The Lion King
Annotated Bibliography
17th April 1.
Fairytale
The
Disney movie Lion King is a story
about a young lion cub named Simba that is made to believe he killed his father
by his evil uncle Scar. Scar tricks
Simba into running away so he may take over as king rather than Simba. Once Simba leaves he grows up outside of the
Savannah with a no worries attitude with his meerkat friend Timon and warthog
friend Pumba. When Scar destroys the
Savannah and the animals there run out of food one lioness named Nala goes out
in search of food for the animals. Nala
was Simba’s best friend before he left as a young cub and runs into him on her
search for food. They reconnect and she
tells him of the troubles in the Savannah and after much convincing he decides
to return and help his people by taking his place as king and making his uncle
step down. This sets off a battle for
the crown and Simba must be the Savior Hero in order for his people to
survive.
The Lion King
Annotated Bibliography
17th April 2. Short Story
In
the Lion King Simba is the Savior
Hero because he returns to his people to essentially save them from the evil
leader Scar who happens to be Simba’s uncle.
There are many other stories that have examples of Savior Heroes but I
chose to stick with animated children’s movies to use as examples to make it
easier to relate in this context. One
specific movie that comes to mind is Aladdin.
Aladdin is a Savior Hero because he fights to save the kingdom along
with Princess Jasmin to defeat the evil Sorcerer Jafar from taking over the
kingdom. In the process he has the help
of a genie and once he saves the kingdom he uses his last wish to set the genie
free showing his true spirit as a Savior for both the people in the kingdom as
well as the genie. Another example is
Po from Kung Fu Panda. Po is an unlikely Savior Hero when he must train
and battle to save his village and people.
The list goes on but these are two examples of Savior Heroes similar to
Simba’s story in Lion King.
The Lion King
Annotated Bibliography
17th April 3. Song
One
particular song stands out in the Lion
King. The Circle of Life tells
a story “Till we find our place .. On the path
unwinding .. In the Circle .. The Circle of Life”. This
song tells the importance of taking your place in this world and using only
what you need saving enough for everyone else.
The circle of life in general is what the Lion King movie is all about.
It shows that all the animals live together in harmony in the Savanah
and only feed on what they require for survival. A Savior Hero would be someone who
understands the circle of life cycle and enforce the moral of it to
others. Scar is not the right person for
that position and thus the need for Simba to be the Savior Hero and return to
his place as leader of the Savanah.
The Lion King
Annotated Bibliography
17th April 4. Film
The
movie Monster’s Incorporated is an
example of a Savior Hero with Sulley and Mike Wazowski working together to save
the young girl Boo. The Savior Hero
works towards a specific goal as in saving the kingdom in The Lion King and saving the village in Kung Fu Panda and saving a little girl lost in another world in Monster’s Incorporated. They are all similar to a Warrior Hero because
they battle for the good and help others but the Savior Hero in all of these
movies mentioned in addition to battles and they work in helping a specific
need for an individual or group of individuals.
The Lion King
Annotated Bibliography
17th April 5. Work of Art
jpegmovieposter.com
The lithograph shown represents
Simba when he has grown up and taken control of the “Pride Lands” in the
Savannah from his uncle. The picture
shows the incorporation of all the important “people” in Simba’s life including
his friends Timon and Pumba from when he was away as a cub. This essentially sums up the circle of life
that although Simba left as a cub he came back when he was needed most as the
Pride Lands Savior Hero and restored the livelihoods of those in suffering. He has his wife Nala and their small cubs
showing the continuation of how life will continue in a manner in which it can
thrive.
The Lion King
Annotated Bibliography
17th April 6. Psychological Significance
Joseph
Tronacle, M.D. , Where Addiction Meets Your Brain, The Lion King (Acceptance Commitment Therapy and Addiction) Web
In
the Lion King the young cub Simba has
a philosophy of “hakuna mutada” which means “no worries”. He lives this way as he grows up with his
friends Timon and Pumba in a carefree manner without responsibilities. Simba’s father (Mufassa) had a trusted advisor
a shaman bird named Rafiki that appears to Simba when he becomes an adult
lion. Rafiki is trying to make Simba
understand you can’t change the past and the past doesn’t matter. Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick
and when Simba asks why Rafiki explains that the hit was in the past so it
doesn’t matter anymore basically symbolizing Simba’s childhood and letting him
know it’s time to move on. Simba
realizes he needs to move past his childhood difficulties and become a “man”
who can lead his pride lands back to glory.
According to Joseph Tronacle “Rafiki’s
“therapy” gets Simba on the road to his successful destiny and to redemption.”
Donnie Hurd
