Disney's 'Little Mermaid' and 'The Lion King' were huge undertakings but we all knew they's succeed wildly.
It seems to some movie fanes that like a tired old promoter, Disney goes about destroying the magic that George Lucas shared with us,
and then, realizing it trashed the golden goose,
throws itself into noisy remakes of proven hits with these same two titles, except this time with the stress on political correctness more than anything else.
At least Disney isn't to blame for the crumbled cookie that 'Cats' looks to be.
The real Disney risk and genius was hiring Julie Taymor and creating the Broadway show. I remember taking a crew of jaded New York City teens, scofffing at seeing “a kids cartoon show” and every one was slack-jawed and on their feet at the opening sequence. Nothing in any movie comes close to that.
10
Everything about this is strange and regressive. Make new stuff!
4
Do the British ever complain about the numerous Disney villains who sound like characters from Downton Abbey? That's all I ever noticed about Scar.
16
I took my then 10 yr old daughter to see the Lion King in 1994. We both loved it.
Disney villains were and are the best characters..
I still like to quote Ursula, "It's what I do, it's what I live for!"
Thank you, Pat Carroll.
Yes, times have changed, but I also think that sometimes people overreact to what is on the screen or the stage.
Like the Million Moms complaining about a same sex couple in the background of Toy Story 4.
Did they go to enjoy the movie or just to find something to complain about to the press?
As William Hurt's Nick said in "The Big Chill":
"You're so analytical.
Sometimes you just have to let art flow."
11
The risk was being sued by the makers of Kimba the White Lion
8
Reading New York Times articles finding offense in character depictions in the Lion King is an uncanny reminder of the fact that the New York Times has such a narrow perception of what is offensive and inclusive that it had to squash the whole idea of hosting satirical political cartoons. Cabu, Charb, Wolinski and their tragically deceased colleagues are all rolling in their graves. For all the respect I have for the New York Times, finding the least offensive common denominator of a society is never going to buy you creativity and good politics, nor is it going to buy you good journalism.
24
You may find Lion King Controversy about close resemblance between Lion King and Tezuka's animation film in Wikipedia. Search Wikipedia by key word ' Kimba the White Lion'.
6
Please everyone, don't forget where this story was ripped off from.
Kimba the White Lion, look it up.
15
You can find Lion King controversy about close resemblance between that and master piece by Osamu Tezuka. Search Wikipedia using key word ' Kimba the White Lion'.
4
You can find controversy over close resemblance between Lion King and one of Tezuka's master piece in Wikipedia. Search by key word 'Kimba the White Lion'.
2
Ｔｈｅｒe was controversy over close resemblance between Lion King by Desny and ‘Kimba the White Lion’ when Lion King was released in Japan. Many of Japanese comic artists made a strong protest against Disney. It was dismissed by Disney. Please search Wikipedia by key word ‘Kimba the White Lion’
3
I'm curious to see the new Lion King because I was terribly hurt and anguished by the first. I saw it with my boyfriend when it came out in 1994 and I walked out of the theater angry and almost in tears -- the singular and clear message it told us was that gays are evil and they killed God (or Jesus, as the symbology went in that first film). It caused a huge argument between me and my boyfriend; he liked it and thought it was great, and I saw a not-unsubtle homophobic message. It taught children that people who act "fey"are dangerous. It could not have been clearer, and I was stunned that Disney would make such a statement. This was the period during which the Religious Right was a very powerful force and a lot of people thought Disney was aligning itself with Christian conservatism. I couldn't see another Disney film for a long time after that. It sounds like they are addressing this, and other ills, in the new one.
7
@David Law Please, I'm hurt by the fact that every Disney mover EVER has a dead mom, or a child not raised by their mom, or a mom that turns into a bear - every one!! When's that hurt gonna end?
4
@David Law
Wow, I hope you got therapy.
You read way too much into it.
10
Greatest movie ever.
Was and always will be.
The first 5 minutes alone are better than every movie made since.
6
The eight minute photo montage telling the story of Carl and Ellie’s life in “Up” is far better than the the entirety of “The Lion King.”
13
What a tragedy that childhood in this country, maybe even the world, has become confuted with obeisance to Disney. Why does every parent believe they have to take their kids to Disneyland or Disneyworld, or else they're guilty of child abuse? The answer is that decades of Disney have bred generations of unimaginative adults who feel as if they must pass on the magic of lobotomy.
At the behest of Disney, Congress passed a revised copyright law that extends the franchise to 95 years! The other media companies were all on board, so now we have the absurdity of people actually policing YouTube looking for illegally posted cartoons dating from the mid 1930's, and they don't stay up there for long unless they've been mangled in some way, like aspect ratio or quality. Why is everyone in service to this all-devouring machine?
12
@stan continople
Because that is what we do, what we live for!
Apologies to Ursula.
2
@stan continople I don’t believe a single parent in America believes it’s a form of child abuse abuse to not be at Disney World. I understand it was meant to be hyperbole, but that’s a weird thing to say.
The 1998 copyright extension was awful public policy, but you shouldn’t blame Disney. It was passed by the US Congress on a virtually unanimous basis and signed by President Clinton. Disney doesn’t control our government. I have to speculate that your anger is a product of Internet memes rather than informed reflection.
1
Am I the only one who remembers the opening scene of The Lion King as homage to Kunte Kinta and Roots? What a difference 25 years make.
8
@Vuk yes, I saw nothing asa nti gay in my mind anyway like they said. I just felt the hyenas were evil. People look for racism everywhere today, it's ridiculous. I lived when it was real, not having to force that it was happening. I saw symbolism in the movie, but political, not racial.
1
The Lion King was the first movie my son and I could enjoy equally. He was seven. I found most of the soundtrack fantastic, props to Elton John and Tim Rice. I can see the racism in hindsight. As far as the rest of the criticisms, hey, it's a fairy tale. And give William Shakespeare some credit, the scheming uncle is straight out of Hamlet.
15
Risks? Only a studio run by such risk averse execs as Disney would see anything like that possibility here.
Cartoon, musical, live action; repeat ad nauseam (though we seem to at least be skipping the multiple direct to DVD sequels designed to render little kids inert for hours at a time).
Having said that, it doesn't mean the this movie isn't professionally crafted, filled with amazing talent or won't be entertaining.
But seriously, there are people who actual say risk and Disney in the same sentence? Were they talking about ESPN?
2
All I know is that I put the booster in the seat next to mine, and my 2-year old in the booster. And that I will never, ever forget the wonder in his face as the sun lit up the screen and then my child. He grew up to work in a film institute.
31
@Indiana Joan
What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing it.
2
My Down Syndrome son loves the film and we are looking forward to the re-make, especially the beautiful rendering of the landscape and animals. It is of note that a lesson that he learned from the original film is that 'I'm not Scar. I don't lie".
14
The Lion King is my favorite Disney film of all time. it is considered by many to be Disneys finest work. The Broadway play based on it is now the third longest running in Broadway history with over 9000 performances (only Chicago (9400) and phantom of the Opera (over 13000) have run longer). Disney saafter its huge sucess in 1994 has, perhaops not surprisingly, milked it, it all started going downhill with Simbas Pride, which was a paint by numbers Romeo and Juliet knockoff, without the payoff of the couples tragic deaths, and the younger generation showing zero concern or understanding of what it means to be loyal, responsible and trustworthy, let alone what it truly requires to lead others. Kovu is a reverse Scar in an attempt to show that dark furs can lead, except, the entire film hes a follower who spends 90% of the film lying scheming and pulling his punches, instead of a leader who takes charge . THIS is the only young dude available? REALLY?
After SP, there was lion King 1.5 which parodied the first, and kiddie show the Lion Guard which makes a further hash of the film canon by giving little kids magic powers. At this point , its safer to ignore anything post the first TLK as non-canon, because I dont think even Disney can tell you what is and isnt canon.
1
The reason why these ‘childish cartoons’ engage such deep interpretations is that artistically the cartoon feature film, especially one with musical tendencies, are amongst the most densely packed creative endeavors that humans have yet produced. The sheer mass of imagination and talent needed to present 90 minutes of animation is unmatched. The human talent hours that goes into such a product is staggering and mesmerizing.
Nothing beats a good animated movie for opening the doors of perception in the service of story telling.
22
When Lion King was released ‘it’s said’ many Japanese found close resemblance between the Lion King and ‘Jungle Emperor’ by famous comic artist Osamu Tezuka. A friend of Tezuka told him ‘Disney copied your Idea’. Tezuka responded ‘It’s a good thing because they acknowledged a significance of my work’.
17
I watched The Lion King with my kids when it came out. The thought never passed my mind that the hyenas were tropes for urban blacks and that Scar made fun of gay people. I think you have to believe in these stereotypes to see them. That isn’t the way I was raised.
71
@LAM
I agree--I had no idea who voiced Simba.
9
@LAM Yes, but when you spend your life looking for ways in which to be offended, you find offense everywhere.
10
@LAM
It appears your parents did very good job
1
My gosh, what kind of a life is it when a person goes around searching for reasons to be offended?
33
@patrick Alexander It was easy to be offended by Disney, because prior to The Lion King, Disney had a long history of offending black people. For instance, my parents were a part of the heated protest against the film Song of the South, in the 1940's. In addition, many black people had a problem with how the black crows were presented in the animated movie Dumbo. Their movements were very exaggerated and their speaking style reminded folks of Amos and Andy. Growing up in the fifties and sixties, there were no black mouseketeers on the Mickey Mouse show and many blacks faced discrimination in getting jobs at Disneyland. That black people would scrutinize The Lion King so rigidly is understandable, considering their history. On top of that, black actors were pretty much shut out of the animation film community for a very long time. It's also unfortunate that James Earl Jones would make such a ridiculous comment about his African heritage. His heritage is, indeed, African, and he should be proud of that.
11
@Donna Bailey No, JEJ is one the few recognizing fact. He's American. Period. What's wrong with American?
3
Can't wait for the live action remake of "The Little Mermaid!" (sarcasm)
4
@Alex That could actually be cool.... ☺
@Greta
I wonder how long they can hold their breath?
:-)
@Alex Yes but her voice must be performed by a flounder. Lol
1
It seems like everyone is overthinking this. All movies (books, videos, songs, for that matter) are not going to please everyone--you can probably read something bad into pretty much everything. If movies (books, videos, songs for that matter) have to be politically, ethnically, genderly and other -ly correct all the time, we might as well stop creating anything.
22
Sorry, but when you're a prince you don't get to go dancing around and joyfully singing about how "I just can't wait to be king" one minute and then act all sad the next when the king dies.
3
@BKLYNJ ??? He couldn't wait to grow up....he didn't want his father dead.
1
“Just over a century ago, there were more than 200,000 wild lions living in Africa. Today, there are only about 20,000; [wild] lions are extinct in 26 African countries and have vanished from over 95 percent of their historic range.” — Panthera
13
@Zareen Just try for a moment to imagine if the US had hundreds of thousands of say, hungry bears roaming freely in or near every major metropolitan area eating small children (or even adults) every day. I'm pretty sure we would all be demanding the government start eliminating them.
It's easy to suggest Africa ought to have all those wild beasts still roaming freely, but there's a small problem. They tend to stalk and eat people.
I was once (as a teenager) walking alone at night on a dark road in the Ravali area of Montana hearing the growls of bears and other critters in the distance. As it happened I heard a loud crunching noise not far from where I was walking and just knew a bear was stalking me. I can't begin to tell you just how scared I was at the thought of becoming a meal for that bear. My heart was beating so loud it seemed to make more noise than the crunching. Even my shoes made the gravel under my feet louder than anything I had ever heard. I was so scared at the time I had stopped walking. Luckily the crunching noise was coming from a rancher's cow. Never in my life had I ever been so glad to see a cow. Now imagine the same scenario replayed every night in your backyard just taking out the trash late at night.
5
@Zareen I'm pretty sure the people who live where lions roam freely don't mind too much when a few are disposed of. I've read many a sad tale of people getting stalked and eaten live by hungry lions. One particular tale was of immigrants trying to cross into South Africa. At night, as the story was told, the travelers tried in vain to climb trees to escape the lions. One by one they were pulled from the trees and eaten alive in front of one poor sole who lived to tell the tale. I can't even begin to imagine the horrors he faced not to mention the fear of being the next.
Ask the fella if he minds when lions are disposed of. I'm fairly sure he's be perfectly happy to see them all disposed of.
Now, I'm in no way suggesting all lions ought to be killed, but I certainly wouldn't want to live anywhere near any place where hungry lions are roaming freely.
2
Your rambling story has absolutely no relevance to the plight/extinction of lions in Africa. And how does living in South Carolina make you an authority on their behavior and what's actually happening to them, unless you're one of those cowardly "trophy" hunters who has traveled to South Africa to commit cold-blooded murder against captive helpless lions in canned hunts? Have you, Martino?
3
The image is from the end of the film, not the beginning. After all these years, I'm amazed I can still tell adult Simba and Nala apart from Mufasa and Sarabi ... that's great character design.
7
Why should a cartoon lion be voiced by a person of color? Lions don't actually talk with African accents. They don't talk with African American accents. They don't talk at all. They are not human.
59
No mention of the back story and lack of recognition of the true genesis of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” either- the money made on it by Disney (and white singers) when the core was written by a black South African who never got paid in his lifetime. Then, when his family fought for recognition and recompense- they appear to have been cheated as well. I highly recommend watching “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” doc on Netflix and or googling the original Rolling Stone article on the history of the song. Seems to align quite well, unfortunately, with the race and class treatment of characters in the movie.
7
I grew up in Uganda, moved to the US in 1988. It was not until it’s second theatrical release in December 1994 that I took my two and a half year old daughter to see the movie. Why? Because I hated the way Africa was portrayed in movies. But I loved the Lion King! I bought a tape to play for my daughter in the car and the movie on VHS. I loved the storytelling and high quality cinematography. I still think it is the best animated movie Disney has ever made.
29
By the way, speaking of Disney's money making off the Lion King, the Animal Kingdom park at Disney World is pretty much the theme park version of the movie. They're making serious bank on that, including its associated hotel and restaurants.
To be fair, they are also contributing to animal gene banks and veterinary science there, too.
5
This piece leaves out what I find the most fascinating about The Lion King, which is that it is such an enduring hit in spite of having an obviously racist plot. The lions are born to rule and the hyenas are born to live in the boneyard. When Scar slyly inverts this natural power structure by forming a pact with the hyenas & bringing them into the ruling elite, the rains fail & everyone becomes miserable. Happiness, and the rains, are restored when the lion who is the rightful heir quits goofing around, claims the throne, and boots the hyenas back to the boneyard. It seems to me the message both couldn’t be clearer and couldn’t be more at odds with our modern ethics, and yet it has been a hit play on Broadway for years & they just made a new version of the movie. Go figure
11
@Charles Woods
This is a pretty common formula for Disney -- how many of their movies center around a princess, or else a commoner girl who ends up with a prince? Hereditary nobility is a backbone of fairy tales, perhaps because children love to fantasize about being special and privileged just for being born. I don't disagree that the formula reinforces the stereotype assumption that some people are born better than others, and some belong on the dungheap (or in the boneyard). Just saying the trope is consistent with a lot of animated fare.
11
I love the movie, but it also owes a lot to the 1960s anime Kimba the White Lion.
11
Agree with Siri
It owes more than that and I do not agree with author comments: this was the first Disney property not based in existing material. He should have acknowledge the controversy at least
If you see the iconic Japanese Manga, which today touch home for the tragedy, any court of law will agree that the similarities are, at least striking, at worse plagiarism
9
I took my 5 year old twin sons to see the Lion King in the theater when it was released, along with their grandmother. She was worried they would be frightened during some scenes, but they loved it.
Buying the tape gave them many more happy hours of watching it and singing along to all of the songs. We'll always cherish that movie.
17
The new Lion King is a remake and will always be compared unfavorably by anyone who has warm feelings about the original. Remakes, reboots, reimagining will fall short to nostalgia, just like no one can match grandma's cake, pie, pudding or that meal at the bistro in Provence. That's life.
25
Of all the complaints, for god's sake, did nobody notice how it promotes an entitled ruling class, inheriting power and position through primogeniture? Here is your "rightful" king. Are you kidding me? And those reverent creatures of forest-- delighted to be killed and eaten by your "rightful" king, are they? Some found it too scary? It wasn't scary enough: we really needed to see a scene of the rightful king having dinner to make people understand exactly what it is about royalty-- kings, and princes, and Disney princesses-- they admire so much.
93
EVERY Disney product does this. It actually bothers me, as a parent, quite a bit, because the relentless message from Disney shows is that the best ruler imaginable is an enlightened monarch. Usually accompanied by a worthless "council" and a depraved "advisor" or some other malcontent who is trying to wreck things.
14
@Bill Van Dyk Right? And the alternative was fascism. I've yet to see a Disney animated feature in which the main characters were aspiring toward democratic governance.
10
@Bill Van Dyk It always amuses me that Americans love monarchy so much given the big deal of the Revolution getting rid of the king.
4
The arch-villain who was voiced by Irons was a take off on another character played by Irons: Cluas Von Bulow. Seem like Ms. Newberger didn't get the reference because she failed to have seen the movie portraying her fellow Harvard prof's defense of Mr. Von Bulow and his famous "you have no idea" line in response to a suggestion that he was a "very strange man"
20
@AJ I'm not sure if that really matters -- children are watching this, after all, and they won't know who Claus Von Bulow is, either, but they -will- pick up on which "kind" of animal or person is always playing the bad guys.
3
@spiderbee
And speaking of Claus von Bulow, few under the age of 60 (I'm 74) would have a clue who he was. Yet, that name resurfaced in the past week because Von Bulow's defense attorney was Alan Dershowitz who went on to fame as a Harvard law professor and celebrity defense attorney. And Dershowitz has, over the years, been the criminal defense attorney for none other than Jeffrey Epstein. He is now under the microscope of investigators for alleged rape of two minor girls at Epstein's Palm Beach mansion.
Those of us of a certain age, and as news hounds, tend to connect dots few knew existed.
11
The critics do have a point or two. The whole show is a glorification of hereditary patriarchy, and the only hyenas who speak are both minority stereotypes. But it's ridiculous to say that Scar is gay. He is just British.
It's still a great film. Stereotypes are what cartoons do.
38
@Teed Rockwell. Agreed. Scar is a take off on Scar's voice actor Jeremy Iron's characterization of Claus Von Bulow is "Reversal of Fortune" right down to the mirroring of the exact wording and cadence of the famous "You have NO idea" line in response to statements that the characters are strange.
14
Just in case anyone missed it, the light-furred lions are the rulers and everywhere they rule is beautiful; one dark-furred lion is jealous and chooses to take control by orchestrating the murder of his brother. His minions, the hyenas, are also dark-furred and rule the dark, bleak part of the landscape where the light-furred rulers have agreed is off limits. When the dark-furred lion takes control, society falls apart until the son of the light-furred lion returns and wrests command from him (who is ultimate killed by his dark-furred minions); with the balance of nature restored, the kingdom of the light-furred ruler is once again bountiful and beautiful.
To summarize:
-Light fur good; dark fur bad
-Society is segregated for a reason; everything will be fine as long as everyone stays on their turf
-Dark-furred animals are expected to mind their place; if they attempt to advance and live in the domain of the light-furred animals, society will collapse because the natural order of things has been violated.
Republicans will probably screen this movie as a warmup to Trump rallies.
20
@David R
To summarize: some people will inject politics into absolutely everything.
The story of the rightful king returning to heal his land is close to universal in human cultures. It's a powerful myth and a great basis for a movie, but it fits uncomfortably into mores of a modern republican government. If you are going to insist that all of your entertainment be politically correct, you are going to miss out on an awful lot of great art.
77
@Heedless Well, except that we see that the "dark-furred" in many of these movies are the bad guys. So is it injecting politics to point that out? Isn't it a political act to forcibly ignore the implications of narrative so as to live in an oblivious bubble?
6
@David R You raise a good point. Are so many of our colloquialisms bathed in historic racism or simply eons of earthlings fearing what can not been seen in the night vs what is exposed when we wake in the light of day. I am thinking of terms like lightness meaning positive
airiness, or dark humor meaning humor with a sinister twist, stereotypical visuals of old westerns where the bad guys don the black hats and the good guys the white? Equally, music can have a dark feeling or a light feeling, one of course meant to be more positive feeling than the other.
9
The author of this article should watch the American Experience biography of Disney to see the REAL high risk moments of the company.
10
@Mtnman1963
yes, it was a great show.
1
Your image is from the end of the film, not the opening.
8
A pity that in the attempt to give the definitive untold history of “The Lion King,” the film’s actual creator, the man who wrote the treatment for $5,000 as “work for hire,” gets no mention.
Writer and poet Tom Disch had sold a property, “The Brave Little Toaster,” to Disney at John Lassiter’s instigation. The story of Toaster was to be Disney’s big entry into computer animation, but the film company balked at the cost until Lassiter convinced them otherwise. By that time “Toaster” had been subcontracted to be produced at a Korean animation studio as a normal cel animation. Lassiter changed the story of “Toaster” slightly, substituting toys for office accessories, and so, “Toy Story,” was born.
Essentially, both “Toy Story” (and it’s sequels), along with “The Lion King,” came from the mind of one man. Mr. Disch did grow bitter at seeing his work without even attribution making billions of dollars, while his career and personal life were growing increasingly difficult.
Tom committed suicide on Independence Day, 2008.
36
@Eric Solstein
but capitalism is always fair and a good thing!!
Terrible story. Thank you.
9
@Eric Solstein
"The Brave Little Toaster" was a VHS favorite in our family, the only movie our kids enjoyed repeatedly. It's a terrific story with marvelous animation, music, and voice artists.
Thanks for your comment.
2
Just wondering if Disney added the song "The Circle of Plagiarism" to the new movie. After all, they need to confess that they ripped-off "Kimba the White Lion", the Japanese anime that was begun to be aired in 1966 in the USA and that I watched religiously before I was school-age.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimba_the_White_Lion#The_Lion_King_controversy
13
@VJR
I loved Kimba. I feel my dedication to the animal kingdom was expressed early on. I felt like the only kid in my whole town that even knew it existed.
Imagine my disappointment that Disney reaped such huge rewards, and seems to pay little attention to the key aspects of their success here. The actual living animals that may not be living much longer.
5
Should I be offended that in the musical Hamilton all the white protagonists of the American Revolution are played by Afro-and Latino Americans?
57
@Laurent
I remember when some people made a big deal because the 1/2 White 1/2 Chinese character in Miss Saigon was played by a white actor. This was when Denzel Washington was playing Richard III in a theater down the street from Miss Saigon. Guess the same rules don't apply to everybody
15
@sjs Well, if there is a history of black or minority actors being excluded from good roles as an act of discrimination, then, yes, the rules are different. Or if "blackface" is used in a mocking way while nobody does "whiteface", then, yes the rules are different. Probably the most color-blind casting decision in my lifetime was Carl Anderson as Judas in "Jesus Christ Superstar". It was brilliant. People who were offended had no idea, apparently, that it was the best role in the film.
5
@Laurent
What you should know is that actors of color until very recently NEVER got called and casted unless the role explicitly called for a person of color. For example, if a casting call goes out for a "diner waitress," casting director and agents won't ever notify actors of color. Thus, they have had a great disadvantage in getting jobs as professional actors. Even today, truly color blind casting only occurs when the director or producers insist explicitly upon it. Hamilton is a case of counter-casting intended to provoke. If you are offended, fine, though it says more about you than the play.
7
The "PC-ness" this article makes me queasy. Disney made/makes culturally inobnoxious entertaining fictional fantasy movies - not sociologic treatises.
The undertone of the article is unnecessary and sophomoric. The snobbish cultural gobbledygook being applied is silly.
71
The film is a masterpiece, full stop. So many characters fully realized, major themes of familial duty, good vs evil - all wrapped up in a beautifully animated vehicle that also manages to include a great fart joke. And don't forget Nala's bedroom eyes when she and Simba frolic during "Can you Feel the Love Tonight." I challenge any human actress to get her point across any better.
30
A shot for shot remake sounds rather boring. That's why I didn't enjoy the live action Beauty and the Beast much even though the animated version was my favorite one as a child.
Disney should focus on original or new fares like Enchanted or Maleficent instead of recycling its old animated hits as "live action remakes." Then again, given how all the major studios are remaking or rebooting their old successful franchises, I suppose Disney is just playing to keep up.
11
@EM
Amen to that. I wonder whether these remakes are simply an attempt to make more money off the same material, or whether they (Disney) are afraid that kids growing up in an age of computer animation will not react as well to old school hand drawn animation? If so, maybe they should take a look at the anime market, which seems to be doing fine.
I skipped the live action BATB and will probably skip this one too, since the originals are so iconic for me. There is no need to remake them, especially shot-for-shot. I did see the live action Aladdin, to see what Will Smith would be able to do with the role. I felt he was handicapped by trying to be Robin Williams, instead of letting him do a really original new take on it. It's like the different versions of The Joker we're seeing actors do -- if Heath Ledger had copied Jack Nicholson's Joker, we would not have gotten a truly great performance.
5
The one thing this articles barely touches on is the recycling of movies from generation to generation, as risk averse studios and content creators bank on parents in their profit making ventures of the future, their children. I ll wait till this hits HBO.
9
@Jts
I wonder also if some of it might be that they are worried about whether a new generation that is used to computer animation will take to old school hand drawn animation. I think kids can appreciate both (and I know adults can). But I wonder if the studios think the old school stuff looks too crude now, especially in high definition.
The Lion King was the first movie we took our first child to see--he had just turned three. The soundtrack was the first CD our oldest two children loved enough to beg for it everytime we got in the car. The phenomenal play by Julie Taymor was the first play we took all four of our kids to see. When asked what faith I follow I say "The Circle of Life."
I will of course go see the new movie and, while I doubt I'll grow to love it more than I love the original, I'll be happy The Lion King lives on, its magic and music introduced to a new set of children.
20
It sounds like Disney took * massive * risks with Lion King:
- They released it during summer vacation (wildly irresponsible! who'd ever heard of a 'summer blockbuster'?)
- It featured animal characters (unlike previous hits like Mickey Mouse, Dumbo, Bambi, Jungle Book, ... or practically every animated kids movie ever)
- It involved a super star voice talent, Elton John
This was cutting edge, throw-caution-the-wind type stuff, folks. What were they thinking!
I hope we can look forward to an article next week about how the creators of 'New Kids on the Block' broke all the rules by casting cute, unthreatening male teens to sing pop tunes.
102
By **Disney's** rulebook, they took chances. And those chances paid off.
Unfortunately, after a few flops, they're now using a new rulebook which seems to have only one rule: "Crank out endless inferior live-action remakes of our animated classics."
9
Mr. Bailey leads with: "Few animated films have charged onto the screen with the confidence of Disney's 1994 smash..." But he is remiss in failing to recall that it was indeed Disney that took the first major leap in animated films with Snow White in 1937. Disney historically has not been afraid to make bold moves, and The Lion King was the latest.
21
And let’s not forget the ground breaking Fantasia that introduced a whole generation of children to classical music.
10
Not a single reference to the actual source material: Kimba the White Lion, the Japanese manga series upon which The Lion King liberally steals from? That was incredibly successful for 20 years in Japan. The Lion King was less risky than you make it appear to be.
34
@Andrew
EXACTLY!
Thanks for that!
5
Culturally-woke critics apparently don’t take Fall, Winter, or Spring vacations either.
Their raison d’etre is to search for offense.
Now that we’ve reached the stage where only persons of color can play....what?....colorful roles, is the converse true? Shakespeare’s Desdemona is referred to as lily white. Is it racist to say a white woman should portray her?
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@David G you do realize that you're getting offended by the idea that others are offended? The Lion King may not be the most egregious example of whitewashing, but that doesn't mean the issues aren't worth talking about.
And as for your false equivalence, whitewashing is inherently different from having a historically white character played by a person of color because of history. If you weren't born yesterday, you should realize there has been a historic lack of representation on screen. And when there have been characters of color, they have often been whitewashed and accompanied by a myriad of racist tropes. (Consider the racism inherent in the way that Mickey Rooney portrayed the Japanese neighbor in Breakfast at Tiffany's).
Maybe when white people have been oppressed by people of color for several centuries, and there are scant movies about a mediocre white man, then you can take equal umbrage at a black woman playing James Bond.
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@Sarah
I'm offended that you're offended that he's offended that they're offended.
That is all.
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@Sarah
Everyone has been oppressed by people of power and wealth. The history of HUMAN slavery-- still goes on for women of all shades -- is pretty inclusive.
People also make fun of rich, powerful white men and women -- It's called SNL.
So far as the Desdemona comment -- the original was played by a boy! For great actors, none of it matters..
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After that baby lion cub is raised in the air, the movie starts to go downhill. Same with Pocahontas. Great, great, stirring opening song and scenes and then kind of moves into...meh. Fine, but not really living up to the movie you think you're getting at first.
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Its good that Disney is more culturally sensitive these days, but its just as absurd to worry about who voices Simba as it was 25 years ago.
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"But the critics were not wrong."
Are we quite sure about that? Maybe I'm just being defensive. The Lion King came out a couple of years before I was born and was one of my favorite movies as a child (sadly, Disney has not yet delivered to me a Japanese princess).
I watched it roughly eight million times and don't believe I ever incorporated any of the "isms" the critics said it was trying to push. I mean, are the hyenas urban blacks, or is it more the critics imposing their own beliefs about urban blacks onto some cartoon animals? Yes, one was voiced by Whoopi Goldberg. Another by Cheech Marin (not black). And the third (thanks, Google!) by Jim Cummings (also not black). Maybe Terry Press had a point.
I suppose if you really want to see it and squint real hard, you can. But to a little Japanese girl sitting on the floor with a plate of butter cookies, it was just a great story about some animals.
I don't think I'll bother with the remake, though. And until reading the comments, I had never heard of Kimba - that's interesting.
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@Aiya The Kimba stuff is wrong- it's based off of Hamlet. Kimba is cribbed for style.
Also waiting for a にほんのひめ!
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@Aiya
If you look, you may be able to find the original ジャングル大帝 (Janguru Taitei) Kimba the White Lion cartoons from 1965-1967, or the sequel series 新ジャングル大帝 進めレオ! (Shin Janguru Taitei: Susume Reo!) The New Jungle Emperor: Move Ahead Leo! or Leo the Lion. Or the 1989-1990 "New Adventures of Kimba" (the title in Japanese was the same as the original series, I think). Or the 1997 movie Jungle Emperor Leo, released in English in 2003. Or the 2009 Japanese movie ジャングル大帝 勇気が未来をかえる (Jungle Taitei – Yūki ga Mirai wo Kaeru) ... Or even the 1950-1954 Manga from which all of this grew.
Actually, I think The Lion King owes relatively little to this Japanese franchise, other than the idea of a young lion who inherits the throne and has to find his way with only occasional inspiration from his dead father. But it is best to judge for yourself.
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Actually, one can add another Japanese prototype. The exile of the young nobleman plot line closely resembles the early chapters of the Tale of Genji in many respects.
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I look forward to seeing this and reserve judgement until I do. Criticizing a remake because it is not taking the risk the original version did is like criticizing the second wave of settlers for not being there with the original crowd. There is a new audience that will thrill to the new effects, and some of the old crowd will be glad the cast is more authentic. The original story will be entertaining to most although I have read criticism that it promotes the monarchy and therefore should be rejected by all who support democracy. Let’s face it, critics gonna criticize. I’m just looking for good music, an entertaining story and eye-popping effects. If it can deliver that, I’ll be happy.
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Personally, I hated the main theme song. African music is so rich; Elton John’s theme has a few token rhythm beats before segueing into a straight, major-key, boring pop anthem. Blech.
If you want western pop music that interestingly integrates African music, try Paul Simon’s “Graceland;” released a few years before, it could have been the referent for a much better score.
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@Lisa--agree--but if you want to better hear what PS was trying to do, listen to Johnny Clegg, an anti-apartheid musician from South Africa (more complicated than that) who sadly just passed away (see NYT obits)
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@Lisa You should hear the version in the stage play. They mix out the violins, bring up the drums, and the song sounds much more African.
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@Teed Rockwell. There is a sequel soundtrack for the animated movie, Rhythm of the Pridelands, featuring Lebo M. He arranged the music for the both it and the stage show. He’s actually one who starts off the movie, and he conducted the African choir in it.
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"this was the first Disney property not based on existing material". I would argue, as would many, that this is incorrect. It is widely recognized that The Lion King borrowed heavily from Tezuka's "Kimba the White Lion" which ran as an animated series through the 60's and was very popular and well-known in America as well. There are too many similarities for this to not be considered the primary influence even if Disney denies it today and writing an article on the influence of this movie without mentioning Kimba is a shame.
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@Ian Or Hamlet.
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@Andi agreed and he did reference Hamlet among others in the article (“It’s a combination Moses-Hamlet-King Arthur Meets Elton John in Africa,”). My point was that it's a shame Kimba gets overlooked.
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@Ian
It reminded me of Kimba (who was called Leo in the Japanese version) too. But then I went back and watched the original Kimba series and thought, there is really very little similarity.
The name is of course similar, but since "Simba" is Swahili for "Lion" that really suggests only that common source.
But yet, Arthur-Hamlet-Moses ... and Kimba.
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Not a single mention of Kimba the White Lion? The classic animation from which The Lion King almost certainly cribbed much of its inspiration?
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@Virgil Soames There's a link to an article about Kimba
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Exactly how many versions of the Lion King do we need?
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@Michael Livingston’s Seven.
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@Michael Livingston’s: I hope not as many as we apparently needed Batmans or Spidermans. Deliver us, O Hollywood, from Simba recruiting other "wonder critters" for Avengers-style spin-awfuls.
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