Title: The Lion King
Writer: Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton
Director: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
Year: 1994
Actors: Matthew Broderick (as the voice of Simba), James Earl Jones (as the voice of Mufasa), Madge Sinclair (as the voice of Sarabi), Jeremy Irons (as the voice of Scar), Moira Kelly (as the voice of Nala), Nathan Lane (as the voice of Timon), Ernie Sabella (as the voice of Pumbaa)
Story: The Lion King is a story of young lion, Simba, who is to take the throne as future king of the Pride Lands following his father Mufasa. Simba learned the tricks of the trades on how to be a king from his father until one day Mufasa’s brother (Scar), comes up with a plan to kill him (Mufasa). Simba was in the midst of the whole plan as Mufasa had to save him during a stampede. Simba was far too young to grasp the concept of the whole situation and understand how Scar manipulated him into thinking his father’s death was his fault. Simba fled from the Pride Lands. He meets two friends, Timon and Pumbaa, and forms a strong brotherhood bond with them. As he matured, he and Nala run into each other and he is given the information about Pride Rock, his mother, and the other lions he left behind. This pushed him to go back to face his Uncle Scar to get what he rightfully deserves and to be take back the position as king of the Pride Lands.
Plot: A future king is born in the Pride Lands of Africa, King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi name him Simba. The birth of Simba caused Mufasa’s brother Scar to envy him as Simba was to take the throne. Mufasa takes Simba under his wing and teaches him how to be a king. Scar tricked Simba into thinking the elephant graveyard was a good place to go even after his father told him to stay away from it. Simba quickly learns after he and his friend Nala that he shouldn’t have listened to Scar as he and Nala were in danger when they were spotted by three hyenas. Zazu rushes to tell Mufasa what has happened; Simba and Nala are rescued and escorted back to the Pride Lands where they belong.
Scar and the three hyenas are upset the plan didn’t work and come up with another scheme to try to harm Mufasa and Simba. Scar takes Simba to a gorge and tells him to wait on a surprise. Hyenas started the stampede which would head toward Simba. Scar rushes to tell Mufasa and Mufasa hurries to save his son. Simba is rescued as Mufasa climbs a few walls, he asks his brother to help him as he is slipping… Scar refuses and throws him back into the stampede, killing Mufasa. Simba saw Mufasa dead. As he cried for help, his uncle manipulates him into thinking it was all his fault and the best thing to do was to leave the Pride Lands. Simba ran away as fast as he could.
Simba is spotted in the desert by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and a warthog. They take him under their wings and before you know it, young Simba has grown into a young and mature adult. Timon and Pumbaa teach Simba what it is like to live free and happy using the phrase “Hakuna Matata” (no worries). While Timon and Pumbaa were out, they were spotted by a young lioness who tried to kill them. Simba comes to the rescue only to find that he would be fighting his best friend, Nala. She and Simba go for a walk to talk about everything that has happened since he left and she lets him know that he needs to go back to protect his people. As Simba refuses to go back, he and Rafiki, Mufasa’s old friend, run into each other forcing Simba to listen to what he has to say about his father. Rafiki takes him to a pond and Simba is visited by Mufasa in the sky who tells him to basically go back to Pride Lands and get the throne back from Scar. Simba is motivated and goes home.
Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa meet up with Simba in the Pride Lands as they agree to help him do what he needs to. He confronted Scar and his mother Sarabi. Scar once again tried to manipulate him into thinking he killed his father and Simba disagrees. They get into a brawl leaving Simba in the same predicament as his father, this time on a ledge while the fire grew beneath him. Scar reveals that he killed Mufasa and Simba fights and forces Scar to let everyone know he was responsible for the death of Mufasa. Simba forces scar to leave Pride Lands as he is now cornered with nowhere to go. Scar attacks Simba as he forgives him and tells him to leaving causing Simba to push his uncle off Pride Rock and into the burning flames.
Simba then takes his rightful place on the throne as he defeats Scar. Rain falls, trees grew, flowers blossomed and the sun was shining. Pride Rock had its king at the throne and it was a glory for all who resided in the Pride Lands. Simba and Nala give birth to a young cub as Rafiki presents him to the animals of the Pride Lands.
Chronology: The movie was filmed in chronological order, “the events in the movie’s plot follow the same order (although not necessarily in the same duration) I which they would occur in the story, the order of real time (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).” This helped emphasize the growth and responsibility it took to be the king of Pride Lands; it most especially made it extra special when Simba reaped the benefits of being a king after he faces his evil uncle. It made Simba’s victory that much better.
Because the movie was in chronological order, it helped Simba to learn from his mistakes and to take life as it goes. We were able to watch him at his lowest and his up to do what is right after a few years. Had the film been told non-linearly, the end probably wouldn’t have been as good as it was. I feel as though it all fell into place through time and if that were to change, it would mess up the emotional impact it had on everyone.
References:
Disney Movie Trailers. (1994) The Lion King (1994) Trailer. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/f0fReuRs890
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Filn: from watching to seeing (2nd Ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Wikipedia. The Lion King (1994). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_King
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