CIRCLE OF LIFE

After twenty five years Disney Studios went back in time with a remake of “Lion King”. I saw the original back in ’94 but honestly, all I recall are the bones of the plot and some of the music so I went again last night. Animation has become so realistic, the animals, the scenery and the action make it hard to believe they weren’t born of flesh and blood rather than on strings of computer code. I was hoping for a repeat of good vibes and wholesome entertainment but the experience didn’t take me there. Twenty five years, OMG; technology changes, the business changes, movie makers change, I changed. They were true to the story which leaves me wondering, is it them or is it me? 

My first reaction was to rethink Disney Studios and their movie making trajectory from the early days with Walt and Mickey to Lion King 2. Conservative ideals drove both the business and the image they have crafted for public consumption. God, country and family, in that order. In 2010 Disney made the race horse movie ‘Secretariat’. Even in the new century, studio execs felt they could not tell the story with the leading character struggling her way out of a failed marriage. So they wrote it with her pushing back against a glass ceiling in the horse racing crowd but submitting to a traditional, subordinate role in her family. God, country, family; don’t make waves. Why would I expect less with Lion King 2?  

In Lion King, the story is one stereotypical life lesson after another. What is good, bad, what is true, false, what is right, wrong, again and again. Don’t get me wrong, lessons are necessary and without them the story would lose it legs. But after twenty five years, the second version found me considerably more experienced and certainly skeptical with regard to propaganda. Sitting in the dark with the music, the humor, the action, both tender and violent; I wasn’t buying any Disney hyperbole. What I couldn’t dismiss for the sake of story was the idea that our destiny is fixed. Doc Brown in ‘Back To The Future’ wouldn’t have any of that and I tend to lean his way on issues of destiny. Likewise, in any morally charged dilemma there has to be an evil-doer. So we got the Cain & Able model, brother vs. brother and the evil-doer prevails. That biblical ripoff needed a woman to rebuke so they vilified hyenas and their demonic queen. Evil brother and wicked queen, pure Old Testament. Then the story segues to the New Testament parable, the return of the prodigal son. In the end, everything good and right over comes wrong and the just prevail; God, country and family. 

I’m sitting there in my theatre seat making all these observations in real time, questioning myself every time. It’s just a story, right? I’m no conspiracy theorist but poop still stinks and pee runs downhill. Back to the story, the circle of life is a main theme. The old lion king explains to his son, antelope eat the grass and we eat the antelope, then we die and decompose, come up again as grass, the circle of life. That was one of the best parts. Then he shares a heavenly revelation where all of the old lion kings are up among the stars and if you really need help, they will help you; afterlife.

I suppose, if you hadn’t seen the ’94 original, it would be a wonderful movie. If the conservative, status quo agenda went unnoticed you could chalk it up to good storytelling. But Disney is what it is and that’s what you get. I’m a skeptical, old, unapologetic heretic. That’s probably why ‘Back To The Future’ gave me more to feel good about.