Election (1999)

According to reviews I read after the fact…

Election isn’t your typical high school movie.

Apparently it was designed to be a satire of our political system… a message I didn’t expect and didn’t personally get out of it. Except for maybe the end when the protagonist is seen with a senator in Washington D.C.
Clearly a reference to Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton with the only difference being that it was a Republican senator instead of a Democratic president.
I kinda want to joke Alexander Payne outed himself as a Democrat… except 99% of Hollywood is so it’s not that surprising.


Speaking of Alexander Payne…

This is my 4th Alexander Payne movie and I didn’t fully realize until now that satire is his thing.
I mean, Sideways was a commentary on the snotty business of wine tasting in Napa Valley… at least I think it was. The R-rating being capped off with a scene involving full frontal nudity wiped out every other memory of that movie except for “no effing Merlot!”
And The Holdovers (which I will review later this year!) was a critique of private schools favoring deep pocketed donors over making sure the students actually pass their classes.
The Descendants is the movie where I first learned the name of this writer/director because it was up for a ton of awards. I hadn’t seen it in years so I don’t know if it’s a satire or not. But I’d love to see it again, especially since we saw some of its locations (and ate at one) in Kauai last year.


What is it with high school movies…

…not actually being about high school.

I don’t know how long I’ve had this pet peeve but it’s gotten more prevalent in recent years.
Of all the high school movies out there, how many actually have to do with school? Being in class, taking exams… that sort of stuff. The typical formula is that high school movies focus mostly on extracurricular activities or having fun outside of the classroom. If there’s any classroom footage, it’s usually just one class with one specific teacher.
The only exception to this is those “beloved teachers” movies I love so much. Because they have to show off why they’re beloved and it’s about what they do in the classroom. Or going above and beyond for certain students outside normal hours- Mr Holland’s Opus is probably the best example. He was teaching stuff outside the classroom but at least he was teaching.

The easy answer to this is that classrooms are dull and boring and it’s not something people want to go back to in a movie. All the fun and excitement (and character development) happens outside the classroom.
And maybe that’s just me being selfish and wanting to see my high school experience reflected in a movie. When I wasn’t in class stressing about grades, I was in performing arts stuff as a background person or an audience member. And I did 2 dances with concert choir and senior prom.
I never spent time with anyone outside school because I had no close friends. And the one person I did want to hang out with (cuz I had a crush on him), he always had some other activity he was doing. Being involved in community service or whatever else…


Further impressions

I came into “Election” with the following impressions. Reese Witherspoon (Tracy Flick) and Matthew Broderick (Mr. McAllister) are in it. He plays a teacher that, for some reason, does not want her to win said election.

I’ve seen a bunch of their movies and they’re both very likable people. So I figured it’d be a win-win.
…in the movie, both wound up playing very UN-likable people. Yet I still wanted them to succeed for some reason. Maybe that old loyalty was hard to overcome. I might have also felt different if these roles were played by people I didn’t know or already found unlikable.

And before I get ahead of myself and forget… this wasn’t a good movie. I’d even add that it would be classified as one of those “movies that did not age well”.
At the same time, it’s morally ambiguous and offers some interesting talking points for discussion. Hence me writing this post…

Speaking of morals, the movie opens with a question in class (one of maybe 2 scenes that actually involve classroom stuff) that’s never properly answered. Although the movie pretty much goes to show neither of these characters have morals or ethics. If they did, this was thrown out the window by the end of the movie.

The question was- what’s the difference between morals and ethics?

Morals are an individual’s sense of right and wrong while ethics is what a body of government or a board of trustees determines to be right and wrong as they oversee a group of people ranking beneath them.
Thought I’d Google this in case anyone else didn’t know. Or they were equally as annoyed as I was that they never answered the question.
As soon as Tracy was allowed to give her answer, the bell rang.

One thing about this movie I found kinda jarring and lamenting “well that was a choice…”
All the main characters have inner monologue, which is fine. But it’s annoying to have the movie completely stop while someone narrates. And it freezes their faces in often unflattering ways. I get that that’s meant to make a point but to have it happen so many times where the movie just stops… not a fan.

So I came into this movie with one question- why doesn’t Mr. McAllister want Tracy to win the election?
Just based off that first scene- yeah, she’s a Hermione Granger know-it-all. Why let her succeed, right?

Then we find out his reasoning… and it was the last thing I ever would have expected because I never expect students fooling around with their teachers.
She got his work friend fired because they "fell in love". It seemed like it was mutual until her mom found out and she lodged a formal complaint.

(This actor looked kinda familiar and it wasn't until I looked him up I realized why... he played Caltech Dean Dr. Gablehauser in "The Big Bang Theory")

Now he wants to sabotage her because he doesn’t want the same thing to happen to him… i.e. she comes onto him because he's the teacher overseeing the student council.
But the more you watch, it becomes clear he’s afraid HE will develop feelings for her and it’ll ruin his life like he did his friend.

Call it what you want- it’s gross and inappropriate. One review I read nailed it by saying pedophilia should never be done for laughs, consenual or not.
This movie was R rated for adult content and language. No nudity but definitely sex. One scene is him and his wife and he winds up fantasizing his friend’s ex-wife and Tracy talking dirty to him in her place.
At least that was the intent. I wouldn’t know anything about this since I have literally no experience… but none of this talking dirty comes off as sexy.

The first manner of sabotage is finding someone to run against her because nobody else is. And he picks a dumb jock who recently broke his leg… the guy is clueless but he was very likable and easygoing.
It gets even more interesting when his sister joins the race, mostly to get back at him for stealing her girlfriend. A rare inclusion of a gay/lesbian character in a 90's movie. The only other one I'm aware of is Christian in "Clueless". Of course this is way more common in media nowadays.
Tammy was your typical unapologetic angry teenager but she’s still pretty cool. At her campaign speech, she said stuff like “vote for me or don’t” and how she’ll abolish the student government if elected so they won’t have to sit through any more of these “stupid assemblies again”.

I’d expected this movie to be a little more like Mean Girls where Tracy is the queen bee asserting her dominance in why she should win. 
She’s not even popular, which the question of how she thinks she'll get the votes if she doesn't regularly hang out with people. Her whole thing is being involved in everything to put together the perfect resume. Not necessarily because she enjoys what she does. But the downside is no time for friends. A fact she’s a little sad about but it’s not enough to make her change her trajectory.

Part of me did decide to see this movie because the premise sounded like good research for something I’m working.
I’m making an old project a little more high school oriented (with actual classroom content) and one of the ideas I was kicking around was student council.
This movie didn’t exactly give me the inspiration I wanted but I didn’t mind too much. It’s kinda refreshing that Tracy Flick wasn’t a queen bee type of character or the world’s biggest nerd or do-gooder. She’s ambitious for the sake of it. Maybe not the most likable thing a person can be but at least it’s something that speaks to her and motivates her. And maybe the fact she didn’t have friends was something that spoke to me.
I graduated high school 20 years ago this year… and now that I’m thinking about it, I literally have no idea who was on our student council and what they actually did.

Oddly for a high school movie, there's very little student-to-student interaction. In fact, it's more about Mr. McAllister's feeable attempts to undermine her campaign as well as contemplating an affair with his friend's ex-wife. All of this culminates in a bit of clever foreshadowing... a far-off shot of bees flying around a fruit tree in her background. I asked myself  "ok, what's that all about?" Let's just say he deserved what he got.

The results of the actual election… well, what fun would that be if I gave that away? 

Another kind of nice thing about this movie was that we got an epilogue. Just in case some people watching were left wondering what became of these characters.
It wasn’t the best movie but I liked how they did it. And everyone pretty much got what they wanted in the end.
I wish more movies did this because I often find myself wanting to see what happens after the story ends or at least get a glimpse into the future of these characters.

One final thing- the janitor is like the cook from “hunt for red October”… trust me, it’ll make sense later.

The most interesting part of this whole experience... I kinda knew going in this movie wasn't going to be good. But I think that freed me up to enjoy it for what it was. 

13. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Code-name: NRVS
(as seen on Cameron's license plate)

[my favorite quote of the whole movie, lol]

Writer/Director: John Hughes
Type: Brat Pack high school dramedy

Cast:
Ferris Bueller- Matthew Broderick
Cameron Frye- Alan Ruck
Sloane Peterson- Mia Sara
Jeanie Bueller- Jennifer Grey
Principal Ed Rooney- Jeffrey Jones
Grace- Edie McClurg
Mr. Bueller- Lyman Ward
Mrs. Bueller- Cindy Pickett
[Honorable Mentions]
Economics Teacher- Ben Stein
Junkie at Police Station- Charlie Sheen

Notable Nomination:
Golden Globe- Best Actor (comedy/musical)- Matthew BroderickWrite-up:

Opening Thoughts

Really closing in on the end here...
Of the 12 remaining, all but 4 are personal favorites of mine.
The other 4: I'd seen within the past 3 years that impressed me so much I couldn't not include them. And yeah, a couple of them were influenced by other people who claimed they deserved Oscars or described them as "sleepers" that gained notoriety as the years have gone by.

In this case of "Ferris Bueller"... I don't remember the logistics of how it came to my attention, when and why. I don't even remember if it was my first or 2nd John Hughes film... It's just always been a personal favorite, always worth a revisit when nothing else is on TV.
Seriously, it is on TV so often I never bothered getting it on DVD even though it's only $7.50.

Directing and Casting

John Hughes will get his due for sure in my blog because I'm a huge fan of his movies.
Not so much to the point I'd literally seen every one, but I'm working on it.

He's known for working with a certain group of actors and interestingly, "Ferris Bueller" doesn't fit into this dynamic at all. The closest connection we have to the Brat Pack is Charlie Sheen (his brother Emilio turned down the role of Cameron as did Anthony Michael Hall, for the same reason as "Pretty in Pink"-- didn't want to be typecast).

He's also known for always setting his movies in Chicago and having "Shermer" in some context. In this case, I believe it's the name of the town.
Supposedly, this movie was his love letter to the city, containing famous landmarks like the Sears Tower, attractions like the Art Institute of Chicago... even a local parade (Von Steuben Day Parade) featured in one of the film's most iconic scenes.

As Emma Stone called it in "Easy A," that "musical number for no apparent reason."
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2014/04/32-easy-2010.html
...I'm sure the Channel Awesome people would consider it a "big-lipped alligator moment"

So many big names auditioned for the title role (Rob Lowe, John Cusack, Jim Carrey, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Eric Stoltz, RDJ)... I'd be curious to see Downey's version of Bueller (for my personal reasons obviously but also to see him have a GOOD role in an 80's movie)... even then, I wouldn't change any of the casting choices for this movie.

The key with Ferris was getting a guy who was charming and easy on the eyes. Exactly why John Hughes wanted Matthew Broderick: he made this character likeable.
Previous to this film, Matthew and Alan Ruck were in a stage of production of "Bilouxi Blues" together and when it came to finding Cameron, Matthew recommended Alan Ruck without hesitation because they got along so well. John Hughes had previously seen him at a "Breakfast Club" audition for the role of John Bender.

As for Sloane Peterson, Ferris's girlfriend, Molly Ringwald auditioned but missed out on the part because Mia Sara (who'd had few other roles since) had the special something John Hughes wanted for the part.
Matthew Broderick had charm, Mia Sara had elegance... funny enough, she was the only member of the trio who was a teenager.

I would have figured that Jennifer Grey did this before "Dirty Dancing" because it made more sense for her to play an antagonist after being such a goody-toe-shoes... but nope, the opposite is true and for me, it's still hard to believe it's the same person playing both these roles. I can't help but feel bad for her throughout this, particularly when she calls the cops, asking for help and they're more concerned about her "dying" brother than her safety. Imagine a slasher film with that scenario, the inane possibilities!

Ultimately, though, she does come around and decides to be the bigger person. Then again, someone had to put an end to Ed Rooney's manhunt.
Writing and Improvising

John Hughes wrote the "first draft" of the script in 6 days, but according to some behind-the-scenes gossip, this film's production was a particularly stressful one: both for him and the cast. Before the edits, the film ran for 2 hours and 45 minutes (roughly an hour longer than the final product). Even while they were shooting, he'd be doing all kinds of rewrites... what can you say? Either you view him negatively or consider the possibility he might be a genius... and as is often the case, geniuses can be difficult to work with.

On the plus side, this made room for some kick-ass improvisations.

Probably this movie's most underappreciated is Edie McClug, unforgettable as Principal Ed Rooney's secretary. Someone as rabid about catching Ferris as Ed Rooney (almost like Captain Ahab crazy), they need someone to humor them and at least try to keep them in line. She got her "training" at the Groundlings, a notable LA-based improv group who generated stars like dozens of SNL alums, Jon Lovitz... even Mr. Miyagi himself, Pat Morita.
Her best line in this movie: adding "they think he's a righteous dude" to the end of her laundry list of cliques that adore Ferris.
Just a great dynamic: her and Ed Rooney.

Another scene-stealer is, naturally, Ben Stein as the economics professor.
The roll-call scene was in the script, but his lecture on voo-doo economics and the Hawley-Smoot Tariff... that was all improvised on the spot. John Hughes simply told him to give a lecture, putting his economics degree to good use.
Very briefly in my 11th grade Social Studies class, my professor brought up the Hawley-Smoot Tariff, namedropping the movie in the process.

The best that Matthew Broderick came with [to the best of my knowledge]... "Never had one lesson," playing the clarinet badly. Emma Stone did better on that guitar in "Easy A" :P not that it was meant to be any good.

I suppose you could also say that Cameron's "Mr. Peterson" impression was an improvisation since he decided to base the voice on someone he and Matthew got to know quite well at their previous gig: Gene Saks (their "Bilouxi Blues" director).

Analyze This

Movies came up a couple times in my Psychology class in 12th grade.
We were talking about Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis model, which consisted of the ID, ego and superego.
In layman's terms, I guess, ego is the individual with the superego and ID being the angel and devil on the individual's shoulders instructing him what to do and what not to do.

Case in point: Ferris Bueller is the ID in the situation, wanting to go all out on this day off, not worrying about the consequences and such.
Cameron is the superego, which constantly bears the norms of society in mind and prefers to stay within those guidelines.

Fascinating stuff... and definitely an interesting way to look at this movie differently.
Sadly, for the record, I'm more of a Cameron than a Ferris, but that's probably a good thing... right?
Highlights

This are so many details to love about this movie it's hard to know where to begin. A lot of them are the little things. Certain quotes, certain pieces of music...

The most notable pieces of music:

• "Danke Schoen"- featured 4 times throughout the movie almost like it was a running joke or an undercurrent theme
• [what I call] Ferris's theme, "Oh Yeah" by Yello. (really no intelligible lyrics to speak off, but the "chicacha" when the music disappears... it's just oddly memorable)
• The Dream Academy's instrumental cover of The Smiths' "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" that plays during the museum scene... it just stirs me up inside, so beautiful and a perfect companion for this scene

During the trio's trek through Chicago, we see all kinds of good stuff. I love the Sears tower scene where Ferris says "anything looks peaceful from 1,353 feet" and Cameron's like "I think I see my dad..."
I just learned a couple years ago (as did a lot of other pop culture buffs) that they filmed at an actual Chicago Cubs game and it took place June 5 1985.
The Museum has no dialogue, just the music, but nonetheless one of the most powerful moments in the movie. Cameron having that existential moment with "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat.

Then there's the Frye household, which had been put on the market multiple times. The previous time I took note of a couple years ago, it was for $1.65M.
If I could afford, I think I'd be interested in taking it, even though the 1961 Ferrari GT250 doesn't come with it.
I remember hearing how much people freaked out about its ultimate fate in the movie, the Porsche from "Risky Business" still fresh in their minds... the reassurance came that it wasn't a real Ferrari, but a modified MG sports car.

Early on, what set this movie apart for me: Ferris Bueller breaking the 4th wall, talking to the audience (so much comedic gold there!), simply because it was something I'd never seen before.
It's part of the reason why Zack Morris from "Saved by the Bell" was based on this character because he did the same thing throughout the series.

Then there were a few random moments I can't help but enjoy every time.

• Cameron muttering "Ferris Bueller, you're my hero" after he almost drowns in a pool in a catatonic state after finding the Ferrari had over 3,000 miles on it (curse those valets! j/k, they were freaking hilarious)
• Jeanie ninja-kicking Rooney after discovering him in the house-- priceless
• the entire police station scene!

Jeanie finally gets a chance to air all her grievances and who better to listen than a total stranger.

It's well known that Charlie Sheen stayed awake for 48 hours straight to get the druggie look he has in his cameo. After his 2012 meltdown, I haven't been the biggest fan of his, but I still enjoy his 80's contributions. Especially in this small role. He's exactly what Jeanie needs: a sympathetic ear, but also someone to tell her like it is.

For whatever reason, one quote always stuck with me. He asks her name and she says "It's Jeanie, but my friends call me Shauna" and in the background we hear an echo "Shauna!" from what sounds like a 1950's quartet.

Whenever we hear the name Shauna spoken, my sister and I echo that one line.

And it's strange... such a random quote that has no bearing on the plot whatsoever :P

And despite all the comedic elements, we have a lot seriousness thrown in between so we get an education as well as a good time.
I'm not just talking about Ferris's "How to Fake Out Your Parents" monologue, but what's immediately after. Talking about his dislike of isms and he quotes John Lennon:

"'I don't believe in Beatles. I just believe in me.' Good Point there. After all he was the walrus... I could be the walrus." [hmm... John Hughes was a noted Beatles fan. I wonder if that's the reason Anthony Michael Hall did the 'walrus' line in "The Breakfast Club"]and of course the most poignant line at the beginning and end of the movie:

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

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.