The Lion King! (some analysis and stuff)

Ah, The Lion King. The film we all know and love. A timeless classic: the characters, the story, the music, the animation, everything works beautifully. And then there was the sequel, not as breathtaking as the first film but still pretty good in its own right.

Since this is the TV Tropes forum, let's do some analysis!

I've run The Lion King through a little Fridge Logic, and my main conclusion is that Scar's bringing the hyenas into the Pridelands is one of the most monumentally stupid things any big-screen villain has ever done ever. There are four reasons for this:

• The Pridelands can't support them. Mufasa and his predecessors had a good reason to keep the hyenas out of their territory: they were protecting their own food supply. Granted, the whole 'when we die, our bodies become the grass' talk may have been a slight oversimplification of the carbon cycle, but the lions (except Scar) do grasp the general concept of balance in nature. If you introduce hundreds of hyenas into an ecosystem that previously supported a much smaller carnivore population, is it any wonder you end up with a famine-ridden wasteland?
• It greatly increases the number of creatures he needs to keep happy and loyal, thus making being king a lot more difficult. This is highlighted by the fact that in the end, the hyenas are the ones who kill him, after he turns his Chronic Backstabbing Disorder on them.
• It gives the lionesses a reason to be unhappy with his rule. They hate and despise hyenas, and of course they're none too happy about the food shortage created by the hyenas' presence (see the first bullet point), either.
• And the best part? It isn't even necessary. Scar only really needs a handful of hyenas - Shenzi, Banzai and Ed - to do his dirty work, and as seen in the film, he can easily keep them on his side by tossing them the occasional scrap of meat. The In-Universe justification for his bringing in the hyenas is that they'll serve as his "army", to keep the lionesses in line. But the lionesses, believing Simba is dead, see Scar as the rightful king anyway! And the film gives us very strong clues that the lion pride is the kind of society where the authority of the king - even a horribly incompetent king - is undisputed.

I strongly believe that most of the problems with Scar's reign would never have arisen if he hadn't brought in the hyenas. And what an interesting situation this would have produced upon Simba's return! The lionesses would be faced with a choice between the established ruler, who is a somewhat creepy character but has at least proven himself as a halfway decent king, and some guy who just showed up out of nowhere and who's technically the rightful king, but hasn't even talked to another lion since his childhood days. If Scar played his cards right, he might be able to hold on to the throne or at least make Simba look bad. This would also make the existence of the Outsiders, who were banished because they remained loyal to Scar, in the second film a lot more plausible.

But then again, most viewers probably prefer a climactic battle against the obvious villain to subtle power games and social dynamics. Also, without the hyenas, there wouldn't be anyone for Scar to sing "Be Prepared" to.

An interesting question concerns the attitude of the other animals in the Pridelands towards the lions. It's clear that they accept the authority of the Lion King, but do they actively care about who the king is - in other words, about the lions' internal affairs? The second film gives us two contradictory clues to this one. When Kovu is banished from the Pridelands, all the animals actively chase him away; they persecute him for a crime against another lion. But when Zira gathers her lionesses and invades the Pridelands, we see the other animals all running away from the battlefield - getting out of harm's way, rather than assisting their king.

So yeah, we can't be sure. This is probably intentional vagueness on the writers' part, since the attitude of the other animals to lion politics hugely influences the balance of power in the setting, and thus the plausibility of both films' plots.

edited 29th Jan '13 2:47:42 AM by MidnightRambler

Mache dich, mein Herze, rein...

RE: Your points on the sequel: It's either that or inconsistent writing. It's hard to tell with the Disney cheapquels.

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great

This movie was so racist towards hyenas. It acted like the were the freakin' devil. They're part of the ecosystem too, guys.

That said, I do like it. Songs weren't that great, except for Circle of Life and Be Prepared.

The last hurrah? Nah, I'd do it again.

I think I've heard that The Lion King could be criticized as an anti-Marxist film, 'cause it's like, "If we let the underclass rise up to be equals, then they'll just consume everything and leave nothing for anyone 'cause they're stupid like that. Putting the rightful king on the throne will fix all that though!"

Right, it does seem kind of pro-monarchy, in a bad way. Not that I think that was their intention, but nonetheless...

The last hurrah? Nah, I'd do it again.

One of the original storyboards for TLK was going to have Scar introduce the Hyenas after the Lionesses actually stand up to him and threaten to remove him from the throne. You can see it in the removed Madness of King Scar/Be Prepared Reprise. Also, the way Scar words the Hyena's as "[his] executive staff" implies that they were supposed to be more akin to a KGB/Secret Police styled group. (The removed scene also explains why Nala left the pride which clears up a plothole not thoroughly explained enough in the film)

edited 28th Jan '13 4:22:12 PM by PippingFool

I'm having to learn to pay the price

I just figured that the hyenas were viewed as a big threat because they're the natural competition for lions in the wild, given that they both tend to go after the same prey, and that they were seen as the villains because we were viewing the story from the perspective of the lions. That said, The Lion King's hyenas don't seem to operate in the same pack structure as real hyenas do...

While I enjoyed The Lion King a whole lot, I've always been a bit leery of anything outside of Arthurian literature that hits on the divine right of kings. There is honestly no reason for Scar not to be a good king; as mentioned above, he seemed to have left his brain somewhere when he elected to bring the hyenas into the pridelands.

Interestingly, looked at from a naturalistic perspective, there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about Scar taking the throne away from Mufasa. That's generally how lion prides DO transition from one alpha male to another, and the new alpha male DOES dispose of his predecessor's young.

I didn't feel that the film really treated hyenas as evil, as such. I felt that it more or less presented them as the "stupid, mangy, slobbering poachers" that Scar said that they were.

I believe that the core story of The Lion King is Shakespeare's Hamlet set in Africa with cute critters as the principals.

Scheming uncle Scar deposes King Mufasa through subversion and guile? Check. Scar admits early in the film that he has no hope of defeating Mufasa rightfully. Scar cannot trust other lions to rebel against their beloved monarch. It seems to me that Scar was assigned early on to guard the northern border of the pridelands against hyena incursion. Instead, Scar made a twisted pact with the hyenas that allows him to exploit their services as henchmen to unseat Mufasa. In return, Scar has promised the hyenas a cut of the bounty from the pridelands. This makes Scar a double agent, and a very effective one.

Remember, too, that Mufasa enjoyed the respect and loyalty of most other lions. Scar's best hope of holding onto the throne is to keep the hyenas as "enforcers" to squash rebellion. Most human dictators employ similar mechanisms to sustain their rule.

Of course, mistakes were made in depicting how lion prides and hyena colonies function. However, there is only one Law of Hollywood Science: anything that advances the plot is possible; no exceptions.

Wow, when I watched it as a 7 year old, I was all just "Yay, Disney!" and thought nothing of it except that I found "Hakuna Matata" the most annoying thing on the planet.

Was it "poachers"? I heard it as "pooches".

It's definitely "poachers," no question about it.

Especially since hyenas aren't canids.

And I thought it was Zazu that said that.

It was young Simba, quoting Zazu. At an inopportune time. I think.

Oh right, and the way Simba said it made it sound like "bozos". So in between two garbled pieces of speech, I can imagine the actual word being "poachers".

RE: Hamlet connect: Well, yes, it was actually based on pretty much a hybrid of that and Kimba The White Lion.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.

A review has been done of The Lion King on That Guy With The Glasses by The Nostalgia Chick as seen here and by Doug Walker as seen in this Disneycember!.

I guess it was Zazu that said that. But it's not like Scar didn't think it. He basically thought they were idiots. Though it didn't make into the final cut of the film, he was supposed to have spoken before the start of "Be Prepared" - "I never thought hyenas essential. They're crude and unspeakably plain. But maybe they've a glimmer of potential if allied to my vision and brain." Per Wikipedia— "The soliloquy had Scar considering using the hyenas for his plot, but in the final version of the story he had already used the hyenas in his plans before the song."

A few more remarks: I started the OP with gushing, especially over the first film. The thing is, however, that when everything fits together so well and flows so smoothly... you can exactly pinpoint the few moments that don't work. For me, the only point in the first film where the magic really falls apart is this bit of cheesy, Anvilicious dialogue between Simba and Rafiki:

Rafiki: What was that! Pfft. The weather. Very peculiar, don't you think?
Simba: Yeah. Looks like the winds are changing.
Rafiki: Ah... Change is good.
Simba: Yeah, but it's not easy! (Beat) I know what I have to do, but going back means I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long...

C'mon, writers, you could've done a better job there!

Another note: I would have liked both films to be longer. More characterisation, more dialogue, lower plot density. Some things that would have been interesting to see more fleshed out:

• Simba and Nala's childhood friendship
• Timon and Pumbaa raising Simba (to be fair, the Lion King 1 1/2 thing mostly took care of that)
• Scar's reign over the Pridelands
• Simba and Nala's relationship after Simba assumes the throne
• Kiara and Kovu's childhood friendship (if they really met only once and for a few minutes, why is she so happy to recognise him years later?)
• Zira raising Kovu into a killer
• Kovu's feelings for Kiara and growing doubts about his mission

edited 29th Jan '13 3:15:23 AM by MidnightRambler

Mache dich, mein Herze, rein...

The Lion King is a toss-up for me as my favorite Disney film with Beauty and the Beast for pure story and characterization. If I had to go with pure entertainment value, I'd pick Aladdin, but the other two win for me on everything else. And I like the film version of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" better than the pop version, though the pop version is all you ever hear elsewhere.

Songs? Haven't really been discussed much, but, yeah, they're very good. "I Just Can't Wait to be King" is lively and catchy and the visuals that go with it or stunning. Also, "Busa" leading up to "Circle of Life (Reprise)" at the end is a favorite.

Young Simba's voice actor— Jonathan Taylor Thomas, I remember he became a heartthrob that my sister had a crush on. These days, he's not active in the industry.

edited 29th Jan '13 3:27:59 AM by JMQwilleran

This is my personal ranking of the songs from both films, from most to least favourite:

• Be Prepared - I know it sounds sordid / But you'll be rewarded / When at last I am given my dues...
• One Of Us - Let him run / Let him live / But do not forget what we cannot forgive!
• Circle Of Life - Till we find our place / On the path unwinding / In the Circle / The Circle of Life!
• Can You Feel The Love Tonight - The world, for once / In perfect harmony / With all its living things...
• We Are One - Tears of pain, tears of joy / One thing nothing can destroy / Is our pride, deep inside / We are one!
• My Lullaby - I've been exiled, persecuted / Left alone with no defence...
• I Just Can't Wait To Be King - Let's hear it in the herd and on the wing / It's gonna be King Simba's finest fling...
• Hakuna Matata - It means no worries / For the rest of your days...
• Upendi - And it's so divine / That you lose your mind / As it sweeps you off your feet!
• He Lives In You - Into the water / Into the truth / In your reflection / He lives in you.
• Love Will Find A Way - And if only they / Could feel it too / The happiness I feel with you...

Mache dich, mein Herze, rein...

I have a copy that includes Morning Report, and I can see why it wasn't originally part of the movie.

There is one thing about the movie that I don't think works. Timon and Pumbaa. They need to be there, but their comic relief bits really clash with the rest of the movie. Not as much as 'A Guy Like You' from Hunchback, but the movie feels like it switched tracks and Simba slipped into a different movie.

Not Three Laws compliant.

I think that's kinda the point, though. Someone had to be there to make Simba forget all his worries and become irresponsible, and Timon and Pumbaa couldn't really have done that if they were all grim and what-not.

The last hurrah? Nah, I'd do it again.

Something I like to argue is that while plotwise, The Lion King is Hamlet With Lions, Scar is a lot more like Richard III than he is like King Claudius.

Like Richard, there's this idea of Scar being physically and morally malformed and initially winning the audience over with his charm and strength as a schemer- but that charm and competence disappears once he actually gains power, and he runs his kingdom into the ground. And, once he's overthrown, the kingdom quickly recovers.

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