Hey everyone out there in blog land, I’m TheCinemaChick! I review movies and take no prisoners. Well, I’ve taken a few prisoners but they’re safely locked away in a closet.
I’m kidding.
Well, today I got to have a lovely nostalgic trip down memory lane. Fry and I watched The Lion King in 3D. Normally, I don’t care for movies in 3D but I have to admit, this was pretty freaking cool. I mean, Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides did nothing for me. Usually, the animated movies have more to offer than the live action, so it wasn’t a shock that this one was good.
Now, I’m assuming that everyone’s familiar with the Hamlet-esque plot in The Lion King. If not, let’s have a little rundown.
Mufasa and Sarabi welcome a son into the pride, Simba. While this happy moment is going on, we’re introduced to Scar, who has now been pushed to second in line. Scar does what he can to lure Simba away or get him killed. This leads to Mufasa’s death in a wildebeest stampede. Scar convinces Simba that the death is all his fault, which causes the young lion prince to flee. He is found by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog, who pretty much raise him into adulthood. Nala, Simba’s childhood friend appears while hunting. Through a series of bizarre events, Simba chooses to return home, force Scar to confess, watch his uncle die and assume the proverbial throne. The end, thank you for coming, hope you enjoyed the show.
The animation seemed much clearer and much sharper this time around. Everything seemed clean. I am disappointed that there wasn’t more scenes that used the 3D effect but when it was used, it was amazing. The grass seemed more realistic, if things floated across the screen they popped out. It’s a timeless tale that unfortunately was a victim of Disney’s “everything deserves a sequel” scheme. Yes…there’s a sequel involving Simba and Nala’s child and Scar’s son.
Ok…let me rant for a moment. WHAT THE HELL? This was never mentioned in the original movie so why make it all up for a second one? Scar never had his own pride, he only had the hyenas in the first one. Where did this outcast group of lions come from? Had all of this been mentioned in the first movie, things would have been a hell of a lot more dramatic AND given it sequel fodder. Yeah, I used fodder, look it up! I’ve never seen the sequel, nor do I care to honestly.
And if that’s not bad enough, there’s a third Lion King. Yes, Disney went so far as to create a prequel to it, centering around Timon and Pumbaa. This one I did watch because it was on TV on Sunday while I was living in my college dorms. Since I didn’t feel like doing my study hours, I watched this instead. Yeah…that wasted a whole two hours.
Anyway, back to my point. I love the movie and it’s something that I think will be enjoyed by future generations, assuming there aren’t any more sequels. Honestly, not everything needs a sequel. Look at Cinderella. She had her happily ever after so why are we subjected to a movie about time travel?
If I had to work at Disney, I’d try to be more original or at least put a fresher spin on an old classic. Tangled was a fantastic retelling so why not try something like that again? Hell, I’d take something with unicorns or faeries (not the Tinkerbell series) or leprechauns. Yeah, let’s have more leprechaun movies.
Since I keep getting off topic, I’m going to go ahead and call this movie a success. Go out and rediscover your love of The Lion King.
As for me, Fry and I will be checking out Abduction, the new Taylor Lautner action flick on Friday. I’m mixed. I think it will do well from the big names attached to the film but the overall product won’t live up to the hype.
My kingdom for a decent piece of cinema.
I’m TheCinemaChick and I’m still singing “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”.
On behalf of my movie watching crew, I bid you a pleasant theater experience.
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