Dinsey's Lion King Response

Overall, I loved the lion king! It has been a couple years since I have watched this movie, and I have forgotten how good it was. The opening scene is so iconic and so good with the circle of life. It may not be super realistic animal wise, with all the animals gathering together and bowing, but it is very cute.

Scar opens up with a very realistic line that life isn’t fair. Also Scar looks very different from Mufasa, with a darker coat and black mane. I suppose it’s just to make it easier for kids to know who is good and bad, but they don’t really look like brothers. Also I feel like Scar says a lot of relatable stuff that is kind of mean. I definitely feel Scar when he says “I’m surrounded by idiots” when he’s with the hyenas. I also like when the hyena says “Old buddy old pal”. I am also curious how Scar became friends with the hyenas to begin with.

I also forgot that Simba and Nala are betrothed, which is more antiquated than I thought it would be. I also like that When Simba and Nala are playing that Nala pins Simba down twice and is stronger. I also didn’t remember how sad Mufasa’s death scene was. I just felt so bad for Simba. I forgot that Scar had shamed Simba to run away by making his father’s death seem like it was all his fault. However, it caused Simba to meet Timon and Pumbaa, which added lots of fun song numbers. I love the Hakuna Matata song number. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the movie. It’s interesting how Simba basically grew up as a vegetarian with Pumbaa and Timon.

I think it’s so cute when Nala sees Simba again and she pins him down just like when they were little. Also I wonder why Nala when to find help out in the jungle all alone, since she would be outside of their kingdom and could get hurt. I think that Rafiki’s advice about the past was very helpful and wise about running from it or learning from it. I’m glad that Simba returns to pride rock after talking to Rafiki.

I’m glad that Scar admits that he killed Mufasa, but it was his downfall. I feel like this is how most Disney villains are defeated because they reveal their plan or admit to what they had done. However, it was good that he did because Simba wouldn’t have defeated him. I’m also kind of surprised that Simba is such a good fighter and can hold his own grown when fighting Scar because He grew up as a vegetarian and wouldn’t have really fought much with anything in the jungle. 

Lastly, I did see some similarities between Sundiata Lion King of Mali and Disney’s The Lion King. I was reading this article about the book, and it brought up a good point that there is no evidence that Disney knew about this book or the legend of Sundiata before making their version of The Lion King. While it is hard to prove if Disney knew about the legend, it is clear that Disney was very creative when creating the characters and overall concept of having animals take place of these human characters, if they really were inspired from this legend. Honestly, I can see more similarities with Hamlet than with Sundiata the Lion King of Mali.