Meaghan Isaac

Mr. Hincks

ENG1DI

Wednesday, February 17th

Hear Me Roar

I think the introduction of Disney’s The Lion King is very effective.

The introduction of The Lion King begins in a song. The song is in the

form of African Mbube, hinting to us the setting. Though, the setting becomes

clear instantly when we get a clear shot of the African Savannah. To support

the idea of this setting, we are shown many different African animals. The

shots of these animals lead up to the point when we see the presentation of

baby Simba, who is obviously an important character in the movie considering

the fact he is being presented to the entirety of the African animal kingdom.

As we move ahead through the timeline of the movie, we meet Simba

as a young child. Simba is a very energetic, curious cub. So when his Father,

Mufasa, and him go out to watch the sunrise, we get a sense of a nostalgic

atmosphere. The colourful glow of the sky that’s created by the rising sun,

makes the scene very dream-like. Mufasa is also talking to Simba in his

tender, deep voice that makes this scene almost hypnotic.

Later on, we are entertained by a musical number from Simba and his

friend, Nala. The two of them are trying to distract their ‘babysitter’, Zazu, so

they can go and explore a place that Simba’s uncle Scar told him about. At

this part, I didn’t like the fact that Simba was so excited to visit this dangerous
place Scar told him about. This is because Scar is a hostile character. Scar is

always in the shadows, which Mufasa had said that the shadows were a bad

place to be as the kingdom only covered the land the light touches. Scar also

seems very threatening, as he mentions Simba is the only reason he won’t be

king after Mufasa dies.

During the song though, the atmosphere is very light and playful.

Everyone is having fun, and there are lots of bright colours everywhere. After

it finishes though, Nala and Simba play around. They play around all the way

into a elephant graveyard, which is the place Scar told him about.

The place is a dark cavern filled with bones and elephant skeletons.

The atmosphere is cold, confining, and almost hostile. Even with this vibe,

Simba and Nala venture further into the wasteland.

As the lion cubs approach a large elephant skull, we see Zazu show up

again. He is insistent on them leaving the shadowlands at once, and Simba as

a naive child, moves to enter the skull which attracts the hyenas. With the

chase scene that we view next, the atmosphere is merciless as are the

hyenas.

This introduction has a very intense change of atmosphere. It goes

from a very happy and warm, utopia like mood, to a very haunting scene. This

keeps the viewer’s attention drawn to the screen. This movie is for a young

audience, and a scene like this is scary to a child. The music, the shadows

and the fear in the cubs eyes are what create a scene that shoots fear

through a young audience. This captures our attention because as much as

that makes you keep watching.

As I said before, The Lion King is meant for young audiences. Children

have very short attention spans, and the people who made the movie must

have studied this. I say that because in the opening of the movie, we have

bright colours, catchy songs, and loads of speaking. If the movie was just a

nature documentary on the habits and the hierarchy of the African Savannah,

the movie wouldn’t have done so well. So all the extravagant flashes of colour

in the song “I just can’t wait to be king”, and the bright sunrises throughout the

movie keep a child’s mind occupied.

This movie does a very good job at keeping my attention. One reason

this movie catches my attention is purely because it is Disney. I like The Lion

King more than, say Divergent because I love the sarcastic, fun nature that

comes along with any Disney movie more than the serious, dramatic nature of

the book-based film.

I feel the need to complete this essay with the fact that I have a very

child-like mind, which helps me conclude that this introduction of the movie

The Lion King is incredibly effective.