What’s this all about? I turn 30 on Sept. 26, 30 days from the start of this series. To celebrate, I’m going to watch one movie a day for 30 days and spend 30 minutes writing about each one. This post is about 1994. Click here for the original newsletter in the series. Other entries: 1991, 1992, 1993
I briefly (very briefly) considered going with another choice for this year, but in the end, while I love “The Shawshank Redemption” and how it was the gateway into my Stephen King fandom, there was never really any competition for my pick for 1994. This also marks the third movie in a row in this project that features James Earl Jones, which wasn’t planned, but is always a good thing.
“The Lion King” was the first movie I ever saw in a theater (at the ripe old age of 2), it was one of the first VHS tapes we owned, and its soundtrack was definitely the first tape I played on repeat anywhere I could.
My 3rd birthday party was “Lion King”-themed and that day is one of my earliest memories. That token system I mentioned earlier, where my mom had to limit my movie intake to two per day? It was because I would re-watch “The Lion King” over and over.
If you are a ‘90s child, you probably have a similar relationship with this movie, and it’s easy to see why. The songs are catchy. The animals are cute. It’s a simple, but profound movie, moves at a quick pace and has a satisfying resolution- I was never bored watching it as a kid, and I’m impressed with how economic its storytelling is as an adult. It’s still my go-to Disney movie. I’ve seen it in theaters twice since, once in an IMAX screening and another in a 3D screening. I even watched the 2019 remake (not advised). It’s one of the movies that made me fall in love with watching movies.
I didn’t re-watch this movie today as much as I recited it and followed along with it, but there are still new things I find to appreciate about it every time. Here’s my Top 10 of those moments from this last watch:
I love the silence right before the opening moments of “Circle of Life.” The quiet of the night before the sun rises.
The different animation styles on display, especially during “Just Can’t Wait To Be King,” are so different from today’s animated movies. I miss good, hand-draw, 2-D animation.
Somehow I never managed to catch every animal pun Zazu fires off in the Morning Report scene, and hearing him say “cheetahs never prosper” made me smile.
The line is always, and has always been, “pinned ya again,” and not “pindja Gee,” as my litle 4-year-old self insisted.
Related to #2, I miss when animated movies got good voice actors and worked that casting into the characters, instead of just hiring a bunch of famous actors to lure in the parents taking their kids to the theater. Sure, this movie has a lot of fmaous people in it, but that wasn’t a focal part of its marketing. You can tell everyone involved was working hard.
Man, they put a lot of “Triumph of the Will” imagery into “Be Prepared.”
I’m just now realizing the stampede scene was probably the first time I was exposed to the concept of death. RIP Mufasa.
I have a lot of sympathy for Pumbaa.
“Yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it or learn from it.” This whole scene gets me choked up. I’ve always been amazed at how effective it is, too. It features Mufasa’s ghost in the sky while Hans Zimmer’s blaring score plays in the background, but the message here doesn’t feel blunt, it feels epic. “Remember who you are.”
And we end at Pride Rock, back where we started, in a circle. Again, great storytelling.
Up next: Get your little coats and watch out for the deer in the back of the car — we’re watching 1995’s “Tommy Boy.”
Letter of Recommendation
The only good thing about the 2019 “Lion King” remake is that it gave us this Beyonce album.
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