The JCC and I agree on something! Yay!!

Because I am not a huge fan of the middle third of Lion King. Whilst the first and third acts are awesome, the second feels a little bit like filler, a bit cursory. I sometimes find my mind wandering when Simba is busy growing up. The film simply wants to arrive at the point where Simba is ready to take on Scar, seems it would rather be just two halves; it doesn't feel focused on the here and now (to borrow from Qui-Gon). Beauty and the Beast strikes me as a more complete and balanced story - perhaps there's less ambition there. In terms of scope it's a shorter story, or at least the portion we see of it. I realise that's the nature of the beast (lol) that the Lion King set out to tell a longer story (perhaps it would've benefitted from a longer running time), but I think Beauty and the Beast is just out perfect in every department. The perfect animated feature.

 

Hmm...I suppose I can see your point. I don't agree that the second act was rushed, though. I thought they showed enough of Simba's relative happiness while the world he left behind crumbled. And, for me, the moment between Simba and Mufassa right before he heads back off to fight Scar is one of the best moments in animated film ever. I didn't appreciate the movie as much when it first came out as I do now. Maybe it's because I'm a dad. Probably.

 

But as I say, Lion King is still great in my book. These are only minor complaints.

 

No, I hear you.

Funny story about Beauty and the Beast. I was a junior or senior in HS and I was dating two girls (they knew about each other). Anyway, they both wanted to see the movie and I was broke so all three of us went to see the movie together. So there I was sitting between these two rather attractive girls at the end where Beast "dies". I look to my left and to my right, and these girls are sobbing!! They were bawling their eyes out. I was like "girls!! It's a Disney movie!! He's not dead!"

They both ended up dumping me.

 

Beauty and the Beast is pretty perfect from what I recall.

I still adore the two Toy Story movies though.
Sorry, Evan.


-JR

 

Yeah, cause they'd never kill an important character in a Disney film.

[image=http://crazedwriter.lbbhost.com/stills/bambi_mom.jpg]
[image=http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j83/dounoJesus/Hilton%20Family/SimbaMufasaMyspcGrfk.jpg]

 

Bambi's Mum didn't die. She's going to return in the forthcoming Bambi Episode 3: Revenge of the Bambi's Mum.

 

So Bambi cried, and Bambi's deadbeat father had to take custody for nothing? I call shenanigans!

 

There will be a courtroom drama subplot.

 

Actually, one of the reasons I loved The Lion King was because they had the courage to kill an important character for the first time since Bambi. By the time Beauty and the Beast came out, though, Disney had stopped killing people off.

 

the lion king was a good movie