The Lion King (1994) vs. The Jungle Book (2016)
When I first saw the 2016 remake of Disney's The Jungle Book, I thought of a classic Disney animated movie: The Lion King, which is also getting a remake in 2019. So in honour of the upcoming 2018 gritty adaptation Mowgli, let me tell you why they are the same story.
In the wilderness of a third-world country (Kenya; India), the young son (Simba; Mowgli) of a well-respected animal leader (Mufasa; Akela) lives a happy life with a tribe of predators (lions; wolves) until his life is threatened (Mufasa's younger brother, Scar, covets the throne and plots to kill Mufasa and Simba so he can be king; vicious tiger Shere Khan resents man for burning his face with a dangerous force known as "the Red Flower" and wants to kill Mowgli as a result) by a scarred feline (Scar; Shere Khan). When the villain becomes a genuine threat (Scar tricks Simba and his betrothed, Nala, into going to the elephants' graveyard, where they are attacked by a group of spotted hyenas in league with Scar; Shere Khan warns the wolves that he will kill Mowgli when the drought ends), the hero leaves the jungle (Scar convinces Simba that his father's death was his fault and orders him to flee the Pride Lands, then sets the hyenas on him; Mowgli departs for a man-village for the safety of his pack), surviving a stampede of bovids (wildebeest; buffalo) on his way out (Scar lures Simba into a gorge, where the hyenas chase a stampede of wildebeest in order to trample him to death; Shere Khan attacks Bagheera, Mowgli's mentor, who holds him off while the man-cub escapes by hitching a ride on one of a stampede of buffalo). The villain throws the hero's father off a cliff (Mufasa saves Simba, but is left hanging precariously over the edge of the gorge, and Scar throws him off the cliff into the stampede; after finding out that Mowgli has left the jungle, Shere Khan bites Akela on the throat and throws him off a cliff) and takes over his clan (Scar announces that Simba and Mufasa perished in the stampede and steps forward as king, allowing the hyenas to move in with the lions; Shere Khan threatens the wolves in order to lure Mowgli out). Meanwhile, the hero is rescued by fun-loving animals (Timon and Pumbaa; Baloo), who teach him through song ("Hakuna Matata"; "The Bear Necessities") to sit back and enjoy life (Simba grows up with Timon and Pumbaa, living a carefree life under the motto "hakuna matata"; Mowgli agrees to stay with Baloo until the winter season). When the hero reunites with his feline friend (Nala; Bagheera), he/she is upset that the hero will not do what he originally said he would do (Nala tries to urge Simba to return home and confront Scar, under whose reign the Pride Lands have become a drought-stricken wasteland, but Simba refuses; Bagheera finds Mowgli and Baloo and is angered that Mowgli had not joined the humans as agreed, but Baloo calms him down and persuades both of them to sleep on it). The hero separates from his friends after an argument (feeling guilty about his father's death, Simba refuses to act and storms off; after learning that Mowgli is being hunted by Shere Khan, Baloo realizes that he cannot guarantee Mowgli's safety and pushes the man-cub away from him to get him to continue on towards the man-village), but encounters an eccentric ape (Rafiki; King Louie) who informs him of his father's death (Rafiki tells Simba that Mufasa's spirit lives on in him, and he is visited by the ghost of Mufasa in the night sky, who tells him that he must take his rightful place as king; while chasing Mowgli through his temple, Louie informs him of Akela's death). This inspires the hero to return home to confront the villain (realizing that he can no longer run from his past, Simba returns to Pride Rock, accompanied by Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa; furious that Baloo and Bagheera had not told him about Akela's death, Mowgli returns to the jungle alone to confront Shere Khan, stealing a lit torch from the man-village to use as a weapon). Meanwhile, the villain menaces the hero's mother (Sarabi; Raksha) when she calls him out for his misrule (Sarabi tells Scar that the herds have moved on due to being unable to hunt, and the latter strikes her when she tells him that he is less than half the king Mufasa was; Raksha confronts Shere Khan as he is telling the young wolves that he is going to kill Mowgli, saying that he is already gone, to which Shere Khan tells her that he will be waiting for him when he comes back). With his friends by his side, the hero confronts the villain (Timon and Pumbaa distract the hyenas while Simba confronts Scar; Shere Khan tells Mowgli that he has made himself an enemy of the jungle by harnessing the Red Flower, but the rest of the animals stand beside the Man-Cub, reciting the Law of the Jungle). As the jungle is consumed by flames (lightning strikes the dead plant life, igniting a raging fire; Mowgli accidentally starts a wildfire upon returning to the jungle), a battle between the various wildlife ensues, during which the hero's allies hold off the villain (Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, the lionesses, and Mufasa's hornbill assistant, Zazu, hold off the hyenas while Simba confronts Scar on Pride Rock; Bagheera, Baloo, and the wolves battle Shere Khan while Mowgli escapes, but the tiger overpowers them all). The hero refuses to kill the villain (Simba corners Scar atop Pride Rock, forces him to reveal that he killed Mufasa to the rest of the pride, and orders him to leave the Pride Lands forever; Mowgli throws the torch into the water, giving Shere Khan the advantage), but ultimately tricks him into falling into the fire (Scar attacks Simba, but the latter manages to toss him from the top of the rock, which Scar survives, but is torn to shreds by the hyenas, whom he had tried to blame Mufasa's death; Mowgli lures Shere Khan up a dead tree and onto a branch, which breaks under the latter's weight, causing him to fall into the fire). In the end, the fire is extinguished (Simba takes over the kingship and the rain begins to fall, restoring life to the Pride Lands; Mowgli directs the elephants to divert the river and put out the wildfire) and the hero begins a new life with his new and old friends (Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's new cub to the crowd of animals, continuing the circle of life; Raksha becomes the new leader of the wolf pack, and Mowgli finds his true home and calling with the wolves, Bagheera, and Baloo).
It's the same story!
In the wilderness of a third-world country (Kenya; India), the young son (Simba; Mowgli) of a well-respected animal leader (Mufasa; Akela) lives a happy life with a tribe of predators (lions; wolves) until his life is threatened (Mufasa's younger brother, Scar, covets the throne and plots to kill Mufasa and Simba so he can be king; vicious tiger Shere Khan resents man for burning his face with a dangerous force known as "the Red Flower" and wants to kill Mowgli as a result) by a scarred feline (Scar; Shere Khan). When the villain becomes a genuine threat (Scar tricks Simba and his betrothed, Nala, into going to the elephants' graveyard, where they are attacked by a group of spotted hyenas in league with Scar; Shere Khan warns the wolves that he will kill Mowgli when the drought ends), the hero leaves the jungle (Scar convinces Simba that his father's death was his fault and orders him to flee the Pride Lands, then sets the hyenas on him; Mowgli departs for a man-village for the safety of his pack), surviving a stampede of bovids (wildebeest; buffalo) on his way out (Scar lures Simba into a gorge, where the hyenas chase a stampede of wildebeest in order to trample him to death; Shere Khan attacks Bagheera, Mowgli's mentor, who holds him off while the man-cub escapes by hitching a ride on one of a stampede of buffalo). The villain throws the hero's father off a cliff (Mufasa saves Simba, but is left hanging precariously over the edge of the gorge, and Scar throws him off the cliff into the stampede; after finding out that Mowgli has left the jungle, Shere Khan bites Akela on the throat and throws him off a cliff) and takes over his clan (Scar announces that Simba and Mufasa perished in the stampede and steps forward as king, allowing the hyenas to move in with the lions; Shere Khan threatens the wolves in order to lure Mowgli out). Meanwhile, the hero is rescued by fun-loving animals (Timon and Pumbaa; Baloo), who teach him through song ("Hakuna Matata"; "The Bear Necessities") to sit back and enjoy life (Simba grows up with Timon and Pumbaa, living a carefree life under the motto "hakuna matata"; Mowgli agrees to stay with Baloo until the winter season). When the hero reunites with his feline friend (Nala; Bagheera), he/she is upset that the hero will not do what he originally said he would do (Nala tries to urge Simba to return home and confront Scar, under whose reign the Pride Lands have become a drought-stricken wasteland, but Simba refuses; Bagheera finds Mowgli and Baloo and is angered that Mowgli had not joined the humans as agreed, but Baloo calms him down and persuades both of them to sleep on it). The hero separates from his friends after an argument (feeling guilty about his father's death, Simba refuses to act and storms off; after learning that Mowgli is being hunted by Shere Khan, Baloo realizes that he cannot guarantee Mowgli's safety and pushes the man-cub away from him to get him to continue on towards the man-village), but encounters an eccentric ape (Rafiki; King Louie) who informs him of his father's death (Rafiki tells Simba that Mufasa's spirit lives on in him, and he is visited by the ghost of Mufasa in the night sky, who tells him that he must take his rightful place as king; while chasing Mowgli through his temple, Louie informs him of Akela's death). This inspires the hero to return home to confront the villain (realizing that he can no longer run from his past, Simba returns to Pride Rock, accompanied by Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa; furious that Baloo and Bagheera had not told him about Akela's death, Mowgli returns to the jungle alone to confront Shere Khan, stealing a lit torch from the man-village to use as a weapon). Meanwhile, the villain menaces the hero's mother (Sarabi; Raksha) when she calls him out for his misrule (Sarabi tells Scar that the herds have moved on due to being unable to hunt, and the latter strikes her when she tells him that he is less than half the king Mufasa was; Raksha confronts Shere Khan as he is telling the young wolves that he is going to kill Mowgli, saying that he is already gone, to which Shere Khan tells her that he will be waiting for him when he comes back). With his friends by his side, the hero confronts the villain (Timon and Pumbaa distract the hyenas while Simba confronts Scar; Shere Khan tells Mowgli that he has made himself an enemy of the jungle by harnessing the Red Flower, but the rest of the animals stand beside the Man-Cub, reciting the Law of the Jungle). As the jungle is consumed by flames (lightning strikes the dead plant life, igniting a raging fire; Mowgli accidentally starts a wildfire upon returning to the jungle), a battle between the various wildlife ensues, during which the hero's allies hold off the villain (Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, the lionesses, and Mufasa's hornbill assistant, Zazu, hold off the hyenas while Simba confronts Scar on Pride Rock; Bagheera, Baloo, and the wolves battle Shere Khan while Mowgli escapes, but the tiger overpowers them all). The hero refuses to kill the villain (Simba corners Scar atop Pride Rock, forces him to reveal that he killed Mufasa to the rest of the pride, and orders him to leave the Pride Lands forever; Mowgli throws the torch into the water, giving Shere Khan the advantage), but ultimately tricks him into falling into the fire (Scar attacks Simba, but the latter manages to toss him from the top of the rock, which Scar survives, but is torn to shreds by the hyenas, whom he had tried to blame Mufasa's death; Mowgli lures Shere Khan up a dead tree and onto a branch, which breaks under the latter's weight, causing him to fall into the fire). In the end, the fire is extinguished (Simba takes over the kingship and the rain begins to fall, restoring life to the Pride Lands; Mowgli directs the elephants to divert the river and put out the wildfire) and the hero begins a new life with his new and old friends (Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's new cub to the crowd of animals, continuing the circle of life; Raksha becomes the new leader of the wolf pack, and Mowgli finds his true home and calling with the wolves, Bagheera, and Baloo).
It's the same story!
Comments
Post a Comment