in this version... which I guess is good. It'd make me want to see what they do with it. But there are probably people hating also because Taylor Swift is in it somewhere... I cannot undersand why people constantly dump on her, or any of the clean cut nice girls in the entertainment business. 

Yeah... for a musical I have unpleasant memories (haha, not an intended pun) about, I remember a lot... but I have this weird issue where I remember the unpleasant things far more than things that make me laugh and smile.

Angry Birds 2- Um... the fist movie wasn't a success, why are they making a sequel?! (although the dance battle was pretty hilarious) 

Abominable- ok, are Bigfoots and Yetis IN now? What is what all of these movies lately about these guys? They're going from an Asian angle with this one and the girl who discovers it plays violin and the music brings the forest to life. That's kinda cool...but still, that's a little strange to me that this is trending and all of the studios are doing it. It's almost like the old days where Pixar and Dreamworks were ripping off each other's ideas-- Antz and A Bug's Life, anyone?

Maleficent- Mistress of Evil... I didn't like how they redid the story in the previous movie. Where Maleficent wakes Sleeping Beauty and King Stephen is actually the bad guy. I did like Angelia Jolie playing this role because I can't imagine anyone doing it better (and I don't like her that much). I don't know if this warranted a sequel. And she finds out that there are more dark fairies like her out there... I have a bit of a problem with that... she's like an evil unicorn, there should only be one of her or it just dilutes the whole evil formula. 

Mulan- yet another live Disney remake that's in the works... but this looks completely different from the original... Mulan's suddenly a badass? And where the hell is Mushu? Is this not even a comedy? I'm sure it'll be more culturally accurate than the original, but the original was great because it had a lot of heart, Mulan was an underdog who had to find her own strength and poise being in the army, and it had lighthearted funny moments because of Mushu and the dynamic between him and the lucky cricket. Of course I'll have to see it myself so I can properly judge it, but it's almost like they've erased all of the things I liked about the original. The guy playing Shang better be handsome, that's all I'm gonna say.

The Main Event

In Case anyone by now hasn't seen the original... SPOILERS will be later on... although I can't imagine anyone not familiar with this movie at all... 


Clearly I've already written a lot of things about things other than the movie so this isn't going to be a line for line thing where I go through every bit of dialogue or every scene across both movies and say which they did better... that can be its own entry in the future... 

One thing about Aladdin that I didn't like so much was the fact that they had a lot of the same dialogue, but it didn't flow as naturally from the actors. It's almost as if they've looked down on the stage where they see the T-marker and realize they have to say this line at this particular moment. 
The Lion King had this as well... there were some moments where they had lines identical to the original and they arrived at them without a proper build up. Like they copied and pasted parts of the original script into the new one. 
That said, after the Circle of Life scene where everything had to be on point (but there were some things that they could have left out because it was an obvious callback to the original)... after that scene, everyone started to relax and do the movie like they're debuting it for the first time. 

One notable difference... how the animals move and interact with one another... even how they look (Rafiki has no tail in this version because, I guess, some baboons don't have tails)... it was truer to life. And I kinda liked that. It made it feel more realistic and believable. 

Overall, the story is identical to the original and they didn't add or change too much. That was good. A story this well written, you can't mess with it too much or that just gets lost. 
One scene that was added was the circumstance where Nala leaves Pride Rock to find help. In the original, she just randomly shows up in the jungle and nearly eats Pumbaa. We get to see a bit of what the regime is like under Scar and how dire the situation is for the lionesses. It was BAD... 

The characters had all of the same qualities as the originals, but some were improved upon quite a bit. Chiwetel Ejiofor has been getting a lot of good roles since he was in "12 Years a Slave" and he's done them well. As Scar, he's downright terrifying and that's what you need in a villain like this. 
Scar in the original was oily like a snake and worked both sides with his keen intellect. But once he becomes king, he's a bit of a prima donna-- like where Sarabi tells him that there's no food and they need to leave, he says lines like "you're just not looking hard enough" and "I'm the king, I can do whatever I want"... really?! 
So definitely a check in the remake column for Scar.
We also get a little more background about him, Mufasa and Sarabi and that was a nice touch. If you really thought about it, you could have made that same argument in the original. Although why Sarabi chooses Mufasa over him isn't that hard to imagine in the original. 

One casting choice that hasn't been popular is John Oliver as Zazu... he's one of those political pundits that reads the news and skews it fully on the liberal angle. Maybe it's because I don't watch a lot of "Last Night with John Oliver"... but I didn't have a problem with him.
In fact, I really liked how they improved upon Zazu in this version. Granted, he's still a bit of a know-it-all who insists on following the rules, but he gets to play the unsung hero in a couple scenes. Not giving all that away, but that was a great way to move the story along. Plus, he has a running gag that throws back to some older Disney characters. 

One key element I was following almost the entire movie that they had to get absolutely right or they'd lose me... the score... Hans Zimmer wrote an amazing score for the original and they brought it back with extra oomph in all of the key scenes. 

Back to the characters... the hyenas still have that comic relief element, but Banzai and Ed are gone and got completely replaced by Kamari and Azizi. And they have some moments that reminded me of Pain and Panic from Hercules. Shenzi is not just scary, but she's even stronger of a character. In real life, hyenas aren't just scavangers, but they're top tier predators equal with lions. And females are the leaders. So they were definitely more accurate and respectful to hyenas. Taking everything into account, it makes the story even stronger. 

One thing I didn't like as much... the dynamic between Timon and Pumbaa. They're still a dynamic duo and it's not like Timon was an angel in the original... but his snark and sarcasm is a little more produced. And their dynamic is a little closer to Laurel and Hardy where one is dismissive of the other, insisting they're the smarter one. 
Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, though... dang, he WAS that character. Not that his voice isn't easy to pick out, but I forgot it was him that whole time. And he gets some moments to really shine. 

There'd been so much in entertainment lately about female empowerment and while I'm all for it speaking as a female, a lot of it has been over the top. That was one thing about Aladdin I didn't like so much because they were trying too hard for that angle. I was a little afraid that they'd do that with Nala as well because she's such a great character. But they did it in a way that made sense. We see why and how she's the bravest of the lioness to go for help. And she has her own role to play in the final battle with Scar and the Hyenas. I'm not the biggest Beyonce fan, but she did this part well and brought her own spin to it. Sarabi also gets a little more screentime and backstory and she shows her strength in not succumbing to Scar's demands. 

I haven't talked about Simba at all and this movie is about him, really... the young actor who played him did a really good job and Donald Glover wasn't bad playing the older version. I'd say on both accounts, the actors did a good job playing the roles in both versions. I'd read one or two comments saying he's not that great of a character or he's nothing special. But we get to see a little more of the struggle he goes through about what happened to his father and living with that guilt for something he didn't do. And there was more dialogue to bolster his character in the moments he needed it the most. 

James Earl Jones as Mufasa... it's like he never left... and that's what makes him so good as an actor. He plays this role proudly and brings the strength absolutely needed for it. That's why it's such a shock when he gets killed off. Simba grows up believing his father was invincible and we see a little more of why he's such a strong king and just a good king. Rewatching the original again a week beforehand, I almost feel like Mufasa doesn't get enough screentime and we don't get enough to grasp why he's so beloved. We lose him as we're getting to know him. Here, we get to see this for ourselves more rather than relying on what everyone else says about him and taking their word for it. 

The stampede scene is very iconic and it broke a lot of hearts the way Bambi's mom did decades before that... there were parts of it that were more impressive looking... but the moment where Scar throws Mufasa into the gore below... that's a hard scene to duplicate and improve upon. And the original still did it better... 
I know this movie practically by heart, nearly every scene and bit of dialogue... I can recall that scene instantly in my mind and that still sends shockwaves through me. Mufasa falling to his death and Jonathan Tyler Thomas screaming "NOOO!!" as he sees it happening. 
I can't recall what it was like seeing it happening in the theater for the first time, the exact things I was feeling... I was maybe 8 at the time... but yeah... phew... 

And I will concede to another criticsm... people talking about how having well known actors playing these roles takes away from it... my opinion on that is that this doesn't make me want to buy the soundtrack all over again. We do have it in the house somewhere, but I don't feel like I need to have these actors singing these songs. 
And I don't mind well-known actors doing voiceovers, but it really depends on who they are. It's not as if in this case I felt like I was hanging around with them instead of the characters themselves and I've felt that way about other actors in the past. I'm someone who worships voice actors almost more than people that are in live action movies. Mostly because they have ties to my childhood. But for iconic characters, the voice actors ARE those characters for me. I wouldn't love these characters the same way if the right actors didn't play them. 
That could be another post in itself so I won't yammer about that as well. 

While not 100% perfect, this movie is definitely a solid A for me. 

16. The Lion King (1994)

Code-name: Simba
(ugh, I really couldn't get creative at this point... I'll be on my game next week, promise)

Directors: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
Type: Disney animation, musical, dramedy
Composers: Elton John & Tim Rice (music & lyrics), Hans Zimmer (score)

Cast:
Young Simba- Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Adult Simba- Matthew Broderick
Mufasa- James Earl Jones
Sarabi- Madge Sinclair
Scar- Jeremy Irons
Young Nala- Niketa Calame
Adult Nala- Moira Kelly
Rafiki- Robert Guillaume
Zazu- Rowan Atkinson
Timon- Nathan Lane
Pumbaa- Ernie Sabella
Shenzi- Whoopi Goldberg
Bonzai- Cheech Marin
Ed- Jim Cummings

Notable awards and animations:
OSCAR- Best Original Song ("Can you feel the love tonight")
OSCAR- Best Original Score- Hans Zimmer
nominations-OSCAR- Best Original Song ("Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata")

overachieving, much? lol

Golden Globe- Best Picture- Comedy/Musical
Golden Globe- Best Original Song ("Can you feel the love tonight?")
Golden Globe- Best Original Score- Hans Zimmer
nomination- Golden Globe- Best Original Song ("Circle of Life")
Grammy- Best Male Pop Vocal- Elton John ("Can you feel the love tonight?")
Grammy- Best Musical Album for Children
nomination-Grammy-Best Instrumental Composition for TV/film- Hans Zimmer
nominations-Grammy-Best Song written for film/TV- ("Can you feel the love tonight?" and "Circle of Life")

Write-up:[again, if you hadn't seen this movie yet, shame on you... it is awesome... spoilers ahead]

Earliest momentsTo my recollection... okay, my recollection sucks. I remember this being the 2nd movie I saw in theaters... that honor belongs to "Jurassic Park," which my dad and I saw a year after "Aladdin."
Give me a break, I wasn't even 8 yet and as the years pass, my memories get further away.

This was definitely a movie to behold in the classic cinematic format. The absolute size of the opening number was jaw-dropping. I didn't know I felt, but I knew it was something special. A constant stand-out was the comedy in this movie. For all the intense moments involved Scar and the hyenas and wildebeests, comic relief was struck throughout. Early on, it was poking fun at Zazu and later it was the duo of Timon and Pumbaa.

What I don't remember clearly was Mufasa's death and my reaction to it. I think I was crying in the theater... I'm not positive, and honestly who wasn't? That was after so much intensity with the stampede.
I remember the final fight scenes pretty well where all the characters got in on the action, Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu, even Rafiki got to kick some great hyena :P
and Simba's chill-inducing ascent to the "throne" atop Pride Rock. The animation, yes, but a great deal of that goes to the score.

As for the cast and crew, back then I only knew Whoopi and Jonathan Taylor Thomas from "Home Improvement."
...there's one cute episode later in the series where Tim is entertaining his niece with voices and she asks him to be a lion. He says he's never been a lion cub, and JTT comes in and says "I have. You know, I gotta tell you it's a tough gig. Everyone expects you to be king."

Nice little inside joke/bit of homage ;)
for this very reason, I saw "I'll be home for Christmas" and watched his cameos in Tim Allen's newer series "Last Man Standing"...
looking at his profile now... amazed he's originally from Bethlehem PA (I commute there!) and only 5 years older than me

Story

Disney admits they loosely based it on "Hamlet" and had a little bit of "Bambi" in there too... c'mon, what kid is to be familiar enough with "Hamlet" to make this connection?

I'm not super familiar with "Hamlet" (been meaning to try reading it again... I got maybe 10 pages in before I got busy with school... I was reading it for leisure, btw) but other than, you know:

• king gets killed by brother
• brother takes over throne
• prince is driven away by brother and later returns to avenge his father
• prince sees visions of father who guides him

There are enough differences where I don't fully buy into it, nor do I really want to. It overcomplicates things (Lion King II being based on "Romeo & Juliet"... so obvious, but we'll get to my adoration of that movie later).

We have the big EPIC opening with the "Circle of Life" where all the animals venture to Pride Rock to see the debut of the new prince. Just thinking on it gives me chills.

On the other side of this momentous occasion, we have Mufasa's younger brother Scar, who is less than pleased about this news since he was next in line for the throne.

Now a young cub, Simba learns from Mufasa about the circle of life and keeping balance of the kingdom. Later that day, he also learns a valuable lesson: being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble.
Scar suggests Simba check out the elephant graveyard, something too good for him and his friend Nala to resist, and this lands them in trouble with the hyenas... almost deadly until Mufasa comes to the rescue.

[Come to think of it, that was another scene that stood out when I was a kid... Mufasa lecturing Simba with the music all serious in the background]

Because Plan A was a bust, Scar puts together Plan B during his villain song "Be Prepared": wipe out Mufasa and Simba and become king of Pride Rock.
The big part of that, he gets absolutely right and it is really dramatic. Not just super sad and shocking, but the adrenaline rush is RIDICULOUS. More props to Hans Zimmer, for sure, and this was many years before I'd knew his name or had any idea he was attached to this movie.

:shudder: another moment that still gives me chills (and not in a good way)... the fall of Mufasa and Simba's epic "nooooo!"... can hear it so clear in my head, fills me up with so much sadness

Scar convinces Simba that Mufasa's death was his fault and suggests he run away. His big mistake there is sending the hyenas to finish him off... considering they're part of the comic relief, yeah, they fail miserably... and for the audience, hilariously

All the denizens of Pride Rock believe Simba to be dead while he's growing up in the jungle under the "guidance" of the most unlikely duo: Timon (a meerkat) and Pumbaa (a warthog), who teach him the "wonderful phrase" of Hakuna Matata.

"Bad things happen and there's nothing you can do about them, right? Wrong! When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world" and live your life with no worries...

yeah, like with The Land Before Time, I practically know this movie by heart :P

Fast-forward however many months/years, Simba's illusion of paradise is shattered by Nala, who ventures into the jungle to find food for the starving pride. Their friendship quickly gives way to romance (funny... when Zazu told them as cubs that they were betrothed, they were so grossed out... how times change).

Then when the plot comes to Simba's attention, he's reluctant to act on it.
So he gets another "nudge" in the right direction by Rafiki, the old mandrill/shaman.

"Do you knew my father?"
"Correction, I know your father" [actually, a lot of this scene of Rafiki stood out to me as well]

Simba sees a ghostly apparition of Mufasa and finds the courage to return home to confront his past. Not without resistance from Scar, of course. Sure, he let the kingdom go to ruins because his allowing the hyenas to rampage eliminated all the herbivores, but he's pretty good with the mind games.
Or just proving that Simba's still very young at heart and in the mind and the wounds of his past are still fresh in his mind.

Either way, we have a great number of fight scenes where all the characters get in the action. In the theater we agreed that Rafiki stole the show... again...

Then Simba and Scar finally have it out. Not nearly as epic as the opening sequence, but it's impressive to watch. Scar's comeuppance was also a great twist that none of us really saw coming.

Simba ascends the throne (like I said, in epic fashion) and the circle of life continues: now with his and Nala's cub being lifted into the air by Rafiki and the title screen reappears.

Oh wow... I'm getting all the feels recounting all this... again, another great ending to a great animated movie. But instead of the "aww it's over" emotions of "The Land Before Time," it's almost to the point when I want to get on my feet, clap and CHEER.

Characters and Actors

If I didn't know the members of this all-star cast then, I certainly grew to know them as time went on.

Already mentioned Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Simba.
It did not know for YEARS that Ferris Bueller actually did adult Simba :P

Actually, other than James Earl Jones as Mufasa and Cheech Marin as the hyena Bonzai, I don't really think of any of the actors watching this movie because the characters are so memorable and iconic.

But while on the subject of the actors, the hyenas (Whoopi/Cheech/Jim Cummings), Timon (Nathan Lane) and Zazu (Rowan Atkinson) had the biggest names. I didn't see Jeremy Irons until that Bradley Cooper movie "The Words" (grossly underrated IMO but maybe I just related as a writer struggling to get published).

The name that took me the longest time to find the name attached to it: Moira Kelly
not that I was really looking for her, but out of the blue, that familiar name appeared...
during the end credits of "Chaplin" (she played Charlie's last wife, Oona O'Neil)

It doesn't get much bigger than James Earl Jones as Mufasa. He owns this role just as well as he did Darth Vadar. Nobody else could have brought the epitome of African lion to life.

Simba starts out as a brash young cub itching to be in charge and getting his own way, but his personality changes once tragedy strikes. He adopts a care-free lifestyle to put the past behind him, but deep down, when Nala returns, we see that he never did get over it. Believing he killed his father has scarred him for life and despite how big and strong he'd gotten, we see he's very troubled.
Sooner or later, he does come to realize there are things more important than fear.

Nala starts out as his partner in crime and develops into a very compassionate individual, also wants to be the rock to help Simba fulfill the role he was born into.

We see very little of Sarabi, Simba's mother, only in a couple of scenes. She has a strong maternal presence on screen, but wasn't as used as much/well as she could have been.
Other than the first scene with young Simba (with JTT's voice) and where we meet Nala, the most we really see of her is during Simba's return and Scar gives her a lecture.

Sure, Scar may have killed Mufasa in a pretty devious way, but besides that, he's not the strongest character in the bunch. Heck, during this confrontation, his defense to Sarabi is an echo of Simba's as a cub: "I'm the king, I can do whatever I want"... LAME...

How part of the pride ceded from the whole in the "Lion King II" because they supported how Scar ran things... I can't begin to rationalize. He was as good as king as Prince John. :facepalm:
but Jeremy Iron's drawl can be very intimidating. Then again, he's reasoning with a scared lion cub trapped inside an adult lion's body...

Part of the reason this movie succeeds, other than the strength of Simba and Nala and Mufasa... the side-kicks. The hilarious comic relief characters.
Timon with, seemingly, all the brains and Pumbaa with all heart (and farts, lol... first ever Disney character with flatulence issues).
Zazu being the butt of all of the jokes from Simba, the hyenas, even Mufasa who uses him for a pouncing lesson... a neurotic little hornbill serving as advisor to the king. However disrespected, he does know what he's talking about.

Sure, the hyenas are vicious, but they can be pretty hilarious too. How they interact with one another and the other characters. Funny enough, they also get the final laugh at the end of it all.

Music

Since I'm brought up Hans Zimmer a bunch of times already, I'll start with him.
This movie wouldn't be nearly as impactful with that score. It canvases each scene perfectly with the emotions we're meant to have. The other reason (next to the incredible backgrounds) why this movie is meant for the cinematic treatment. Music so explosive in the heart-racing/stopping moments, it fills in all the cracks.

Aside from some of the dark stuff Disney has been known to sneak into their movies (in that, you often don't notice these touches until you're older), and having heavy weights like James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons in the cast, Hans Zimmer's score takes "The Lion King" to the next level. It makes it bigger, but also accessible to a wider audience. It gives it more of an "adult" feel, a professional feel.

Geesh... to heck with Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump and Shawshank, "The Lion King" should have been nominated for Big Picture... maybe should have won with this score :P

[looking him up now...
first of all, he was part of the band who "Killed the Radio Star" with the very first MTV music video...
he'd been nominated for 9 Oscars and this was his only win... other nominations included Rain Man, Sherlock Holmes, Inception and Prince of Egypt...
Sherlock Holmes was the one that made me acutely aware of his name but other than Lion King, it was the only other movie on my list where I thought the score had a lead role opposed to fading into the background]

As for the soundtrack itself, we listened to it A LOT as kids. It has all the songs featured in the movie written by Elton John and Tim Rice, as well as a couple bits of the score, and three of the former songs performed by Elton John himself.
Not just performed, but also rehashed.

That really threw me the first time, especially when I saw a music video for "Can you feel the love tonight?" and the lyrics were all wrong.

Both it and "Circle of Life" were slowed down and "I just can't wait to be king" has a quicker, different melody.

Either version, "Can you feel the love tonight?" has always been my favorite.
Yeah, I had no idea what it meant when I was a kid and I really don't want to think on that too much... While the other songs are catchy and kids easily learn/remember the lyrics, there's a certain beauty to that song in particular. Especially in Elton John's performance version, the quality of the music itself.
Legacy and Sequels

We had a computer game called Lion King Activity Center that had three different areas. One was Rafiki's tree (which had games like his version of Tic-Tac-Toe), another was the Jungle with Timon & Pumbaa (which had a game where you found animals hidden in scenery) and another, I believe, was the elephant graveyard (one of the activities was navigating a maze and avoiding hyenas).
Had so much fun with that 8-)

According to the first diary I kept (when most of my entries were a couple sentences long, opposed to pages) we saw the Broadway musical November 6th 1999.
I believe the guy who did Sebastian in "The Little Mermaid" played Mufasa (funny, he didn't sound Jamaican to me, lol). Most of it was the same, but lots of things varied, including one scene where Timon goes over a waterfall that was not in the movie.
Until I saw "Mamma Mia" with my dad and sister, it was my favorite Broadway experience.
It also comes at the cusp of a pivotal point in my life.
1) it was 9 days before I had surgery on my back and later started writing
2) I saw it with my immediate family, aunt and uncle before he died of cancer a month and a couple days later
...with my surgery, I felt like I left childhood behind and started to blossom into the person I am now. But make no mistake, I still have a lot of "evolving" to do.

In the Kingdom Hearts series (since I'd already brought this up with "Nightmare Before Christmas, "Aladdin" and "Mulan"), Simba appeared as a summon gem in the first game.

In the 2nd game, PrideLands was one of the worlds. When visiting, Sora transforms into a lion cub, Donald into a bird with flight ability and Goofy into a turtle (still don't get what is with Goofy and taking on the shape of turtles).
The storyline takes over from the middle of the movie, the Pridelands are in dire shape and Sora and the others find Simba with Timon and Pumbaa to convince him to come back.
Then when you visit all the worlds in the 2nd half of the game, the story gets a little muddled. Simba is haunted by the ghost of Scar and doubting he'll be as good as king as his father was. Almost like they didn't try to make a compelling storyline to continue the plot.

As for sequels...
I'll get the lesser out of the way.
"Lion King 1 1/2" where we find out Timon's backstory, how he met Pumbaa and how the two of them, supposedly, were present in events that happened in the original movie, though behind the scenes.
I really hated this movie because to me, it stampeded on the memory of the original. Timon and Pumbaa are great, but they're not THIS great where the events of the original couldn't have happened without their "interference." Ridiculous...

"Lion King II: Simba's Pride"... I was about as obsessed with as "Land Before Time IV"...
I believe it came on VHS in summer 1999. So sought after that Blockbuster was fresh out the day it came out (much to my annoyance).
Admittedly, the songs aren't as good or as memorable as in the original, but I do have the soundtrack. Haven't listened to it in YEARS... but loved it.

Yeah, I enjoyed it so much I committed to memory that Neve Campbell (I'd meant to but never saw "Party of Five" to see her) did the voice of Kiara, Simba's daughter and Liz Callaway did her singing voice.
Forgot along the way that Jason Marsdan, whose voice I came to LOVE later in my countdown did young Kovu, and his father was played the late Suzanne Pleshette (who also starred in that movie with him).

Also created a fanfiction based around her going to school with some other lions, getting bullied by a cub later banished from the pride and the narrator was my version of Kovu, the lion she falls in love with. The names were changed, but it was still a true to form fanfiction (before I even started on the endeavor in late 1999 while recovering from my surgery)... now that was something I wished I had kept with me (had long since thrown out my print-outs).

But what I still have are my plushies. I have a young Simba, a lion from Barnum & Bailey circus, a Kiara I got at Blockbuster (that I slept with throughout 1999-2000) and a Kovu I got while we were vacationing at New Orleans. That was also where I picked up the soundtrack (and my dad found a copy of Xanadu's... there's a story there for sure that I'll get into at a later date).

Yeah, I just loved that movie, perhaps more than the original at times. The songs and score didn't stand out, but I fell in love with Kovu and Kiara, the idea of them together. Simba was a decent character, but I thought at times he was a little too overprotective... heck, there was one line of dialogue that still unsettles me.
After Kovu is banished from the Pridelands for betrayal, Simba first says to Kiara that she won't go anywhere with an escort and later says she'll stay on Pride Rock where he can keep an eye on her... well, which is it?
Either way, she does manage to run away so all of this is null and void.

That movie's definitely worth watching again. I came to learn it by heart so I hadn't watched it for YEARS.

Coming Soon

It amazes me how so many of these movies connect to one another without my meaning to connect the dots.
Rumor has it that the next movie on my countdown was one of my late uncle's favorites. He was a cop . I rented it from Blockbuster and fell in love with it... and its sequel...
another great 80's movie with some great funny actors, whether they meant to be or not.

44. The Road to El Dorado (2000)

Code-name: 7 on a pair of die
("he gave me loaded dice!")

Director: Eric 'Bibo' Bergeron and Don Paul (and 2 others)
Music and Lyrics: Elton John & Tim Rice
Score: Hans Zimmer and John Powell
Type: animated, adventure, comedy

Cast:
Miguel- Kenneth Branagh
Tulio- Kevin Kline
Chel- Rosie Perez
Chief- Edward James Olmos
Tzekel-Kan- Armand Assante
Cortes- Jim Cummings

Write-Up:

Opening Remarks

I wouldn't exactly call this a nostalgic choice because this came out when I was 13-14. I didn't grow up with it as I have some of the other animated movies further along my list. But it has the same two ingredients as my favorite types of movies in those days:
1) it's animated
2) it's a comedy

Days before my tastes in movies had a growth spurt. But even now, I look back some of these films fondly enough that I feel they deserve to be mentioned.

Actors and Actresses

Like a lot of my favorite animated movies, "El Dorado" brought certain actors to my attention that I made sure not to forget about.
Kevin Kline's voiceover skills previously appeared in Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame," but he really stood out here thanks to the on-screen chemistry he has with Kenneth Branagh (who, a couple years later, I'd forever link with Hogwarts Professor Gilderoy Lockhart). As for the rest of his resume, Kevin Kline is one of those actor's actors I flat out respect. I always enjoy his work, whether it's the hilarity of "A Fish Called Wanda" or his inspirational teacher film "The Emperor's Club."
Kenneth Branagh, I don't know quite as well, but my hat's off to him for his director of "Thor" (his Shakespearean touch made it very inviting) and the latest "Jack Ryan" movie might end up on my radar (although for Chris Pine more than him, lol).

Aside from being seasoned actors in their own right, their work in this film is kinda special because they did their voiceovers together whereas traditional voiceovers, which are performed separately. Not to mention the potential for ample improv.

Rosie Perez, I recently saw as Woody Harrelson's girlfriend in "White Men Can't Jump," but like her sassy character, El Dorado native Chel, she's more than able to keep up with our two leading men.

Interestingly, according to the DVD extras, this was constructed as a movie starring characters that you'd usually find in supporting roles. So-called "side-kicks" and "losers." I did not pick that up at all, which obviously means that they did a great job.

The Plot

Living in Spain in 1519, Miguel (Kenneth Branagh) and Tulio (Kevin Kline) are con men longing for riches and adventure. In a street craps game, which they'd been winning thanks to their pair of loaded dice, they win a map to El Dorado, the legendary city of gold. A series of events (the reveal of their con, the diversion, the chase scene, etc.) leads them onto a ship headed for the New World, heralded by the Spanish Conquistador, Cortes.

They're caught, he promises they'll be punished, so they decide to make their escape in the dead of night. Along with the unexpected addition of war horse, Altivo, they make their way through everything mother nature has to throw at them.
Eventually, this leads them to El Dorado, where they are mistaken as Gods by the natives... a misconception construed from ancient carvings and the fact it's the first time they've seen white man.

Fearing that the possibility that they'll be discovered, they continue with this misconception long enough to load up on gold to take back to Spain. Chel overhears this conversation and asks to join them, something they reluctantly agree to, but ends up helping them a great deal in the long run.

Then things start to get a little hairy when the High Priest discovers they're mortal and Cortes is hot on their trail after his crew arrives ashore.

The Characters

It's only coincidence that two weeks in a row, my movie features a duo of best friends. Miguel and Tulio feed off each other as well as the best of bromances (a term I'll equate with a film later on in the countdown). Miguel is the dreamer and optimist, blonde haired and green-eyed and Tulio is the dark-haired, blue eyed realist. Between the two, Tulio is the one I can relate to more, but Miguel is the better looking of the two.
As the plot goes on, their relationship is tested between how they handle this newfound "fame" and Tulio's growing friendship with Chel, which blossoms into romance.
Although these two are con men, they really are quite lovable and aside from their big plan (loading up on gold and running back to Spain), they do the right thing in every situation. This is especially prevalent in the scenes where the High Priest wants to do a human sacrifice for them and they advise against it.

There's also an interesting push and pull between the El Dorado Chief and High Priest. The Chief is the heart and soul of the city, a fair and much-loved ruler. On the other hand, the High Priest is a little psychotic, adhering to the ancient texts as if his livelihood depended on it. Reading into it a bit further, it seems like he's just power-hungry and being the speaker of the Gods is his ticket to become supreme ruler.

The Comedy

Yet another of my favorite quotable films. The dialogue comes out almost like a play or musical. It's all in the delivery and the timing with Miguel and Tulio, something made possible by their experienced voice actors. And of course, the task isn't complete until DreamWorks animators put their voices to their sketches. To me, that's positively mind-blowing, how advanced that is for an animated film.
Hopefully in the years to come, that'll gain more appreciation amongst the masses.

[Tulio is banging his head against the wall in the brig]
Miguel: So how's the, uh... how's the escape plan coming?
[Tulio stops banging his head]
Tulio: Wait! I'm getting something!
[pauses, then goes back to banging his head on the wall]
Tuilo: All right. Here's the plan. In the dead of night, you and I grab some provisions, hijack one of those... one of those longboats... and then, we... row back to Spain like there's no mañana!
Miguel: [pauses] Back to Spain, yeah?
Tuilo: Yeah.
Miguel: [uncertainly] In... a rowboat.
Tuilo: Yeah!
Miguel: [sarcastically] Great. Sensational. That's your plan, is it?
Tuilo: That's... pretty much it, yeah.
Miguel: [delighted] Well, I like it!


Miguel: this is really the map to El Dorado...
Tulio: [very dryly] You drank the sea water, didn't you?

Miguel: let's follow that trail
Tulio: What trail?
Miguel: the trail, that we blaze
[hacks greenery away with a machete to reveal a rock]
Miguel: (a beat) [points in another direction] That trail that we blaze!

and just so Chel isn't left out of the fun...

Chel: and I suppose you'll be wanting these back [reveals the loaded dice in her hand]
Tulio: [taps his pockets to find them empty] How did you get those?
Miguel: Where was she keeping them?

The Music

"The Lion King" was another early theatrical experience of mine. One of the biggest selling points of "El Dorado" was the fact it reunited the amazing, award-winning musical team Elton John, Tim Rice and Hans Zimmer.
Their process for this is quite fascinating. Elton and Tim communicated across the pond, Tim would write the lyrics and Elton would construct the music. Then they'd give the songs to Hans Zimmer, who'd revamp them to fit the spirit of the picture (which he co-scored with John Powell).

I'm quite aware of Elton John's massive repertoire on his own right, but there's something about his film work that needs to be celebrated as well. A certain je ne sais qua. All I can kinda say is flock to YouTube, but it doesn't do as much as justice as seeing the film in its entirety. Having the jaw-droppingly colorful visuals accompanied by the triumphant adventurous music.

In Other News...

The Oscar nominations came out yesterday... and most of them followed suit with the Golden Globes. Not too many surprises to report on.

*Jonah Hill got another supporting actor nom for "Wolf of Wall Street." And Martin Scoreses, who also didn't get a nod from the Golden Globes, is in the Best Director category.

*"Nebraska," a film I hadn't even heard of until the Golden Globes, earned several nods including Best Picture, Best Actor and Supporting Actress.

*"Saving Mr. Banks" got snubbed almost completely, it has one for Thomas Newman's score, but there was no love for Emma Thompson, the only nomination the Golden Globes had for this film... the people on GMA made the argument that Meryl Streep took her nomination slot because there's only room for one older woman in that category.
I mean, it's a comfort that of her dozens of nominations that she'd only won three times, but... c'mon, enough is enough, Academy.

*Of course there's a lot of talk about the fact "The Butler" and Oprah were snubbed... as if there's only room for one African-American contender at the Academy. Way back last summer when the movie came out, I figured it'd get some Oscar buzz because it's just that type of movie that does well at these things. But, alas, it is not to be... possibly because it came out too early to be considered.

*There's also talk about no love for Tom Hanks, shut out of the Best Actor category despite having been in TWO big movies this year. "Captain Phillips" and "Saving Mr. Banks," about which I've heard he was a very convincing Walt Disney.

*While people on Yahoo are debating about whether Idina Menzel or Demi Levato should perform "Let it go" at the Oscars (Idina all the way!), I'm afraid it'll be another win for Bono and U2.

*No love for "Blue is the Warmest Color" in the Foreign Film category, but Miyazaki got into the best animated film category with "The Wind Rises"

Other than that, I'll leave this entry off with a remark about next week:
Another comedic, quotable film. This time, it's by one of my favorite actor/writer/directors.
And it's a family-favorite :-P