August Blind Spot: The Lion King

First and foremost, what makes this a Blind Spot movie? In other words, why is this film essential?

The first film I saw for Blind Spot this year was Snow White and Seven Dwarfs(1937) because I had never seen a Disney Classic film before. Over the last seven months, I did catch up with a couple more but I added The Lion King(1994) into the syllabus in December last year to force myself to watch at least a couple this year. Being a 1994 film, this will probably not qualify as a ‘Classic’ but I think this is definitely another one from the same cannon. Plus, another thing I lack is exposure to Shakespeare. This being loosely based on his work was an added advantage for me to justify second animated and Disney movie on the list.

So, what is the story about?

This is 8^th Entry in the Blind Spot series in the 8^th month of this year and every month I feel like at least one of the 5 questions here is redundant. Maybe I need to choose better questions next year but more importantly I think I have chosen the movies well. The reason I decided to do this series this year was to fill up some of the glaring holes on my film knowledge. The bigger the holes, the better they were suited for me and better the chance of them being so ingrained in pop culture that every Tom, Dick and Harry knows about them making at least one question of the 5 redundant. Do I need to tell anyone why Andrei Rublev(1966) or TheTreasure of the Sierra Madre(1948) is essential? Or what’s The Breakfast Club(1985) or Snow White and Seven Dwarfs is about? But that is exactly why they qualify as blind spots.

So the reason I bring all this forward here today, in this is that question this month. Who doesn’t know The Lion King story? Who doesn’t know about Simba and Nala and Mufasa and Scar and Pumbaa and Timon? Until last week, even my four-year-old niece knew this story better than me(There you Go! Another reason justifying it’s Blind Spot status). Not anymore though, not anymore!

What did I think of it? What did I like the most about it and what didn't I like?

I think I have said it one too many times that I prefer Ghibli movies over Pixar and one of the main reasons is because they are still traditionally animated. They may not be as crisp as their computer-generated counterparts but there is an inherent personal touch to them that makes them so much more beautiful and relatable to me. My affection of Hand drawn animations makes it almost impossible for me not to at least like this movie. But I not only ‘liked’ it, I loved it; almost as much as Seven White and Seven Dwarfs. Once again, the animations are so endearing, so completely drawn and so rich in details. Characters are likable, well developed and show range of human traits. Simba and Nala are innocent and cute as cubs but when they grow up Nala becomes very mature and trustworthy ally to make Simba realize his destiny. Mufasa is always very kingly and Sarabi, motherly. Pumbaa and Timon bring fun into the equation whereas Scar is very cunning. With Scar's Hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, Disney brings their special touch. Even though they are the ones Scar gets his dirty work done, they aren't really scary.

Another thing I expect from any animated film is not to box your viewers. When we are talking about animated movies, naturally one assumes it to be targeted for kids(When I was watching this film, my 4-year old niece kept asking me “Why are you watching this? Are you a Kid?”). That’s fine, even The Lion King is very much kids movie but just don’t make it a childish movie. A Kids film doesn’t have to be a childish film - I hate it when film makers do that. Fortunately, The Lion King stays out of that trap. I never saw this as a child but I am sure I would have loved it then and even when a 27 year-old watching it for the first time loves it as much as the kid next to him, it is a certificate of its timelessness. It treats the characters with certain level of dignity and maturity, even Timon and Pumbaa who are mainly there for comic relief, plus being based on Hamlet, it also talks about certain themes like guilt, taking the responsibility and facing your own fears and that is what makes it a great watch for a viewer of any age group.

If at all I had any complaint about it, it's it kind of shies away from going dark. Snow White didn't, even after being a kids film. When Simba finally confronts Scar about his past and Scar tries to guilt him for his wrong-doing, he very easily admits of it being his own deed. There was a chance for them to go little more darker but it sorts of keeps safe distance from it.

After having seen it, do I agree with its 'essential' status? And why?

Certainly! I am not entirely sure about this but with Toy Story(1995) coming up the following year which was the first completely computer-generated animated movie, it should be not only the last Disney Classic but also the last or at least one of the last traditionally animated American movies. It is serendipitous that I would choose first ever and last of Disney Classics. Either way The Lion King has its place in the history books and is thouroughlly deserving of it.

At the start of this year, I was as un-initiated to the Shakespeare’s work as I was to the Disney Classics. I have seen quite a few adaptations of his works such as Othello, Romeo and Juliet and even Comedy of Errors but I have not seen much of his actual work in either form or haven’t even read it. It has been my long standing desire to get acquainted to these works but my aversion of the old English, though dialed down significantly over the past few years, and unavailability of it in India in print form made it little difficult. I probably should have gotten to it while I was in US but it never made it to the top of my priorities then. So what I know of Bard’s original work is Olivier’s Best Picture winner Hamlet(1948) and Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing(1993). I probably should not confess this but another reason for including The Lion King as the second animated movie in this year’s line-up, besides it being The Lion King, was I was under the impression that it is a King Lear adaptation, something I have never seen or read in any form. Off course, it being a Hamlet adaptation does not diminish it in any way but sadly leaves King Lear still untouched for me.

Does it open few new doors for me? Does this inspire to watch any other movies?

Even though I included two this year, Disney Classics is still an avenue mostly unexplored for me. Snow White and Seven Dwarfs was the best initiation I can ask for to them but since then it has been a bumpy road. Aladdin was probably the only Disney character I knew and loved as a Kid and Aladdin(1992) movie didn’t disappoint me either but I found Alice in Wonderland(1951) even difficult to get through and anything else, not particularly interested. The fact that I liked 3 of the 4 I have tried should encourage me to get to few others soon enough and lord knows there are many I need to get to.

January Blind Spot: Snow White and Seven Dwarfs(1937)

One of the reasons why I wanted to take part in Blind Spot series this year, off course besides filling up those damn blanks in my film viewings, was I wanted to get a little out of my comfort zone and write about different types of movies. This was a good way of forcing this onto myself. But these aren't just any movies that I selected on whim. All of them are to be considered essential viewing for any serious movie-buff. Since special occasions demand special treatment, I also decided to go with something different than usual plain review. So, now I had 12 movies chosen, special format in the form of Q&A drawn out. All I needed to do was actually watch a movie and write. Believe me, nothing is that simple. Being the very first movie in this series, I wanted to choose it carefully and make it something that almost nobody will have any question calling it a classic, an essential. I went up and down my list, trying to finalize the one. At one point, I thought none of them seems like a right fit while at another, they all looked like indisputable classics. However after some deliberation, I was convinced there wouldn't be a better place to start then Snow White and Seven Dwarfs(1937).
 
First and foremost, what makes this a Blind Spot movie? In other words, why did I think of this film as essential?
If this is not to be considered an essential, I don't know what is. This was the FIRST and probably the most memorable full-length animated feature made by Disney Studios. Period. What more reason does anyone who has ever seen an animated movie need? This movie gave a different genre all together to the film industry. Being such a legendary movie that has carved out quite a niche for itself, I was more than eager to scratch this off my list and hopefully like it as well. And it was Adolf Hitler's favourite movie. So, there is that too.
 

So, what is the story about?
Now that is a redundant question, isn't it? Who doesn't know Snow White's story? Funny thing is, one of the thing that made this interesting for me is over the last year or so, we have seen so many different versions of this same story. Some on big screen, some on TV, some spin-offs and what not. I wanted to see what is the actual normal version of it, the Fairy tale version because after having seen all the different versions, I was starting to doubt what the original story was myself. At least I got that here. Simple and straight forward story of charming little princess saved by the seven little dwarves from the evil deeds of her step-mother. Now their execution of story, with the occasional singing and dancing etc., felt very play-like. I have never actually seen it myself but this is exactly how I imagine a Broadway play will be like.

What did I think of it? What did I like the most about it and what didn't I like?
I was thoroughly impressed by the way it looked because it was absolutely gorgeous. I guess, I wasn't expecting first ever movie made to be that beautiful. I had so many screen caps taken, I had very hard time deciding which ones to choose for this post and which ones to discard. It is a fairy tale story and with all the goofiness of the dwarves and woodland creatures involved, it is obvious that it was very much made for kids. It does get darker in parts but then again, keeping their target audience in mind, we never see any violence on the screen. It is mostly implied that something bad just happened. I believe targeting for the kid's market would've allowed them to keep the story straight forward and concentrate more on making animations much more detail-oriented and hence real as well which should have been point of emphasis more than anything else. But I guess you can look at it from either way. It also makes it, well, very straight forward and hence kinda bland. 

But then again, I am discounting the fact that this is Snow White. So, it isn't like anyone who watches it wouldn't know what is going to happen next. So, I guess, my point is Walt Disney and Co. must have deliberately chosen the well-known story so that they can concentrate on making animations rather than writing a story to animate. It might have helped him from marketing point of view but I think the idea of letting the animations take the front seat to everything else was an admirable thing to do.

After having seen it, do I agree with it's 'essential' status? and why?
Not only do I just agree with the 'Essential' label, I really believe that it will remain so for many many more years to come as a reminder that this is how it all started. Given the fact that this was first attempt at making an animated feature film, there was no hint of that anywhere in the movie. In fact their attention to the detail was something that really impressed me e.g. first time when Snow White peeks through the window into the dwarves' house, you can see the tiny dot her nose would make on that glass. Apparently, there was a little concern over if animators can make these characters look human since no one had much of a practice with that before and was one of the reasons why Prince's characters is used bare minimum in the movie. To make that point, Disney and his animators made sure that all the human characters in the story i.e Snow White, The Queen and even Prince and Huntsman for whatever little time they are on screen, will have the dramatic bearing  as that of an actor in live action movie. To add to this dramatic response, Huntsman was particularly made ferocious, dwarves were made to look dismal carrying Snow white - something that the cartoons that time were not known to be capable of.

If we are talking about the quality animation, even 75 years after its release and with all the advances in the technology now a days, I think Snow White still holds up really great. Me falling in love with the look of this movie also reiterated the fact that I love 2D animations way more than 3D. 3D animations may look more clear, crisp, there is something in those hand drawn animations that make them look much more personal, much more relatable. One of the main reasons, why I always prefer Studio Ghibli over Pixar.

Does it open few new doors for me? Does this inspire to watch any other movies?
I am sure there are many people who will not believe that I had never seen such a classic. I am sure they will wonder, what did I do as a kid? Don't worry, I off course knew the story. I just never got around to this movie. But what I am about to say might astonish everyone even more. Not only that I JUST saw Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, I think this was my first Disney classic. I am pretty sure I have not seen any of them, I am not even sure what movies exactly constitute as Disney classics. Now with the success of this, I think that door is open for me. I am even looking for suggestions, if you have any.