Mussafer Disney's The Lion King

I loved rewatching The Lion King. I hadn't seen it in a few years and so getting to watch it again was really fun. The movie was just as good as I had remembered but there were still lots of parts of the movie that seem a little dated as well as there was a lot of things that went over my head the first time I watched the movie. In the beginning of the movie, Mufasa says to Simba that the "kings time rises and falls". As I knew what was going to happen, I was able to pick up on this foreshadowing as Mufasa would soon fall to his death and his time as king would be over. Also, when Simba goes to the elephant graveyard and the hyenas are attacking him, Mufasa has to save him and gets mad at Simba for not obeying him. I think that Disney put this in to show children that they need to listen to their parents. Another part that I went over my head the first time I watched it was the part when Scar has taken Zazu as a prisoner. Zazu is forced to sing and begins singing "Its a small world" and Scar stops him and says "NO! Anything but that song". It was a funny reverence to Disney's ride in Magic Kingdom. I think I can speak for most people when I say that after you go on that ride, it is almost impossible to get that song out of your head as it is pretty catchy it can get pretty annoying. Additionally, before Simba and Nala have reconnected, Nala is hunting Pumbaa and he gets stuck underneath a branch and Timon has to push Pumbaa from behind to get him out. While this is happening, Timon says "why do I always have to save your a___. This is something Disney put in for parents as it is funny that Timon has to push Pumbaa's rear and is referencing his butt (aka a**). The movie was also much more violent than I remember. The scene when Simba and Scar are fighting is very physical and the fire surrounding them makes the scene very intense and dark. I don't see this as a negative but it was just something that I had forgotten about.




Parts of the story that seemed outdated included how the hyena, Ed, had some type of mental disorder and is put in the story as a joke to make people laugh. Scar is singing with the hyenas and is talking to Ed when Scar says "it is clear from your vacant expressions, the lights are not all on upstairs". Ed is making a funny expression while this is happening and is put in to make the audience laugh. This would not be allowed today as it is very insensitive to make someone with a mental disorder the butt of a joke. In addition, there are no other male lions in the story except for Scar and Simba. The female lions just sit around and wait for Simba to take the throne. It is also made very clear that only a male lion can be the king. Disney's new movies like Frozen, try to move past this way of thought and shows that women can be in positions of power as well. Overall, I loved rewatching the movie and think that the movie still deserves the praise that it received when it was first released.

If you would like to read more about what other people think about the gender roles in The Lion King read this article: http://feministdisney.tumblr.com/post/9889354101/the-lion-king-was-it-just-good-or-feminist