The Lion King

The Lion King has a special place in my heart of nostalgia. In a nutshell, that was my childhood. I had the stuffed animals, always remembered singing Hakuna Matata and all the other perfect songs from the movie, and saw all the spin-off movies and tv shows. I even went to the Lion King play when it came to town. Anyways, watching the movie again being older this time didn't change anything. It still was and always will be awesome.

The emotions that the movie develop amongst the viewers are particularly noteworthy. We truly grow with the characters. From the onset, we hate Scar, enjoy the mischievousness of Simba, and most importantly fall in love with the noble Mufasa. Forget Jack in Titanic or Dumbledore in Harry Potter, Mufasa's death will forever be the most tragic in movie deaths. With Simba sitting there in his arms as he fades, I thought I was going to start balling with my roommate right next to me (which would have lead to an interesting conversation, but I digress.) Terriblly sad? Yes, but it marks only the first half of the movie.

After, Simba becomes the main character who must follow in his father's footsteps - a classic story line. However, he isn't alone. Here we are introduced to perhaps the best personas in the whole movie. Yes, Timon and Pumbaa. This loud, in-your-face, arguably gay couple definitely lighten up the film while generating real humor. Eventually Simba, however, runs into Nala and the whole crew makes its way back to Pride Rock, where Simba clashes with and climatically defeats Scar, bringing happiness back to the kingdom. 

In the Hamlet-esque plot, Simba comes full circle and is able to mature into the lion he was destined to be. There will only be one Mufasa but Simba is about as close as one can be. And that, my friend's is the Circle of Life - one of the many beautiful aspects of the Lion King.