The Lion King (moral, myth, moral, Mythology)

[Willamena]

One of my favourite moments in The Lion King animated feature is in the opening sequence, during the song The Circle of Life, when the animals are moving towards Pride Rock: a zoom on Zazoo as he flies toward the mount. At that moment the perspective changes from animals moving towards the Rock to being one of the animals moving towards the Rock, and that in itself is a significant change, because it draws the viewer into the story. That moment was the first of many in this movie that brought a tear to my eye.

When the trailer for this move appeared in the theatres I had only begun to learn about mythology, only begun reading about Joseph Campbell. I sat there with my jaw hanging open. I couldn't help thinking, sitting in the theatre watching the opening sequence, listening to the Tim Rice song, sung so beautifully by Carmen Twillie, that he would love this. He would have loved this moment. He would have pointed and said, "Now that's myth."

Myth is the story, and the image, and the meaning, but more than that, myth is the turn. It's the moment when you go from being a listener to being a participant in the story through understanding. This movie trailer captured that, and will always stand as one of my favourite moments in mythology (right next to the King's return to kinghood, Busa Simba).

[Nick Soapdish]

The Lion King is without a doubt my favorite animated movie.

To me, the most meaningful part is when the image of Mustafa tells the adult Simba he must do something (regain control of Pride Rock) simply because of who he is. This is such a powerful statement about morality and goes against the ideas of utilitarianism and self-interested ethics.