There is a reason why since its initial release in 1994, The Lion King has remained one of the highest grossing animated films of all time: it’s an incredibly heartwarming and universal story of growing up and the inevitable journey towards self-discovery that comes with it. Watching it for the first time in a long time, I can see why it has remained my indisputably favorite Disney movie ever—I am able to find a piece of myself in Simba, as I’m sure we all can. After all, aren’t there times in life when we all lose sight of who we are? When we don’t feel like we are worthy enough to emerge as leaders and be surrounded with love? When we think running away from the past, instead of facing our shortcomings head on, can erase all our problems? I know that after I have experienced failure or disappointed myself (whether that’s after receiving a bad grade on an examination or saying something hurtful to a loved one), I have dreamt of running off to a far-off land to reinvent myself and start anew. Hence, after Simba thought he was responsible for Mufasa’s death and subsequently fled Pride Rock out of fear of disappointing his loved ones, it was as if those fantasies I had from time to time were acknowledged as valid. I found comfort in the “You’re not alone” message Disney was sending me. Through Simba, we learn that sometimes you have to lose yourself in order to find yourself. Simba must embark on his journey to Pumbaa and Timon before he can see that he was born to be a leader, and that because of that, he can’t avoid his responsibilities and live in a “Hakuna Matata” world devoid of worries for eternity. He owes it not only to all the lions relying upon him to restore Pride Rock as a kingdom of light and goodness but to himself to be the best, most genuine version of himself. Only once his faith in himself and his capacity to rule with greatness is restored can Simba embrace who he was meant to be—the fearless king of the land that the light touches. My favorite quote comes from Rafiki, the extremely wise baboon who reminds us that in life, the easier choice to make will be to run away from our past and escape reality. However, sometimes the more difficult choice (to acknowledge your mistakes and actually grow from them) is often the right one:
In addition, I appreciated how The Lion King taught viewers that we are all connected in “The Circle of Life.” This message is one that has the potential to unify us and show us that despite how it may appear, we are all one big family, more alike than we are different. Because of this interconnectedness, we must treat everyone with respect, even those who may seem like they are “lower on the food chain.” Especially today, in our current political environment, it is so important to remember that at our very core, we are all part of the same circle of life; hence, we should accept people for who they are, for in the end, they are just people too. I think it was clever to start the movie with the scene of Rafiki holding up the newly-born Simba and end the movie with the scene of Rafiki now holding up Simba and Nala’s newly-born cub—the theme of the circle of life was literally depicted through the circular narrative of the film. All in all, the “Circle of Life” theme serves to reinforce the notion that life ebbs and flows and has its ups and downs, but in the end, it keeps moving forward. Similarly, although we will experience our fair share of happy moments and tragedies, we must continue to progress and show fortitude.
Finally, one critique I have about the film was the way it portrayed the good guys (Simba and Mufasa) vs. the bad guys (Scar and the hyenas). Similar to Aladdin, the villains in The Lion King had noticeably darker skin than the protagonists, which can lead to the harmful and unfair connotation of dark skin as bad and paler skin as good. I understand that traditionally, darkness is associated with evilness, but at the same time, Disney must consider how this choice will only perpetuate the archaic notion that people of color have innately worse character qualities than those with light skin.
All in all, The Lion King gave me all the feels (see Simba and Nala below for an accurate portrayal of my reaction while watching the amazing and timeless classic)....
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