"Whadya want me to do?! Dress in Drag and do the HULA?!"
I forgot about that scene. It remains one of the funniest moments in the history of Disney. This is why it's always a good idea to hire Nathan Lane.
Anyway, The Lion King is absolutely astonishing. Scar's assassination of Mufasa is pretty brilliantly conceived and executed. In the same moment, he disposes of his brother and traumatizes his nephew for life, all while keeping his hands mostly clean. Lion King has a couple of firsts for Disney; Simba has both a mother and a father who play a significant part in the movie, and we have a major character murdered at the end of Act 1. Mufasa's death is the most horrifying event in a Disney movie so far. And it's necessary to set Simba's journey in motion. Simba is one of the few protagonist's to be so emotionally broken. What other charcter had to deal with believing they murdered their own father? Even for adult movies, this is a heavy burden to deal with.
The Lion King is a powerful lesson in not letting your past destroy your future. Simba learns to overcome his trauma and become who he was meant to be.
And in the middle of all this you get to see what a cross-dressing Meercat looks like. Timon and Pumba are two of the best comic relief characters ever. (it helps when you hire Ernie Sabela and Nathan Lane to play off each other) Props must also be given to Rafiki, and Jeremy Irons as Scar. On a final note, is there an ookier way for a villian to die than being eaten and burned alive at the same time?!
Cherish that thought on this lovely Easter Sunday.
10/10
tonight - Peter Pan
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