Last night, it finally happened.
My boyfriend of six years, Jake, succumbed to one of my more obscure requests. We sat down late, around 10:00pm, and watched Disney’s classic The Lion King. Jake had his doubts about how much he would actually enjoy this “kid’s film,” but at the end he admitted what I have always known: The Lion King is good.
The dialogue is intelligent and witty, Elton John’s award-winning song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” is nothing short of catchy, and the animation does things that any real film would do—such as pan and zoom and focus—that I have never noticed in other animated films.
More than that, this “basically ‘Hamlet’” Disney film teaches lessons that we might catch onto as kids, but are really understood best when we become adults.
This film is, in my opinion, really dark and full of heavy subject matter for little kids. It deals with life, death, marriage, good v. evil, and the importance of personal responsibility in 90 animated minutes.
At one point in the film, Jake turns to me and says “This monkey is smart.” He was referring to Rafiki in the instant he teaches the grown-up Simba about the past. Rafiki takes his staff and hits Simba on the heath with it (a move that Simba later admits knocked some sense into him). Simba holds his head and says, “Ow, what was what for?”
To which Rafiki replies, “It does not matter. It is in the past!”
Simba says, “Yeah. . . but it still hurts!”
Consolingly, Rafiki says “The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it. . . or learn from it!” He proceeds to swat at Simba with his staff again. But this time Simba is ready for it, and he ducks, proving that he successfully learned from his past. At this, Rafiki is overjoyed.
“The King has returned.”
In the final battle between Simba and his Uncle Scar, Scare proves that he has not learned from his past and it becomes his downfall. As Simba tells Scar he is not going to kill him and Scar asks what he can do to make everything up to him, Simba says, “Run. Run away, Scar, and never return.” Essentially, this is what Scar said to Simba all of those years ago after he convinced Simba that the stampede that killed his father, King Mufasa, was his fault.
Scar does not remember this, or decides to ignore it, opting instead to try and fight his nephew to the death. Of course, everyone who has seen The Lion King knows that Scar is left to fend for himself against the hungry hyenas, after he burns his bridges and ruins the relationship he had with them.
So, the moral of the story? Rafiki seems to offer two options concerning the past: running from it, or learning from it. However, the one correct option is to learn from it. The past can hurt, but by facing up to it and forgiving what needs to be forgiven, you can move on and take your place in the great circle of life.
Thank you, Disney, for reminding both children and adults of that message.
Hakuna Matata.
christinelamont 