Better Than I Remember It, The Lion King Is Still Robbed Of Perfection By Disney Conceits.

The Good: Animation, Great voice acting, Good character journey, Amazing Blu-Ray bonus features
The Bad: One musical number didn't seem to fit, Timon and Pumbaa section seemed more "Disney" than fit the movie.
The Basics: The Lion King lives up to being a (mostly) timeless epic, save where it is constrained by Disney to try to appeal to children.


The day after I was supposed to be able to present my wife with The Lion King as an anniversary gift, the film finally arrived for us on Blu-Ray, which has led to some truly troubling customer service calls with the Disney Movie Club. Yeah, I'm opening my review of The Lion King with a bit of griping, both because the fabulous gift didn't arrive in time and because I think it's just indicative of Disney's "make money at all cost" attitude that I find troubling beyond belief. That and the fact that as we watched the movie, my wife nudged me and noted, "I bet that would look cool in 3-D;" this after I had bugged her for the last three weeks to let me take her out to the movie, one of her all-time favorites, but she declined repeatedly. But even the 3-D release of The Lion King is part of what I am irked about in terms of Disney's ultra-capitalist agenda. Having announced months ago the DVD/Blu-Ray release, the studio made sure the 3-D version hit theaters for a limited release in the weeks prior. What's the point? Disney released the 3-D film as, essentially, a paid advertisement for the Blu-Ray release. Keeping the film fresh in viewers' minds, they released the Blu-Ray after the audience was primed. It's a smart move and I am sure they sold a surprising number of the 3-D Blu-Ray discs to the viewers who did not read the fine print and realize that one must have the 3-D television and player to make use of that disc.

Outside that, there is surprisingly little to gripe about with The Lion King, so I'll get to why this isn't a perfect film in my book right off the bat and then lavish the film with the praise it actually does deserve. When I reviewed Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (here!), one of my immediate gripes with the movie was the inclusion of Pintel and Ragetti, a duo that I define as a "Disney Conceit." The sidekick characters appear for comic relief and are more or less unnecessary for the story. They are, however, consistent with the formula Disney has come up with to create a successful movie. It is disappointing in The Lion King that that formula is adhere to, instead of defied, and the section of the film that has Timon and Pumbaa robs Simba of a genuine character journey and replaces it with a plot-convenient answer to where Simba is for years. The film (and viewers) deserve better, despite the quality of the song "Hakuna Matata." That and Scar's song "Be Prepared," which felt less congruent with the character than some of the other songs, rob the film of perfection.

That said, it is easy to see why The Lion King has been beloved by fans of Disney films and modern cinema. It is easy to see how it became a world-famous musical play and while the story is universal enough to arguably survive without being a musical, it is an engaging one with a soundtrack that is exceptionally easy to recognize.

In the savanna in Africa is an area the animals call Pride Rock, where the king of Pride Rock oversees the animals and shows off his newly born son, Simba. Mufasa is proud of his heir and frustrated when his brother, Scar, refuses to show proper respect to Simba. Mufasa teaches Simba about the interconnected nature of life on the plains, as well as about the responsibilities of being a good leader. He also forbids Simba from going to a dark area on the edge of the kingdom. Simba mentions this to Scar and Scar manipulates Simba, and his friend Nala, into going there. At the elephant graveyard, Scar lets a trio of hyenas attack Simba, who is rescued by Mufasa.

Observing their reactions, Scar determines how he may best ascend to the throne. Making a pact with the hyenas, Scar lures Simba into a canyon, where he has the hyenas cause a stampede with wildebeests. When Simba becomes trapped, Scar lures Mufasa there to kill him and then manipulates Simba into fleeing. Setting the hyenas upon him, Scar assumes the kingdom while Simba finds himself saved by a warthog and merecat and spends the next years lazing about in denial of his potential. But when Simba and Nala are reunited, Simba must decide whether or not to run from his responsibilities or depose Scar and his hyena army.

The Lion King tells a pretty universal story of the importance of understanding both the nature of power and the ecological interconnectivity of all things. Mufasa is a smart, responsible king who tries to educate Simba on how life in all of its aspects needs to be kept in balance. Unfortunately, Scar's machinations upset Simba's education and he is thrown off balance, becoming a loafer instead of a king in his exile. But fortunately, enough of the seeds of Mufasa's lessons stick in order to make it realistic for Simba to have a conflict when Nala re-enters his life.

The characters in The Lion King are interesting and the film is one of the few Disney movies with an all-animal cast. Mufasa, Scar, Simba, Nala and Simba's mother Sarafina, are all lions and the animators give them enough coloring and mannerism differences to make them easy tell apart from one another, save Nala and Sarafina (at least once Nala is an adult). The rest of the animals are distinctive enough that they can be easily recognized, though in the action shots, it is pretty difficult to tell which of the three hyenas is which. The Lion King is very easy for children to follow, then. The film largely focuses on Simba and his character arc from young and eager to disillusioned (in what would be his teens) is decent and he is likable throughout, even though a more complicated character arc is not forthcoming. Supporting characters like Rafiki and Zazu are distinctive, smart and funny enough to make Timon and Pumbaa unnecessary.

Thematically, there is little to draw children to the film and part of the problem with the movie is how Disney and the twenty-nine credited writers try to make it into more of a young adult film as opposed to keeping it as an adult fable. The maniacal quality of Scar is unlikely to truly upset children these days and directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff show most of the brutality of Scar and the hyenas off-screen.

The vocal acting in The Lion King is universally exceptional. James Earl Jones makes Mufasa come alive with his deep, distinctive voice and Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick help Simba evolve well from a child to an adult. Robert Guillume give an interesting performance as Rafiki and Jeremy Irons brings his predictable power to his performance as Scar. But the real surprise for me was how Rowan Atkinson dominated the role of Zazu, Mufasa's advisor. Atkinson has a wonderful voice and in addition to having amazing comic timing, he is great at seriously conveying information as Mufasa's advisor. That Atkinson is so seldom associated with the film is unfortunate as his performance is original and homogeneously entertaining.

On Blu-Ray, The Lion King truly comes alive with so many bonus features that viewers will spend far more time on them than the actual film. The movie has multiple commentary tracks and a handful of deleted scenes with the co-directors discussing just why the scenes were left out of the film, which is both interesting and informative. Other bonus features include sing-along subtitles in the film and a production gallery with notes on how the characters were designed. For those looking for a thorough knowledge of how the movie was developed, The Lion King delivers a great number of bonus features that are actually worth the money.

Ultimately, The Lion King succeeds because what it has in it is not only universal, but presented in a way that maintains its universal qualities. The film does not make dated references and the songs are a safe brand of pop-rock that makes them easy to enjoy and listen to. In other words, were it not for the film trying to be trendy and formulaic, The Lion King could have truly lived up to its potential as a timeless movie.

For other Disney animated films, please visit my reviews of:
Tangled
Toy Story 3
A Christmas Carol
Up
WALL-E
The Incredibles
Monsters, Inc.
The Little Mermaid
Lady And The Tramp
The Sword In The Stone
Sleeping Beauty
Fantasia

8.5/10

For other movie reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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The Storyteller's Happy Ending: Big Fish Is Strangely Mediocre.

The Good: Excellent cast, Decent acting, Interesting characters
The Bad: Plot is not engaging, Quirky for quirky sake
The Basics: In a Johnny Depp-less Tim Burton movie, a young man attempts to piece together his father's life, outside the tall tales he has been told all his life.


First of all, I have been a bit of a fan of Tim Burton's work since Beetlejuice. I think Batman Returns was his masterpiece and I was impressed by the depressing Edward Scissorhands. I even gave The Nightmare Before Christmas a fair shot, though I didn't like it. But in my mind, Tim Burton is synonymous with darkness. When I see a Burton film, I am expecting big, dark, thematically heavy and powerful. I ended up agonizing over this review because my first instinct was to dislike Big Fish. The more I thought about it, however, the more I understood that I was punishing Tim Burton for trying something new. Big Fish is not Burton's sellout, it's his attempt to break his own mold and push off in a new direction. And he, despite my personal preferences, succeeds.

As Ed Bloom lays dying, his son William makes a last attempt to piece together his father's life. His problem is that he has little frame of reference outside his father's tall tales. So, William reviews the stories his father has told him and seeks out those who knew him to try to know his father before the old man dies.

My problem is that I'm heartless. I took long enough to grow up, so now I don't look at the world with childlike wonder. Big Fish is a rousing attempt to recapture the feeling that your parent is the most powerful, most interesting person in the world. So, where people I saw the movie with were tearing up at the end, I saw it as the logical conclusion to the movie. It's a matter of taste. I'm not someone who delves into regression . . . well, ever. Reverting to a child doesn't interest me. For those it does, Big Fish is for you.

Visually, there are a lot of Tim Burton elements in Big Fish, though they are nowhere near as dark or big as in some of his other films. Instead, Burton's distinctive style comes into play in introducing new characters and new places. It's easy to tell what Burton wants you to see in this movie. Unlike something like Batman Returns, where Burton gives viewers a big canvas and lets your eye look around for the significant movement, Big Fish often keeps the camera focused closely on the action or widens out to big shots where there is only one character moving.

The characters in Big Fish are quirky and fun, though there is some element to the movie that simply feels like it is being quirky for the sake of being a Burton film, not out of any organic sense of how the story is being told. For example, the contrast between Danny DeVito's diminutive circus ringleader and the giant Karl establishes two intriguing, characters. That DeVito's character turns out to be a werewolf as well just seems a ridiculous addition.

Outside that sense, though, the characters are interesting and - as one might expect - bigger than life. The essential characters, however are Ed and Will Bloom. Ed is characterized perfectly as the kind old patriarch in the present tense and the eager, adventurous hero in his stories. The personification of the young Ed Bloom fits perfectly the Ed that he has become at this late stage of his life.

Similarly, Will is portrayed quite well as a son desperate to know his father, eager to cut through all of the layers to get to the truth. Will is very easy to relate to as the audience feels very connected with his desire to get to the reality of his father's life. The character's clear flaw is in his belief that the amazing world his father has portrayed is not the real world of his father. That is Will's journey.

What ultimately saves the movie is excellent acting by the entire cast. Danny DeVito and Robert Guillaume give smashing performances in their supporting roles. They take small parts in fiction and reality and make them their own. Similarly, Billy Crudup does an excellent job portraying Will. With his determination in his eyes and the way he carries himself, he makes the viewer believe in the importance of his character's quest.

It is Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney who steal the energy of the movie as the young and older Ed Bloom. Ewan brings vitality, youth and energy to the bigger than life Bloom as he enthusiastically travels around on his quests. McGregor's command of fast dialog easily convince the audience that he could get the girl and that's nice to see. Finney's part is to sell the audience on the man Ed has become. He plays the kind patriarch very well, with an ease that makes one believe that Finney - and not just Ed - can tell a killer tall tale.

In the end, this is a fairy tale for adults. If you're the kind of person who finds themselves sitting down occasionally and enjoying a Dr. Seuss book, Big Fish is for you. If you're someone who loves listening to the old fishers down by the dock talking about the big one they caught and you lean forward to hear just how much bigger the fish has become in the current telling of the story, Big Fish is for you. If you like Tim Burton's dark, oppressive, operative films, go back to one you've seen before. If you want to see what Burton's range is, Big Fish is out there. But it may be hard for you to swallow.

For other works by Tim Burton, please check out my reviews of:
Alice In Wonderland
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Batman Returns
Edward Scissorhands

5/10

For other film reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2010, 2004 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Aaron Sorkin's Worthwhile (And Neglected) Endeavor: Sports Night Might Be Short, But It's Perfect!

The Good: Funny, Heartwarming, Great Acting, Wonderful Characters, Great Stories, Originality! Now with decent DVD bonus features!
The Bad: Short-lived.
The Basics: An amazing series that follows the exploits of professionals in the television industry as the love and grow.


It's a rare thing when pretty much every critic in the world agrees on the merit of a television show. But the truth is, the universal praise Sports Night received in its two-year run on ABC was just that, universal. And fans of this show were a remarkable thing: we rallied to it EVERY week and tried to convince those who had not seen the series to tune in. It's too bad not so many people did. I blame ABC (who took the show off EVERY time sweeps came around) and Aaron Sorkin, the show's creator.

Why do I blame Sorkin? The title. Sports Night killed this show even quicker than ABC. Why? I hate sports, so do a lot of other people. This show has nothing to do with sports. While it has everything to do with a show about sports, Sports Night is NOT about sports, it never was and it never would be. The problem is, one of the audiences that would have appreciated this series quite a bit was turned off just by the name. I speak of women. This is a show that, among other things, illustrates the power, ingenuity and greatness of women. Unfortunately, so many women were turned off by the title that feminist organizations failed to rally to keep the show on the air.

So, what is this great show that has nothing to do with sports?

Sports Night follows the lives of six individuals who are working on a late-night cable sports show called "Sports Night." In the course of the series, it follows their triumphs and emotional entanglements as they bring their lives to the office. The characters include:

Casey McCall, the lead anchor of "Sports Night." The series opens with Casey undergoing the final stages of a messy divorce to a heinous woman named Lisa who has basically emasculated the anchor. As the series progresses, he opens up to loving again and finds himself attracted to Dana.

Dan Rydel, the other anchor of "Sports Night." Dan is a standup, emotionally connected guy who has several issues. Rather rapidly, we learn that Dan had a brother who died and Dan blames himself for it. As Dan progresses, he falls in love with a woman who claims to be divorced and ends up in therapy. He is the emotional soul of "Sports Night."

Dana Whittaker, the producer of "Sports Night." She is an easily frazzled, woman in charge who is in command of "Sports Night," but completely lost in her social life. Her arc follows an engagement that goes bad to her opening up to Casey as a partner and ultimately losing what she wants most.

Isaac Jaffe, the managing editor of "Sports Night." He's a respected man who tries to protect the show from the network that seeks to cancel the show constantly. He's a man of great dignity and integrity. Isaac has a stroke which cripples him and puts the show in jeopardy.

Natalie Hurley, the senior associate producer. She's a flighty, kind young woman who is very emotional and very loyal to Dana, Isaac and the show. She's ambitious and absent-minded.

Jeremy Goodwin, an associate producer. In the first episode, this genius is brought on board by Natalie to help keep facts straight and keep the show running better. He's an analytical geek who is most comfortable being a sports genius and his love for Natalie grows and changes throughout the series.

The characters undergo a good number of adventures, such as Casey trying to demonstrate something to his son's class, Dan learns the consequences of singing "happy birthday" on the air, Dana discovers the joys of removing her panties while eating dinner in a restaurant, Isaac stands up for his morals, Natalie is assaulted by a football player and Jeremy deals with his parents divorce.

The hallmark of Sports Night is the fast-paced dialog. People on the show speak at the speed of normal conversation and as a result, it's often difficult for the casual viewer to keep up. Sports Night is definitely a show to sit down and watch, not just for use as background noise. But the show writes with intelligence and this is not the typical, idiotic sitcom that we're stuck seeing most times.

Sports Night is known for defying the typical pretenses of a situation comedy. The first is that Aaron Sorkin fought hard to have the laugh track removed from the series and for the second season he succeeded. Many people cite that it takes on serious issues in addition to trying to be funny, but the truth is, this is a very funny show. A lot of the humor hinges on the speed of the dialog so something like,
"Dana, did I say 'a neighborhood park all covered with cheese?'"
"There's a consensus yes." . . .
"Let me fix it when we come back." . . .
"Are we sure it's wrong? Are we sure the park isn't all covered with cheese?"
might not translate quite so well to the page. But it does have quite a bit of humor and it's a worthwhile series.

But more than anything, this is an intelligent comedy that respects its audience. It's funny and heartwarming and it is about people who make decisions and live with the consequences of them. People in this series grow and love and get hurt. This is a drama with humor.

The DVD set of Sports Night is a great way to go . . . finally. Following on a lackluster original release, Shout! Factory as released the Tenth Anniversary Set. In this DVD set, viewers get the whole series in one fell swoop. In addition to scenes that have been added back into the show from the original release, there are other bonus features. For restored scenes, there are several scenes on the last disc's "The Local Weather." I still haven't figured out what was cut out of the episode to incorporate the new scenes. There are also new commentary tracks on eight of the episodes, as well as featurettes on the making of the show. There is also a gag reel for each season, which is fun as well.

Even without the scenes that have clearly been deleted to keep each episode 21 minutes, this is a perfect series. It's wonderful and intelligent, the dialog is witty and funny and worthwhile. The worst aspect of the failure of Sports Night to endure on television is that writer Aaron Sorkin recycled important character and plot events into his other show The West Wing. You know that great speech Sam Seaborn gives about his father cheating on his mother? If you thought it was clever, see it done the first time when it was original in "The Sword of Orion" when Jeremy undergoes the same problem.

Sports Night is an amazing series and it has several episodes that are completely perfect, like "Shoe Money Tonight" where the gang plays poker for a night, "The Sword of Orion" where Jeremy learns his father is having an affair, the second season premiere "Special Powers" wherein various characters reunite, and "The Giants Win the Pennant, The Giants Win the Pennant" where Dana and Casey's near-relationship comes to a heartwrenching conclusion.

Well worth the money for anyone who likes an intelligent television series.

For other television program reviews, please check out my takes on:
30 Rock Season 1
Lost The Complete Series
VR.5

10/10

For other television reviews, please check out the index page!

© 2010, 2008, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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