A Hero Journey Film Review
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A heros journey film review
The Lion King (1994) by Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated
epic musical drama film produced by Walt
Disney Feature Animation and released by
Walt Disney Pictures. The story takes place
in a kingdom of lions in Africa, and was
influenced by the Shakespeare play Hamlet.
The saga of Simba, which in its deeply
buried origins owes something to Greek
tragedy and certainly to Hamlet (Ebert,1994)
The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a
young lion who is to succeed his father,
Mufasa, as king. However, after Simba's uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is fooled by his
uncle into thinking he was responsible and runs away into exile with the guilt of his fathers
death on his shoulders. Hes found by Timon and Pumba who raise him. Simba meets Nala,
his childhood friend once again and she informs him of the poor state of the pride and begs
him to come back. At first he refuses to go back ashamed, until he is reminded by his
fathers spirit of who he is. Simba returns tochallenge Scar to end his tyranny.After a fierce
battle, Simba throws his uncle off Pride Rock.
Scar survives the fall, but is attacked and killed
by the hyenas, who overheard his attempt to
betray them. With Scar and the hyenas gone,
Simba descends from the top of Pride Rock and
takes over the kingdom as the rain falls again.
Sometime later, Pride Rock is restored to its
former glory and Simba looks down happily at
his kingdom with Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa by
his side; Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to the inhabitants of the Pride Lands
and the "circle of life" continues.
The film by most has been praised for its story line, characters and style such as by Hal
Hinson The Lion King is an impressive, almost daunting achievement, spectacular in a
manner that has nearly become commonplace with Disney's feature-length animations.
(Hinson, 1994) However there are those critics that believe the film does not measure up tosome of the other Disney animations. The staff at TV Guide criticized the song choice and
Figure 1. The Lion King (1994)
Figure 2. Mufasa's final moments (1994)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0021249/?ref_=tt_ov_drhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0591450/?ref_=tt_ov_drhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0591450/?ref_=tt_ov_drhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0021249/?ref_=tt_ov_dr -
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its ending saying that this tale of a lion cub's coming of age in the African veldt offers a less
memorable song score than did the previous hits, and a hasty, unsatisfying dramatic
resolution. (TV Guide, 1994) but they did then go on to praise The Lion King for the
animation, and strong vocal performances.
The Lion King is a heros journey film. Christopher Vogler contributed to the making ofThe
Lion King although never claimed any credit. The film follows the heros journey outline
which was started by Joseph Campbell but then slightly altered by Christopher Vogler.
Figure 3 shows the heros journey diagram. Not every step is always in heros journey stories
nor are they always in the same order. Below is my interpretation ofThe Lion King as a
heros journey.
Ordinary World- Simbas birth, and his
growth into a young cub.Meeting the Mentor- In this case this
part in The Lion King happens before
some of the others as his father, Mufasa
is the mentor the one who teaches him
about the pride, the circle of life, how to
live and hunt and is idolised by Simba.
Later on he is there to remind Simba who
he is.
Crossing the threshold- Simba ventures
into the Elephant graveyard to prove that
he is worth of being king.
Ordeal, Death & Rebirth- His father is
killed by his uncle Scar but it is led to
believe it is his own fault.
Tests, Allies, Enemies- Simba is chased out of the pride lands by the hyenas after his fathers
death. Hes found by Timon and Pumba who become his friends and allies.
The Call to Adventure- Simba meets Nala once again this time as an adult and she informs
him on how scar and the hyenas have taken over. Nala asks Simba to come back and reclaim
the throne.
Refusal of the call- With the guilt of his fathers death heavy on his shoulders Simba is to
ashamed to go back.
Supernatural Aid- Rafiki the baboon has Simba look at his reflection. At first he only sees
himself but then realizes he has his father within him. Rafiki then has Mufasa appear to
Simba in the sky. Mufasa says that Simba is not living up to who he is supposed to be
causing Simba to realize that he must take responsibility for what has happened and that he
must go save Pride Rock from further disaster.
Figure 3. The Hero's Journey(1985)
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The Road back- Simba leave the paradise he has grown up in and returnes to a changed
pride rock.
Resurrection- Simba faces his fears and returns to pride rock, he claims responsibility for his
fathers death. The truth of his fathers death is revealed to him and he fights and defeats
Scar. He is accepted by the pride, and you can see how Simba has grown and matured.Return with the Elixir- Pride rock goes back to normal, Simba and Nala marry and have a
cub of their own, showing the continuation of the circle of life.
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List of illustration
Figure 1. The Lion King (1994) [Poster] At: http://disneyancesters.webs.com/thelionking.htm
Figure 2. Mufasas Final moments (1994) At: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Mufasa
Figure 3. Vogler, Christopher (1985)A heros journey diagram In: Heros Journey[Diagram]
At: http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm
Bibliography
Ebert, Roger. (1994) The Lion King In: Wayback Machine [Online]
http://web.archive.org/web/20051114100506/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.
dll/article?AID=/19940624/REVIEWS/406240301/1023
Hinson, Hal. (1994) The Lion King In: The Washington Post[Online]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/review96/lionkinghin.htm
TV Guide. (1994) The Lion King: ReviewIn: TV Guide [Online]
http://movies.tvguide.com/lion-king/review/129956
http://disneyancesters.webs.com/thelionking.htmhttp://disneyancesters.webs.com/thelionking.htm