Why The Lion King is Overrated

Is it ok to have wrong opinions?

WHAAAT? Pumba calling stars big balls of gas is one of the funniest lines of the movie because it subverts the expectation of Pumba being naively wrong about his observations where for once he is actually correct without fully realizing why, stars are big balls of gas.

9:45 That's another point. Rafiki whoops Simba back into reality and tells him that sometimes the past does hurt, but you have a choice: either run from it or learn from it. That lesson is rare in a Disney movie. Other Disney movies teach you to "follow your heart" & "dreams do come true".

Have you ever seen DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt? It's got some similar story beats to The Lion King, which might be coincidence, but in a way it addresses the criticisms you mentioned. First of all, human characters. Second, it's more consistently dark and mature. There are a few comic relief characters, but they never overstay their welcome, and they're dismissed from the movie when it starts getting really serious. And the part where the protagonist returns home is much more evenly paced (a longer runtime helps there). Also, the song lyrics were written by Stephen Schwartz, the same lyricist as The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

I appreciate hearing a different take on the Lion King, even if I largely disagree. To answer one point though, if you watch the stage musical rather than the film, there's a lot more emphasis on Scar's take over of pride rock, including the very awesome song for Nala shadowed land, (it's extra stupid that the pathetic remake wanted a solo number for Nala and didn't use it). There, both the effect of Scar's take over of Pride rock, and Simba's character development are given more time, and extra matching songs as well.

One of my biggest gripes is when Scar tells Simba that he killed Mufasa. Like, why not just push him down? He would’ve been dead in seconds, there was no reason to tell him

"I Just Can't Wait to be King" serves a pretty big purpose; it's the mirror version of "Be Prepared." Simba and Scar are actually singing about the same thing. The only difference is that Simba is a naive kid who's only looking at the perks of being a king without considering what would have to happen in order for him to become one. That's why his song is bright, colorful and has the most unrealistic look out of everything else in the movie. Scar, on the other hand, knows exactly what those implications are, and he's counting on them. That's why his song is dark, creepy and evokes imagery from the Third Reich. So no; there's a lot more to that song that just serving as filler or a reason to annoy and distract Zazu. The song also makes the impact of Mufasa's death even heavier through contrast because Simba got what he was hoping for in the most technical sense, but now he understands the gravity of what that really means, and to make matters worse, Scar gaslights him into believing it was his fault. This doesn't necessarily mean that the overall movie isn't overrated anymore, but the criticism you made shouldn't count as a knock against the film because it's incorrect and actually strengthens the movie for having that song. As for the morning report song that was cut from the theatrical release, that one should have remained in the cutting room floor because it does bring the quality down.

The animation is great... but the animation is great in a lot of other Disney movies too.

Yeah, Lion King is overrated. Don't get me wrong I still like it and all, it's really good, but it's honestly overpraised and not as good as other Disney movies.

I mean one of the biggest pushing factors of the lion king being as popular as it is is mainly due to nostalgia which is a very powerful weapon indeed

I (almost)agree with this video completely, I watched Lion King when I was older and I thought it was fine, it was good no doubt but not to the masterpiece levels people were saying, it's just a solid good movie, one of those where you nod to yourself when leaving but doesn't have a particularly massive impact. The only thing I don't agree with is the animals bringing it down, for me and a lot of others, animals are much more interesting than plain humans, I tend to be able to relate and like them a lot more if they're animals.

As someone who prefers other Disney movies and also thinks The Lion King is overrated, this was such a breathe of fresh air to watch. I’m so glad you shared your thoughts on the movie and didn’t sugarcoat anything, gives me a lot of respect for you. :) And while I do like The Lion King, there are certainly better films even from the same era, such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Hunchback of Notre Dame and Tarzan, which I personally adore those. :D

I always thought that the reason the lionesses didn't rebel was because of the huge mass of hyenas Scar was controlling? they were vastly outnumbered. wasn't that the point of him bringing the hyenas into the pride lands, for power and the ability to control the lionesses and using the threat of a very violent hyena-caused death kept them in check. and they were all grieving over the death of mufasa and simba, whom they were told also died.

I completely agree. It’s my mom’s favorite Disney movie and even as a kid I was confused on why the rest of the pride needed Simba to overthrow Scar. I also realized that this isn’t a movie I go back to. Same with Aladdin it just never really clicked with me.

Warning: Long Comment Great video, Man. You know, funny enough, the people making this movie didn't think it was going to be good. From what I gather, The Lion King was made during the same time as Pocahontas. After Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Feature, Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted to replicate the success of that movie with Pocahontas, which is ironically one of the Disney's more hated movies. So he had the A-team work on that movie, while the B-team worked on The Lion King. It wasn't even supposed to be a masterpiece. Also, about the "Just Can't Wait to be King". I think the point of that song is to emphasize what Simba thinks about being a king. He only thinks about the good things, like the lack of orders, and sheer freedom. He is only thinking about how it benefits him. The point of the movie is for him to learn about the responsibility of being a king. This is shown in Scar, who desires the throne to the point of murder, only for his pride and greed. Upon becoming king, he drives the Pridelands into ruin, and in the end, he gives up his Hyenas and henchmen to save his own skin, which ultimately leads to his death. The point of the song is to emphasize that Simba is selfish and irresponsible, and is on a similar path to Scar. Then again, I haven't seen the movie in a while, so maybe it isn't clear in the film.

Completely disagree as TLK is my favorite animated movie and helped shape a lot of who I am as a person in a ton of ways, but I respect your opinion lol

This is one of those movies that I remember the dramatic moments but the part of the movie where simba is in the jungle I usually forget entirely

Literally my only reason for thinking it's overrated is because my older sister is obsessed with it. She doesn't shut up about and always wants to watch it. But thanks to you, I now have better and more valid reasons to think it's overrated, thanks Rockotar :)

The biggest thing I disagree with here is the "I relate less to animals than humans in movies" because it's such a ridicuously subjective opinion that it's not a criticism you can label on the movie. Animals aren't automatically inferior to human characters in movies.

Considering this was Disney's b team making this movie it makes it more impressive in that context. The a team at the time was working on was Pocahontas. Oof