The Lion King Essays

Submitted By JannaKaye1
Words: 891
Pages: 4
Open Document
The performance in which I intend to write about is a musical named The Lion King which I went to see in London at the Lyceum theatre. The musical first debuted on July 8th 1997 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minnesota where it became an instant success and is still on-going. The story was constructed of the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name. The musical was directed by the talented Julie Taymor who also designed the costumes for the show.
"Astonishing," "spectacular," and "incredible!" are three words that came to my mind the first time I went to see this musical. It was like nothing that I have ever witnessed in a musical. Different is truly another word that comes to mind. As a childhood film I expected a great deal about how anyone would be able to manage putting a film starring non-humans characters on stage especially since they are also animated, however I can certainly say that my expectation was definitely met on the occasion. As my eyes grew wide from the moment the curtain was opened, witnessing the colourful lights, the breath taking costumes and the fantastic music I was trapped in a wonderful magical moment from the first scene. From the moment the curtain were opened and the actors with their puppets started to make their way down the aisle of the theatre, I knew that the lion King was going to be a beautiful visual show.
Although the Lion King was largely created for children, I can definitely say that the musical unquestionably makes it one of the most remarkable displays of an elaborate musical production that I ever had the chance to see.
The story is about a young Simba who gets blamed for his father’s death by his wicked uncle Scar who also manage to convince the young lion that he must go into exile. Whilst in exile, Simba is befriended by a Merrkat (Timon) and a warthog (Pumbaa) and grows into adulthood free of responsibilities. Coincidentally Simba stumbles upon His childhood friend Nala who was trying to attack Timon and Pumbaa. Nala informs Simba that Scar is ruining Pride Land, leaving Simba to decide whether to keep his distance or confront his fears and his uncle. In the hunt for answers Simba finds his father’s image in the sky and returns to Pride land to recapture his thrown as king.
Whilst in a confrontation with Simba, scar tells everyone that he in fact was the perpetrator in Mufasa’s death leading to a bloody battle with the hyenas and the lionesses, where scar dishonestly tells Simba that the hyenas are to be blamed for everything. Hearing this deceit the Hyenas change their loyalties towards Scar and kills him. Simba redeems Pride Rock and the circle of life begins once more.
Visual elements and costumes are vital for a musical and to me but with The Lion King, they had to be that something special as it is a timeless classic childhood movie. The set in the musical stables the locations whilst on stage as there is a great deal of settings, it also shows the link from the movie itself e.g. Rafikki’s tree. The set and props worked splendidly, as everywhere on stage held the ingredient of enchantment needed and the immaculate design worked perfectly with the lighting. The visual success relied heavily on its use of masks and costumes to make the production a complete musical.
The pop sound of
Show More

Related Documents: The Lion King Essays

Weather In The Lion King

environment itself. A work of literature that I can best relate to the significance of weather is The Lion King. The Lion King is a children's classic, a story that conveys so many messages, is so many different ways. One of the methods through which some messages were conveyed was weather; the atmosphere and how it changed when the King died and the throne was abandoned. From the beginning, when King Mufasa was alive, the pride lands, the plains were a home for thousands of animals, a place where food…

Words 318 - Pages 2

The Lion King Essay

happiness and prosperity. These emotions might strike me when I am watching, but it isn’t real so why cry, laugh, or get upset? Depending on how well the actors perform, I develop an attachment to each and every one of the characters. I like Mufasa in Lion King so much because he reminded me of my dad, and then he was killed and Simba came pouncing and I just lost it. I cry because I get attached and then that character is taken away from me in an instant. If a character I hated was blessed with good fortune…

Words 443 - Pages 2

The Lion King Analysis

At the beginning of the movie, a lion is presenting his newly born child to the Pride Lands. Meanwhile, the community of the Pride Lands are hoping for one day that the new infant lion will be the king. But not everything in the Pride Lands is happy, good, and behaves very well. There is one lion, who happens to be the king's brother named Scar. Scar has nothing, no cubs, he is just a black mane. His and the hyenas of the outside dark land goal is to kill the king. But instead, the hyenas overpopulate…

Words 722 - Pages 3

Lion King Essay

The Lion King The purpose of this proposal is to create a plan for the principle to light The Lion King” The problem is that the cost to purchase and work the Lights is really high the recommendation is that certain types of lighting Equipment such as laser lights and special effects will be due best for the play In order to complete this project special effect and laser lights will help get the People frighten. These different types of lighting equipment are important…

Words 427 - Pages 2

Simba And The Lion King

seek revenge. The protagonist in ‘The Lion King’ Simba was exiled by Scar and made to believe that he was guilty of his father's death, he demonstrates that he was brave enough to come back to pride rock and take his role as king. The antagonist, Scar was forcing people to believe that Simba had a role in his father’s death; however, Scar had told the pride that Simba had died knowing that he didn’t. Scar was lying to them all so he could take his part as king. This shows the audience that Scar was…

Words 157 - Pages 1

Lion King Change

What does the film show about the way individuals cope with change? In the film the Lion King, the protagonist Simba does cope well at first with the change he had to undergo, with his father passing away. It provoked him to enter a depressed phase of insurance, and fear. This changed once he met two new of characters which later became some of his best friends known as Timon and Pumbaa. They acted as guides, and taught him to live by the motto “Hakuna Matata”. This motto translates to “no worries”…

Words 290 - Pages 2

The Lion King And Hamlet Comparison

known as The Lion King, is thought to be very innocent. What many people may not know is that it is based off of the play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare. It is strange that a Disney family movie was based off a tragedy written by the famous Shakespeare. The story line and characters resemble many aspects within the play. When taking a closer look, one can see the character relations with Nala, Simba, Scar, etc., as well as a relation between the plots of the two stories. In The Lion King, there is…

Words 1501 - Pages 7

Lion King Versus Hamlet

The Lion King and Hamlet Compare and contrast essay Movies every so often are based upon other movies, books or plays. These films contain similar content and differences with a bit of a twist. In the famous Disney movie “The Lion King” and Shakespeare “Hamlet “ , there’s seen to be a great amount of similarities and difference between both great movies. As odd as it seems, the typical audience of both differentiate but when analyzed, they both reflected off each other. Noticeably, the first similarity…

Words 526 - Pages 3

Philosophy in the Lion King Essay

of The Lion King The Lion King is a classic movie, beloved by many. On the surface, this movie seems to be a light-hearted, carefree tale of a lion cub’s journey to justice. However, on taking a deeper look, one finds that the tale consists of conflicting worldviews and philosophies, while presenting the idea of destiny. But which religions and philosophies is it portraying? Let us take a closer look. Some would argue that Christianity is the mainly presented religion in the Lion King. After studying…

Words 937 - Pages 4

Who Is The Monster In The Lion King

movies including The Lion King. During the movie, The Lion King, Scar undermines the power of the king, Mufasa, kills Mufasa, attempts to kill Simba the rightful heir, and then takes Pride Rock for himself. The Lion King, ties into the book written by W. Scott Poole Monsters in America, which talks about the Vietnam War and how during the conflict the American soldiers become monsters by making their body count of their victims their main priority. Throughout the movie The Lion King, the monster blatantly…

Words 1104 - Pages 5