Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The Lion King
Well it looks like I am working through the films I’m embarrassed to have never seen from 5 to 1. This last weekend I got around to seeing #4: The Lion King.
I don’t know why I had never seen this film before. It ended the Disney animation Renaissance that began with The Little Mermaid in 1989 when it seemed that they could do no wrong. I’ve seen Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast & Aladdin and while I enjoy the first two none of them lived up to the hype and greatness that people built them up to be. Another reason I have avoided seeing it is the love for the style over substance Broadway version. But that is another issue.
The Lion King lives up to its fanfare and then some. It belongs with a list of Disney’s truly great animation achievements. It is easily the only 2-D Disney animated film from the current generation I would like to own.
First, the animation looks wonderful. While computer animation is technically amazing I don’t think it will ever achieve the emotional responses that traditional animation can. This is a prime example to keep this look and a reason to mourn if it ever disappears. Disney is more than helped that the color pallet of Africa, all the reds and brown, are very pleasing to the eye.
However to be a great film it needs more than looks and here is where Disney gets about everything right. In almost every case then seem to make decisions of subtlety or to enhance the overall film, not just a single aspect. The story appeals to both adults and young people and never condescends to the audience. The songs never overpower the story. The comic elements also seem to fit without becoming juvenile or slapstick. And the voice actors are perfectly cast. My pet peeve is that many animated films pick “names” even if they don’t fit the role. This film might be the cause of much of that. There are many well-known actors in The Lion King, probably more than any previous Disney film, but here is seems to work and they were chosen because they fit the role and not because they are on a hit tv show.
I don’t know why I had never seen this film before. It ended the Disney animation Renaissance that began with The Little Mermaid in 1989 when it seemed that they could do no wrong. I’ve seen Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast & Aladdin and while I enjoy the first two none of them lived up to the hype and greatness that people built them up to be. Another reason I have avoided seeing it is the love for the style over substance Broadway version. But that is another issue.
The Lion King lives up to its fanfare and then some. It belongs with a list of Disney’s truly great animation achievements. It is easily the only 2-D Disney animated film from the current generation I would like to own.
First, the animation looks wonderful. While computer animation is technically amazing I don’t think it will ever achieve the emotional responses that traditional animation can. This is a prime example to keep this look and a reason to mourn if it ever disappears. Disney is more than helped that the color pallet of Africa, all the reds and brown, are very pleasing to the eye.
However to be a great film it needs more than looks and here is where Disney gets about everything right. In almost every case then seem to make decisions of subtlety or to enhance the overall film, not just a single aspect. The story appeals to both adults and young people and never condescends to the audience. The songs never overpower the story. The comic elements also seem to fit without becoming juvenile or slapstick. And the voice actors are perfectly cast. My pet peeve is that many animated films pick “names” even if they don’t fit the role. This film might be the cause of much of that. There are many well-known actors in The Lion King, probably more than any previous Disney film, but here is seems to work and they were chosen because they fit the role and not because they are on a hit tv show.
Labels: FilmReview
# posted by ChrisR @ 10:00 PM 
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"emotional responses that traditional animation can"
Chris can you explain what you mean - why do you feel the new anime cannot elicit such a response with their nearly realistic images.
Chris can you explain what you mean - why do you feel the new anime cannot elicit such a response with their nearly realistic images.
I'd also add that Pixar seems to be doing okay with new animation styles even if Disney seems to have totally lost it.
But I wonder if a movie like Grave of the Fireflies would be as profoundly, horribly moving in the hands of Pixar.
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But I wonder if a movie like Grave of the Fireflies would be as profoundly, horribly moving in the hands of Pixar.
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