Film Studies 2159A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: American Express, Miramax, Kodak
28 Jun 2018
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Screening 9; Lecture 9
Wednesday, March 14, 2018 11:27 AM
Screening: Lion King
Renaissance Era:
• Renaissance Era (1989-1999) – Disney revives the art of musical fairy tale; this era is more successful
commercially and critically [The Lion King; Little Mermaid]. At the time of its release, The Lion King was
the most successful animated feature film to date (grossing $783 million worldwide).
• A typical review mentions the “brutal subtext” of the 32nd animated feature (young Simba experiences
parental loss and “encounters danger, guilt, trauma, law of the jungle violence and treachery on his way to
the throne”), but also writes “this is the Mickey Mouse factory at its finest, with highly cinematic
animation, stirring music, and a pride of inspired, almost-human animals.” (Washington Post, Aug 19.
1994)
Intertextuality – Literary/Filmic Source
• Intertextuality (references to other literary classics, etc.) is a defining characteristic of Disney filmic
output. “Golden era” films and some later films often start or close with a book opening… Is there a
literary or filmic source here? If not, is there another imaginative inspirational art form that replaces the
book or text?
• Some press material says it was “inspired by animal behaviour” (continues the Disnature tradition…)
• Some press material says it was “inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet”
• Interestingly, there may have been more direct inspiration – a film/Japanese anime classic Kimba the
White Lion (1965)
Read Introduction (on OWL) and notes below:
• ”Bambi’s brutal heir”?
• Violence, racist stereotyping
• Cinematic look – varied focal lengths/lenses
• Animators again studied animal movement
• Combining fantasy/CGI effects and reality (use of animal reference but also mixing animal and human
facial traits/”mixing it up”… as explored later in powerpoint lecture)
• Original director requested more realism… Hans Bacher tried to reproduce “lens flare” for the film
(colorful circles or halos produced when sunlight reflects off the camera lens)
• At the same time, neo-classical art for example work of Maxfield Parrish was used as inspiration for the
film
• Environmentalism and Heritage/History - Protest in Washington D.C. – proposed Disney historical theme
park planned in Northern Virginia near 13 historical sites and 16 civil war battlefields– on the one hand,
some reviewers pointed to the film LK paying homage to “ecological complexity” (“Circle of Life”); other
hand, the film premiere coincided with environmentalists protesting Disney development in the DC area
… similar to the earlier Sierra Club opposition to Disney’s proposed ski resort I the 1960s that would go
through the Sequoia National forest in Northern California (“Mineral King”), historians, preservationists
and environmentalists were troubled by the corporate agenda they saw in the planned historical theme
park “Disney’s America,” in Northern Virginia - concern – Disney would trivialize and sentimentalize
American history and further pollute the area – Disney wanted to include animatronic robots of “every
American president” in the park and also “deal with the highs and lows” of American history … original
plans for the park included an attraction that would communicate the experience of slavery, according to
the park’s “Creative Director” - “We want to make you feel what it was like to be a slave, and what it was
like to escape through the Underground Railroad.” The Black History Action Coalition and historians
strongly objected to the idea of an Underground Railroad ride
• 3D release in 2011
Telephoto Lens... Spying on Nature – Cinematic Look
• The telephoto lens was often used to “spy on nature” from a safe distance in nature films that were shot in
Africa. The producers of Lion King claim they sought to use different focal lengths to obtain a more
“intimate” and varied view of Africa.
• This is a shift away from the True-life Adventures. In introducing one of the films, Disney himself said
“you might wonder, how do we pry into the lives of the animals?”:
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8B1rHAbExU
Real Lions... Artistic Inspiration
• "mixing it up"… real lions and real human faces... studied live animals for reference as they had done with
Bambi decades earlier
•https://www.fxguide.com/featured/the-lion-king-3d-in-depth-with-disney
• Female and male artists working on The Lion King included Sue C. Nickels, Lisa Keene, Hans Bacher,
Jean Gillmore, Mel Shaw and Randy Fullmer.
The Lion King (Live Action Remake, 2019)
• Following on the heels of other Disney live-action remakes that include Cinderella (2015), The Jungle
Book (2016), and Beauty and the Beast (2017), there will be a live-action musical film remake of The
Lion King released soon, directed by Jon Favreau
The Lion King (1994) Mercvhandising/Media Franchise
•The Lion King film spawned a Disney media franchise - a TV show, a direct-to-TV sequel and direct-to-
TV mid-quel, educational shorts, a Broadway musical (“Snapchat” lens to mark the anniversary of the
Broadway musical/using a mobile social media platform users can put on the masks of Simba and Nala in
their snaps), videogame etc.
•The Lion King film had the largest promotional campaign in Disney’s history to date – products included
picture books, cuddly toys, personal appearances by characters, soundtrack album (released 2 weeks
before the film), and product tie-ins with zoos, Burger King, Nestle and Kodak (source “Claws for
Concern,” Guardian Oct 8 1994). According to many reviewers Disney used marketing to “stay king of
the Hollywood jungle” or “king of animated movies.”
Sex in the Clouds
• A Virginia-based anti-abortionist group in 1995 complained that the word “sex” appeared spelled out in a
cloud in The Lion King, although they admitted that the word was difficult to detect it “might not be a
word at all.” “It’s kind of iffy,” the had of the organization said. “Some people see a cloud, kind of wavy
lines. It’s hard to see even if you slow it down.” Rodney Miller, American Life League
• The word “sex” apparently appears in a cloud of dust raised by Simba when he jumps off a cliff. The
organization asked Disney to remove the videocassette from stores, after a 4-year old boy reported the
scene to his aunt.
• In order to identify the corrupt word, members of the League had to “study” the tape… saying that
although it was “iffy”, they did see the word “after running the tape back and forth.”
• Disney spokesperson Rick Rhoades responded that what seemed to be a word was nothing more than a
“perception”, arguing that company was not using any “symbolism” or “sordid imagery,” in keeping with
their goal to produce family entertainment. They announced that they had no plans to withdraw the video
tape.
• The League had also mounted a mail campaign against the film “Priest,” which was distributed by
Miramax, but owned by Disney. The film depicts gay priests.
• Miller, the head of the League, also stated that some viewers had also detected sex-related scenes in “Who
Framed Roger Rabbit”. He said in both cases it could have been an animator’s joke. “It’s known that
animators like to leave a niche, a little mark.”
SEX/SFX
• Later it was revealed that the word in the clouds was actually SFX (hidden signature of Disney's "Special
Effects" team)
Debating Screen Violence in the "New York Times"
•Pros: Catharsis – helps build a child’s emotional responses/cathartic response to real-life problems . The
New York Times review of The Lion King quotes a pediatrician in this context … “if children’s
entertainment is purged of the powerful-even tragic—moments, ‘we deprive children of the real
understanding of the cathartic and emotional potential of narrative.’” (“New York Times” review,
Rubinstein)
• Cons: Children are desensitized by an oversaturated mediascape of violence (“New York Times” review,
Rubinstein)
• The wildebeest stampede, in which Simba’s father gets trampled to death was a concern for educators
/baby-boom parents.
• Parents objected to the stampede and also the film’s themes of fratricide, guilt and treachery. These
thematic interests/anti-values (although good finally triumphs over evil) shocked parents who had come to
view Disney as ‘synonymous’ with the Golden Age “Classic Disney” themes/values [as Wasko describes
them, 114]: mainstream America; individualism; work ethic; optimism; escape, fantasy, magic,
imagination; innocence; romance, happiness; good over evil.
Debating Violence
Document Summary
Renaissance era: renaissance era (1989-1999) disney revives the art of musical fairy tale; this era is more successful commercially and critically [the lion king; little mermaid]. Intertextuality (references to other literary classics, etc. ) is a defining characteristic of disney filmic output. Interestingly, there may have been more direct inspiration a film/japanese anime classic kimba the. American history and further pollute the area disney wanted to include animatronic robots of every. Spying on nature cinematic look: the telephoto lens was often used to spy on nature from a safe distance in nature films that were shot in. The producers of lion king claim they sought to use different focal lengths to obtain a more. Intimate and varied view of africa: this is a shift away from the true-life adventures. In introducing one of the films, disney himself said. You might wonder, how do we pry into the lives of the animals? : https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=g8b1rhabexu.
