You might be wondering if I grew up hating The Lion King. No, I just thought too much after reading the new version. "The Lion King" was the first script I learned from beginning to end when I was a child .
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When Disney announced that Jon Favreau was going to direct the "live-action version" of "The Lion King", my expectation for it was that it would be technically a film that would be able to turn the fake to the real, and that Disney would spend money to make a breakthrough in the " uncanny valley" , even if it was very difficult. Expensive but still able to rely on "nostalgia" to make enough box office experiments. In this experiment, the young faces in Marvel are a part, and Jon Favreau's "Fantasy Forest" and this "Lion King" are also a part. I think these investments and researches are definitely contributing to the technological revolution in film. But at the same time, since this movie is still a "cartoon" under computer special effects, I can't help but question the value of remaking old cartoons. The director may also have these ideological struggles, whether to copy and improve each picture strictly according to the original film, or to improve the story and bring out the new? Or compromise?
In the "real" nature, "the land of glory" does not exist, and Nora should obviously be Simba's sister/sister; the lionesses will definitely take turns to ride the scars down in order to reproduce; they are pulled out of the food chain and become Simba, who has become a "vegetarian", suddenly brings friends he rarely worries about being eaten back down the food chain; "Haku na Matata" is one of the most beloved songs in both films. One, but the meaning of this song is what the protagonist of the movie needs to abandon at the end. This story is actually a house of cards. If you think about it carefully, there are few and shallow meanings of value, and other meanings that contradict it begin to jump out. But the original film is a cartoon. The little lions have big eyes and big mouths with rich expressions. The actors' lines are very dramatic, so things that are too profound don't need to be taken seriously. Now, Disney spends so much money to make it so grand. , wouldn't the "real" picture contradict the unreal world? Wouldn't the "realized" glorious land become more boring? Wouldn't it be harder for "lifelike" animals to express their feelings? While I liked most of the songs in the original film, I wish the movie could give me something new.
What's new? For example, if the movie focuses on the evolution of Simba's understanding of "power", "domineering", "brave", and "violence" that our contemporary culture has always associated with "maleness" and "maleness", I think it is very good for children of our time. beneficial. Originally, the lion colony was a matriarchal society . Female lions hunted, while male lions were basically used for reproduction and were often challenged and replaced. But Disney has classicized the dominant image of Mufasa, the "king". In our popular culture, the notion of an unscientifically authoritative " alpha male " (lead wolf) , derived from some controversial observational studies of wolves, is also deeply rooted. Men who think they're "good enough" start referring to themselves as "Alfa", while at the same time, with a strong sense of aggression and contempt, they call other men who they believe can be overpowered by violence as weak" Beta". Many men rely on the false authority in "nature" to justify their hegemony and insist on "men are superior to women". Other men who are oppressed by this ideology can shine in their own way, but they are brainwashed into thinking that they must Forced to pretend to be "men", and this shows aggression, and they oppress the people they can subdue with violence: children and women. For the little boy in this environment, it's hard not to embark on a vicious cycle.
I have especially liked Mufasa's teaching to Simba since I was a child: no matter how powerful people are, they will be afraid, and the truly brave are only "brave" when necessary. As a "leader," it's not about aggression, showing violence, proving that you have courage - it's all vanity. Leaders must understand their responsibilities to others, understand that the center of everything is not themselves, recognize their dependence on others, and the impact of their decisions on others, don’t rush through recklessly when they see anything, and learn how to use methods other than violence. , such as avoiding conflict, such as communication, such as negotiation, such as tolerance, etc., to solve problems. When I wrote this, I suddenly realized: "Hamlet" is obviously a tragedy. Your story has taken over the obsession of revenge, and everyone is happy to write it. It really can't stand the truth.
In the old and new movies, the truths of "brave" and "aggressiveness" have been brushed aside, but the old movie was in 1994, and it was suspected of copying a lot of "White Lion Kimba" ideas, so the Disney team has its own Thought is not so advanced. In the new film, certain lines from Mufasa that suggested the king himself "has everything" have been removed. In addition, the duties of the lionesses to defend the frontier and drive away the hyenas were added. , but the audience didn't even see that picture. If I only wiped the edges, I feel like I remembered it after I finished filming, oh yes, I need to improve. "Look, ladies and audience, we specifically proposed that you are not vases, are you worth feeding sugar?" A little lazy and backward.
Of course, I'm not trying to blame Disney for not making a movie I wanted to see. Movies weren't made for me. I should rate the movie itself.
Here I want to emphasize my prejudice. Memorizing "The Lion King" was the beginning of my English enlightenment. I remember that when I said "you deliberately disobeyed me" in junior high school, I only knew "Dad is angry in this place", but I didn't know the general meaning of this sentence or how to spell it. Started looking up the dictionary and actually reading the script that came with the tape until I could pick up most of the lines myself. So how each line is pronounced, on which word the accent is placed, how the cadence is, where the emotion is, are all deeply ingrained in my mind.
That's not to say I want these new actors to be a complete imitation of the previous version, the talent and skill of every actor in the film's dub lineup is awesome. And every time the film tries to innovate, improvise, and subvert the audience's predictions, I enjoy it. At this point, I think Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner 's performances are the most brilliant and the most engaging for me.
But the problem is that the movie doesn't change anything except the dubbing. In those parts, my opinion is probably largely influenced by my familiarity with the old version. In the process of copying the original film, most of the new voice actors' interpretation of these lines that I am all too familiar with did not break through the feeling in the old version, and some even regressed. I always feel that those actors in the 1990s were more emotional and engaged when they read their lines.
For example, when Simba and Nora sing "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", Simba's part:
So many things to tell her
but how to make her see.
The truth about my past..
Impossible!
She'd turn away from me...
In the old version, the word "impossible" was especially emotional, a word that included the transition from "conceive" and "hope" to "panic" and "denial". But when I heard Childish Gambino sing yesterday , I felt so casual! ! Can the director let him try a few more times? !
Let's take another example. I said earlier that I thought it was very important that my father gave his son a lesson on what is "brave". In the old version of the movie, at the beginning, Mufasa ordered "Shazu!" There was a slight echo in the silence after that, and then Shazu went up and replied softly: "Yes, Sire?" The tone was a little timid. Mufasa said, "Bring Nora home, I need to teach my son a lesson." Then Simba immediately buried his head in the grass. Shazu then said "Come on, Nora" and then turned to his son and said, "Simba? Ha (sigh), good luck." There is a little humor in this, but generally what we feel most strongly is that Dad's majesty, and Dad's good! pregnancy! gas! Hello baby! Harmful! Afraid! Then Dad's "lesson" went from being particularly majestic to the excessive laughter of the two, which was a process that made the audience nervous and released as the character's spirit became high.
In this version, I literally wish the movie had a sound that James Earl Jones himself recorded 25 years ago. I feel throughout the whole article that his old man's performance this time is not as good as before. The lines in this scene made me feel very easy-going, and since each animal has no cartoon-like movements and expressions, the whole scene is not very tense. Ugh.
The above two are independent specific examples. My overall feeling is that, I don’t know why, the movie is a bit rushed, and the plot has passed before the feelings in some places.
Therefore, the new version of "The Lion King" basically repeats the mistakes of the original film. The changes are bright, but too few; at the same time, the "real" animal world picture is contrary to the script's task of conveying feelings, so the teaser is not very success. This movie is basically the product that I was worried about at the beginning and described in the second paragraph above. It is better to show children cartoons. If you want to feel it, go see a large screen experience. I think most people will not want to watch this version again after reading it once.
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