Most of us grew up watching all of the Disney classics: "The Little Mermaid," "Cinderella," "Tarzan," "Toy Story" and many more. There is one movie that has stuck with me for as long as I can remember and that has literally changed my life: "The Lion King."
When Disney released its feature film, "The Lion King," in 1994, the writers assumed it would be left in the shadow of other popular works at the time. Many of the animators chose not to work on "The Lion King," with the assumption that it would not be successful. They ended up being very wrong. The movie went on to become the second most popular movie of all time, and rightfully so.
"The Lion King" tells the story of a rambunctious lion cub who is planning to become king when he is older. With guidance from his humble king father, his best friend Nala, and his annoying yet wise babysitter Zazu, nothing will stand in his way. That is however, until his evil uncle kills his father and makes it look like Simba's fault. Simba runs away from his home life and his responsibilities and befriends a meerkat and a warthog. When he grows older, Nala finds him and tells him Scar has destroyed his home and he must return home to face his responsibilities. As we all know, Simba decides to go home and take his place as King of Pride Rock.
What makes "The Lion King" so unique? Why has it broken box office records, won awards and continued to be shown on Broadway? To me, "The Lion King" is a beautiful story of learning to face your troubles instead of hiding from them. The Lion King teaches so many morals that often go unnoticed. For example, the movie is based off Shakespeare's "Hamlet." This inspires young readers to read the play because "if it's like The Lion King, it must be good." This was an incredibly smart move on the writer's part. Knowing how successful Shakespeare's play was and basing their Disney movie off it, would be a sure success. Another underlying theme is respect for nature and the circle of life. Simba's father teaches him that all of the animals are part of the circle of life. A confused Simba says "dad, don't we eat the antelope?" His father replies with "Yes son, but when we die, our bodies become the grass and the antelope eat the grass and so we are all connected." It's a simple yet beautiful message about respecting all life and, in particular, wild animals. It started my love for lions and they continue to be one of my favorite animals. They are so beautiful and powerful, I have Simba to thank for helping me discover this. "The Lion King" also teaches it's classic motto "Hakuna Matata, it means no worries." This is a phrase most of us will never forget. The movie helped us to respect musicians like Elton John, who wrote the amazing soundtracks in the movie. The movie taught love, friendship, growing up and family morals.
"The Lion King" has been out now for 22 years, yet it's themes are still being shown to today's children. Their children will watch it as well. After all, who could ever forget that epic moment when Simba walks up Pride Rock in the pouring rain and sees the skull washing away? Laugh out loud at those "Frozen" fanatics because we all know that "The Lion King" will forever be a classic that no other movie will ever be able to replace.
