THE LION KING (1994) **1/2 You can get a good sense of the aesthetics involved by knowing that they use foreshadowing as a device which which to give a sense of the next scene. I like tales of redemption, though, and it's a tale of redemption. At one point I was even working out a good metaphor for the career of Gary Hart, but then I realized that after his downfall he didn't become a heroin addict (as if working for Clinton wasn't worse). It hasn't been said, to my knowledge, but it's true-this film was really made for children, rather than pompous nonexistent-metaphor sleuths. Which worked out well for the investors. Some of the animation is excellent (the nature scene in the rain), in a not terribly original way. It's somewhat interesting to see how they spin children an abbreviated Oedipal variation so superficial that anyone even noticing it must be kind of bored in the first place. It's no Bambi, but it makes passes at several reasonably serious issues in the least intimidating manner possible. And the kids love it! They're not the only ones, the Academy Awards people nominated it for everything that they could think of including, I think, best costumes.
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