"The Lion King". That movie is down right beautiful! I have to say. On the whole I am not a big Disney fan but this movie is such a work of art. It has everything that DIsney often prides it's self in; the best animation, the best art, and great songs and story that (as they love to remind us whenever they can) the whole family can enjoy. Personally that last one drives me through the roof. "Bambi" didn't have any musical aspect to it. Maybe there was that song with the rain but there is not what I am talking about.
But although "The Lion King" has all that stuff that I have said that I loath with a burning passion I say this to credit it. It finds a balance. It is one movie that an entire family could watch anywhere anytime forever and enjoy it. How often has Disney done that? Since "The Lion King", never. But this isn't really even what I want to talk about.
What I want to talk about is this; Disney, on several occasions has taken the movies we know, and presumably, love in their great pantheon of what they like to call "Classics". Movies only Leonard Maltin (supreme jerk spokes person for Disney and general advocate for bad movies, that is to say if you have seen a bad movie with a quote on the box proclaiming it a "masterpiece" or "an instant classic" chances are it is from Leonard Maltin). would actually call such. What I am talking about is movies like say "The Jungle Book". That is really not that good a movie. But is sure as shit is better than it's sequel made some thirty years later. This is disgraceful but not nearly as bad as "The Lion King 1 1/2". That movie sucked. And everyone out there knows it, especially the president of Disney (Robert Iger CEO) because he is out there profiting from it every day.
Well there is a little brief summation of what I would like to talk about here.So lets go back to the beginning and talk about it all over again, this time with more detail and thoughtful critique.
"The Lion King". There has never been a Disney movie like it. "Bambi", maybe. "Bambi" sure is something else, it was also made in 1942 where as "The Lion King" was made in 1994 making it really the best resent Disney movie. Allot of stuff makes it this. All the things the afore mentioned Leonard Maltin would say about are true. If you watch ten minutes of the movie you will see so much beautiful art it really blows your mind. And it carries through out the movie. And the animation is well done. On top of that it has a really good story with morals and just simple good plot with well developed characters. I could riff at length on these things and the other things that make this movie so good. So lets do that.
Allot of great movie pull bits from great movies that came before them. And here in a Disney movie we see them pull from "The Triumph of the Will" of all things. And it works so well because it is dark and scary and yet artistic. And then the movie could turn about and put in two characters like Timon and Pumbaa and still be good. That is amazing. Not every movie could do that. And through out there are some of the most beautiful pieces of art to be seen. Really those animators can actually animate. All of the movies esthetics are toped with an amazing cast that does such an incredible job of projecting their performance through lions and birds and the like. That is a good movie right there.
I have to this point put allot of emphasis on the balance of the movie. And the reason is I would like to contrast it to the lack of balance in "The Lion King 1 1/2". To do this I am going to have to go back to "The Lion King" briefly. There is the Hakuna Matata scene. And it is just a really great wacky scene. But when you take it and stretch it out 77 minutes it just can kill the whole franchise. And it is truly a gross spectacle of a film. They should not be allowed to get away with such a thing.
But it is not only the sequels that get made it is other stuff to. Apparently they cut the song "The Morning Report" for the theatrical cut and then re-animated it for the DVD cut. Let me say, that song number is really bad. Like REALLY bad. I wonder what they were thinking when I see that cut of the film.
When I see Disney do these things I cannot stand it. There should be a Protecting Good Disney Films from The Disney Corporation fund. Unfortunately that cannot really be done. And that is all the more tragic to it.