The Lion King
-Rob Minkoff, 1994
Summary of The Lion King
The ruler of the animal kingdom, Mufasa, had a baby cub named Simba. This little lion cub was set to be the next king of the land and this angered Mufasa's evil brother, Scar. The highly envious brother desperately wanted the "throne" up on Pride Rock, and was willing to do anything to get it. Scar teamed up with the devious hyenas to arrange a wildebeest stampede that ended up putting Simba in a life threatening situation. It all climaxed when Mufasa was left hanging off a cliff, and Scar pushed him to his death and screamed, "Long live the king!' The young, naive Simba believed his insidious Uncle Scar when he told the cub that his father's death was all his fault.
The lonely and guilt ridden lion cub then ran away from his kingdom and found his two new best friends: Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. He found a new, happy perspective on life with these two other "outcasts" and he spent years with them. In the meantime, Scar had taken over the animal kingdom where he had instituted a grim dictatorship where lions and hyenas live equally. Nala, Simba's childhood best friend, had ventured out of the dark kingdom and ended up stumbling upon the now grown up Simba. She told him of the evil that had been implemented and convinced him to come back and claim his rightful throne as king. He decided that he needed to fulfill his father's aspirations and face his past that he had been running from so long.
So the team of four (Simba, Nala, Timon, and Pumba) returned to pride rock to liberate the kingdom that Scar had sent to ruin. The moment came when Simba, who was backed by all the lions and other "good" animals, faced his nemesis Scar, who was backed by the herd hyenas. Scar backed Simba to the ledge of a cliff, just as he did to Mufasa, except this time Simba fought back. He forced Scar into admitting his murder of Mufasa, and ended up in a one on one lion fight with him through the fire and flames of a wildfire. Simba came out victorious and regained rule of his kingdom. The rains came and extinguished the treacherous fires, and peace, order, and sanctity were restored to the animal kingdom. The movie ended with the new king and queen (Simba and Nala) standing on the now glorious pride rock and revealing the birth of their new baby cub. This concluded the film and completed the "circle of life."
The lonely and guilt ridden lion cub then ran away from his kingdom and found his two new best friends: Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. He found a new, happy perspective on life with these two other "outcasts" and he spent years with them. In the meantime, Scar had taken over the animal kingdom where he had instituted a grim dictatorship where lions and hyenas live equally. Nala, Simba's childhood best friend, had ventured out of the dark kingdom and ended up stumbling upon the now grown up Simba. She told him of the evil that had been implemented and convinced him to come back and claim his rightful throne as king. He decided that he needed to fulfill his father's aspirations and face his past that he had been running from so long.
So the team of four (Simba, Nala, Timon, and Pumba) returned to pride rock to liberate the kingdom that Scar had sent to ruin. The moment came when Simba, who was backed by all the lions and other "good" animals, faced his nemesis Scar, who was backed by the herd hyenas. Scar backed Simba to the ledge of a cliff, just as he did to Mufasa, except this time Simba fought back. He forced Scar into admitting his murder of Mufasa, and ended up in a one on one lion fight with him through the fire and flames of a wildfire. Simba came out victorious and regained rule of his kingdom. The rains came and extinguished the treacherous fires, and peace, order, and sanctity were restored to the animal kingdom. The movie ended with the new king and queen (Simba and Nala) standing on the now glorious pride rock and revealing the birth of their new baby cub. This concluded the film and completed the "circle of life."
Theme Analysis of The Lion King
In Disney's animated film, The Lion King, the creators developed a theme based on the idea that betrayal will always lead to turmoil. The classic movie encompassed a variety of conflicts that all stemmed out from the one main betrayal that came in the beginning of the film. Scar, the corrupt uncle of the future king, betrayed his whole family lineage by throwing his brother (the standing king of the animal kingdom) to his death. He also betrayed the trust of his nephew when he led the young, naive Simba into believing that he was the cause of his father's unfortunate death. This not only interrupted the natural flow of family leadership, but it also ruined a good portion of the young Simba's life. The poor cub was forced out of his kingdom by his own shame. This whole betrayal of the family lead to the ruin of the animal kingdom because Scar's new leadership ran off all the herds of animals and left behind a dark wasteland.
The creators also used the connections between the viewers and the characters to portray a whole different type of betrayal. Throughout the whole exposition, the viewers are exposed to a variety of heart grabbing scenes that make them feel a deep and emotional relationship with Mufasa and Simba. For example, when Simba was in danger at the elephant graveyard, the viewers were exposed to Mufasa's braveness when he valiently saved his son and effortlessly scared off the hyenas. Also, in the scene immediately following that, you get to see the mercy that Mufasa shows when he forgives his son for deliberately disobeying him and running off into the graveyards. These sentimental relations that the viewers feel are betrayed when they see Mufasa fall to his death in a stampede of wildebeest. All of these various conflicts that arise out of the single, climactic betrayal that happened in the beginning of the film build up to the overall turmoil of Scar's rule in the end. That is why betraying anyone, especially family, will never get you anywhere in life.
The creators also used the connections between the viewers and the characters to portray a whole different type of betrayal. Throughout the whole exposition, the viewers are exposed to a variety of heart grabbing scenes that make them feel a deep and emotional relationship with Mufasa and Simba. For example, when Simba was in danger at the elephant graveyard, the viewers were exposed to Mufasa's braveness when he valiently saved his son and effortlessly scared off the hyenas. Also, in the scene immediately following that, you get to see the mercy that Mufasa shows when he forgives his son for deliberately disobeying him and running off into the graveyards. These sentimental relations that the viewers feel are betrayed when they see Mufasa fall to his death in a stampede of wildebeest. All of these various conflicts that arise out of the single, climactic betrayal that happened in the beginning of the film build up to the overall turmoil of Scar's rule in the end. That is why betraying anyone, especially family, will never get you anywhere in life.