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THE LION KING – Hans Zimmer, Elton John, and Tim Rice
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s interesting how, quite often, you never realize in the moment that you’re experiencing a cultural touchstone. I went to see The Lion King at the cinema the week it opened when it came out in the UK with very little in the way of anticipation, and vividly remember being shocked at having to wait in line for almost an hour beforehand to get in (these were the days before pre-assigned seating), such was its massive popularity.
The Lion King is, of course, Disney’s groundbreaking animated feature film that follows the journey of a young lion named Simba. The story begins with Simba’s birth in the Pride Lands of Africa, where he is introduced as the future king. However, Simba’s uncle, Scar, covets the throne and conspires with a pack of hyenas to kill both Simba and his father, King Mufasa, in an orchestrated wildebeest stampede. Scar’s plan partially succeeds; Mufasa is killed, and Simba, guilt-ridden and believing himself responsible, runs away and grows up in the jungle with his new friends Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog. Eventually, encouraged by his childhood friend Nala and the mandrill shaman Rafiki, Simba returns to the Pride Lands to confront Scar and reclaim his rightful place as king. Read more…
THE LION KING – Hans Zimmer
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba! Sithi q!uhm, ingonyama. Nants ingonyama bagithi baba! Sithi q!uhm, ingonyama; Siyo n!qoba; Ingonyama nengw’enamabala, ingonyama nengw’enamabala…
When Lebo M’s plaintive cry in his native Zulu rang out across the savannah, informing the animals of the plain that a newborn lion, destined for greatness, had been born, one of the most memorable moments in film music history was born along with him. The Lion King, originally directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, did pretty brisk business at the box office when it was released in the summer of 1994, raking in almost $1 billion at the global box office, and quickly becoming an enormous cultural phenomenon too. The film spawned a massively successful stage show that ran for many years on Broadway, several animated spinoffs, and single-handedly introduced the phrase ‘hakuna matata’ into the American lexicon. With Disney in the middle of making live-action versions of several of their classic animated films – we have already had Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, among others – it stands to reason that The Lion King would be in line for the same treatment, given the improvements in digital computer technology since the original was released. Read more…
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