The Lion King

My generation is defined by the Disney movies that came out in the late 80’s and 90’s. This era, know as the Disney Renaissance, has produced some Disney classics. And most people of my generation have their favorite Disney movie from this period. While some movies I can understand, like “Beauty and the Beast,” one movie is always said which bugs the crap out of me. That is “The Lion King.” Now some people may call me heartless for this post and discredit all of my previous entries. But here’s the thing, they are just opinions.

Now before I start explaining why this movie is over-hyped and massively over-rated, I want to get two things across. First, there will be spoilers of the plot. Sorry, but it happens. Second, I DON’T HATE THE MOVIE. Some may think, “But you called it over-rated. Therefore you must hate it.” I said I thought it gets more credit than it deserves. NOT that the movie is the worst thing to happen to cinema since Mac and Me (we’re talking 1900’s-1994 timeframe here). So those are two things to keep in mind.

First I think I should talk about what I do like about this movie. I love Scar. He is one of Disney’s greatest villains in my opinion. He kills his own brother and is a schemer. I really like that in a bad guy. I also like Scar’s accompanying song “Be Prepared.” It is awesomely dark and full of allusions to Nazis who are histories second greatest enemy right behind Zombie Nazis. I like Mufasa for his voice and nobility that he exudes. And it is based on Hamlet which is my favorite Shakespeare play. Aside from that, nothing else in the movie stands out as fantastic.

I have three main issues with the movie. The first is the subtle and not so subtle references to pop culture (who didn’t facepalm when Zazu sang “It’s a Small World?”). This movie came after “Aladdin” which was the first to do it. But when that movie did it, it did it throughout the movie with one character. The Lion King more or less does it every now and then with different characters, but not as a streamlined idea. More like a running gag than anything else. My issue is that if you are going to do something like that, keep it consistent.

My second issue is Simba. I’ll say it, the hero of the movie is one of Disney’s weakest protagonists. When he is a little kid, he’s a little jerk. Sure he’s young, but he has everything handed to him and still wants more (seems to be a trend of the Disney Renaissance huh?). Then when he becomes an adult several lion years later, he become Angsty McAngster Weiner. I get it, your dad died (spoiler, but that is like Darth Vader being related to Luke Skywalker spoiler in the sense that everyone knows it even if you haven’t seen the movie). But that is no reason to pout like a little girl all the time. Your childhood friend tells you your home has gone to Hell and what does Simba do, he runs off like a wimp. It is only once he sees his dad in the sky that he decides to grow a pair. What does that teach kids? “If your dad dies when your six, you can only become tough if you see your dad in the sky.” I blame the gay meerkat for parenting him wrong. But now I’m getting side tracked.

The last thing I don’t like is the soundtrack. When your movie starts out with a high pitched scream of stuff I don’t understand, odds are I may not like the song. And you’d be right. This soundtrack contains some of the most over played songs in Disney history. I do like two songs though. “Be Prepared” is awesome like I described earlier. I also enjoy “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” because of the good beat and great visuals that accompany it. Everything else I can do without from my iPod. But everyone only wants to hear “Circle of Life” or “Hakuna Matata.” I liked those songs at one point. But once I heard them for the 5,987,547,234 2/5 time, I figured enough was enough.

So those are my issues with ‘The Lion King.” The useless pop culture references, over played songs and wimpy hero really hold it back for me. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy watching “The Lion King.” But there is a reason it is #16 on my Top 30 Disney Films List. I just don’t think it is worth all of the hype.
Overall Rating: C+

Please send all hate mail to thesolidrockonwasu@gmail.com and I will respond depending on how much you swear at me. (The less you do it, the faster I’ll reply)

Bye ya’ll and until next time.

After a Very Long Break, here is a Review

Hey ya'll
Man I've been gone from the blogging world for quite sometime. I've just been really busy. But hopefully I can update this and post my own reviews of movies. But for now, here is a review of a movie that I feel is VERY under appreciated: "Scott Pilgrim vs The World."
Before I start, let me make one thing perfectly clear: I think Michael Cera is a terrible actor. I think he plays the same character over and over. So when I went to see this, I was expecting him to play Michael Cera. Boy I'm glad I was wrong.
First reason why this movie kicks so much butt is actually Cera himself. Despite how much he plays geeky awkward teen in all his other movies, Cera is actually playing Scott Pilgrim. He is socially awkward, but he is determined to get what he wants even if it means breaking skulls. He is a narcissists, cheater and just a terrible person overall. But I felt strangely attached to him and wanted to see him win.
Another reason I liked this movie is for the supporting cast. They are all different and each have their quirks that makes them shine. Ramona is the snarky girl, Knives is super obsessive, there is a gay roommate of Scott's that is hilarious, and a whole collective group of cleverly written characters.
But the best reason to see this movie is for the battles with the 7 Evil Exes. These are the highlights of the film and its the movies greatest strength. Each is designed to be original from the previous one and each has their own little gimmick to make it interesting. My personal favorite fight is the battle with the 5th and 6th exes that involves a battle of the bands amp vs. amp situation. Which brings me to another reason to love this movie: the soundtrack/score.
This ranks up there with my favorite film soundtracks of 2010. All the licensed music is great ranging from indy to The Rolling Stones. But the score is where the movie gets it right including an 8-bit rendition of the Universal theme, Dave Patel's Bollywood inspired song, the Bass Battle, and the Sex Bob-Omb vs Katianaygi Twins amp vs amp. All of it is good.
So why is it that a movie with good characters, good story, and good soundtrack bombed at the box office? Because the film was so focused on pleasing its demographic that it almost alienated the rest of the consumers. This wouldn't be a problem had the market they wanted to attract be one that had a little more income to go to the movies. But I know it will have strong DVD and Blu-Ray profits to make up for what it lost at the box office.
So that is my review of Scott Pilgrim vs the World. I give it an "A"
Next week, I'm going to do something that most people in my generation would never dare do. I'm going to explain why The Lion King isn't that great of a movie. It's good, but not amazing.