"The Lion King"

I had a wedding reception to attend on Saturday evening. But Friday evening's rain experience scared me from venturing out of the house. Walls had come down, trees were uprooted, vehicles left floating on the road --- These were some scenes of "Friday rain fury" in Bangalore. It turned out to be a good decision not only because it rained heavily on Saturday evening but also because I spend the evening watching the cartoon movie "The Lion King" on Disney channel.

The movie is superb...rating of 5/5.
First let me talk about the storyline. The 'good' king of the jungle is killed by his 'wicked' brother who turns out to be a bad king. The 'good' king's young cub is sent out of the jungle. The cub (Simba) finds new friends in the adjacent jungle and has a great time ('Hakuna Matata' - no worry time) as it grows to become a lion. One fine day, Simba meets his childhood girlfriend who along with the family priest (Baboon) inspires Simba to return home and become the king there. Simba fights his 'wicked' uncle and becomes the king of the jungle thus bringing in prosperity and happiness to the jungle. A very humane story, with lots of characters resembling the ones in the Amitabh Bachan age India love stories.

The story may be just one of the several reasons why I rate the movie so high. But the way the story is narrated and pictureised (literally) is simply great. The first song where the animals form patterns is mind blowing. Here is a small list of some very good scenes of the movie (the ones which impressed me).

• The parade of the jackals in front of the 'wicked' king.


• Water reflections of Simba and his girlfriend during their duet in the jungle.


• The final fight between Simba and his uncle with volcano in the background.


• Pumba, Timon and Simba walking on a log singing 'Hakuna Matata'. Watch the synchronous movement of their asses.


• Scene where Simba is licked on the face by his girlfriend and the shy face of both of them as a reaction to that 'lion kiss'.


• The stampede where Simba is rescued by his father.


• Family priest realizes that Simba is alive and so paints mane over the picture of the cub Simba and hence depicting the cub as a lion.

Cartooning has come of age. The hyenas look very cool. The visualization of a bad guy is so beautiful (!) that my niece (5yrs old) immediately told that it was the 'Rakshsa' (demon) lion. The movie is for all ages.

If you haven't seen it, rush to the CD center and make it a point to watch it. Disney channel would re-telecast it for some more days. Don’t miss this wholesome entertainer.