animation | St. Gallen's Scribblings

Film Review – The Lion King (1994)

Simba the Brownish Gold Lion

When I was young and carefree, I didn’t really have strong opinions on anything like most media, video games included (and I’ve been a gamer for as long as I remember), or any other media like books, movies, and television shows. In the early 1990s, I did have a slight interest in Disney’s animated films and had seen many in the theaters then, but when The Lion King came out in 1994, refused the opportunity to see it with my family when we visited my late maternal grandparents then. Since then, I hadn’t actually seen the film in its entirety to the point I could remember it, but recently watched it in full on Disney+ to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary.

The film opens with the iconic “Circle of Life” musical number and sequence where the newborn Simba, son of King Mufasa, is presented to the animal population of the Pride Lands. When Simba grows up, his father teaches him about royal responsibilities and preserving the “circle of life,” which connects all living entities. However, Mufasa hypocritically excludes the hyenas from it, with his effeminate younger brother, Scar, conspiring with them to seize the throne for himself. Some of the character names, Scar’s included, create an Aerith and Bob situation, like the main hyenas being named Shenzi, Banzai, and…Ed. Scar’s birth name, Taka, is never mentioned within the film, and a flashback in the future series The Lion Guard shows how he got his namesake facial blemish.

“When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life…but not the hyenas.”

Young Simba is a bit of a brat, and many musical numbers feel a bit excruciating, such as “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” (which steals a bit from Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”), and “Be Prepared” (sharing its name with the Boy Scout motto doesn’t help). Scar ultimately tricks his nephew into going into the middle of a gorge while having the hyenas incite a stampede of wildebeests try to kill him, which results in Mufasa rescuing him but being killed himself in the process. Simba is blamed (mostly rightfully) for killing the king, with his uncle telling him to run away, which he does.

Simba eventually encounters the vagrant meerkat Timon and the warthog Pumbaa, who teach him through song “hakuna matata,” the art of not giving a damn, which he masters into adulthood. He rescues the two from his old friend Nala, with whom he falls in love, and who tells him that the Pride Lands has become drought-stricken under Scar’s reign. The film shows no logical explanation as to exactly how they did, with starvation present as well due to the lionesses refusing to hunt, so one could count them among the real villains of the movie alongside Mufasa.

The real heroes of the film.

After a celestial visit from his father, Simba returns to the Pride Lands to confront his uncle, with the rest of the film having plenty of callbacks to the first act. Overall, The Lion King definitely has many positive aspects, including the soundtrack (with exceptions such as a few of the musical numbers), strong voice performances (including James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Jeremy Irons as Scar, and Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin as the hyenas Shenzi and Banzai), and parallels to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. However, the movie does derive elements from Osamu Tezuka’s Kimba the White Lion, and there are others issues like zero in-film explanation about the climate during Scar’s kingship. Regardless, it’s easily a bucket-list animated film, but as with many others, that’s far from synonymous with “masterpiece.”

The Good	The Bad
Hamlet, but with lions. Great voice performances. Beautiful animation. Nice ethnic soundtrack.	Some unexplained plot elements. Borrows elements from Kimba the White Lion. A few excruciating musical numbers. Toilet humor.
The Bottom Line
A must-see Disney classic, but not synonymous with “masterpiece.”

The Great Wolf Pack: A Call to Adventure

Posted on April 19 by Remy St. Gallen

I first heard about Great Wolf Lodge through several commercials and an episode of Undercover Boss (though I didn’t watch said episode completely), with the immediate attraction being the indoor water park chain’s lupine mascot Wiley Wolf, outfitted in an adorable boy scout/park ranger combination uniform. As such, I researched said company and discovered their anthropomorphic animal cast aimed at younger audiences. The characters would endure several aesthetic changes, the latest of which would star in a short movie, The Great Wolf Pack: Call to Adventure, released in 2022.

The film itself stars Wiley Wolf in his latest design as he joins friends like Sammy Squirrel, Oliver Raccoon, and others in an adventure that later involves a clash between two races with a claim to a territory. The characters are cute, the animation is fluid, the themes are relatable, and the voice performances are well-executed. However, there are issues like the general kiddy nature of the movie and lack of appeal to older audiences. Many “why” moments regarding dialogue and conversations also abound, and other oddities like Oliver having red panda parents come at the end. The theme songs during the ending credits are somewhat excruciating as well.

Still, it’s not a long film and is viewable on YouTube.

Bagi, the Monster of Mighty Nature

Posted on April 12 by Remy St. Gallen

I heard about this 1980s made-for-television anime film from a friend here on Dreamwidth; given the central role of an anthropomorphic cat-woman, I couldn’t resist. It opens in medias res with a score-old Japanese hunter, Ryosuke (or just Ryo), teaming with a South American boy, Chico (with the character costuming largely implying Mexico more than any other country), to track a monster terrorizing the countryside. Five years before, Ryo, also the son of a crime reporter father and geneticist mother, rides with his motorcycle gang and encounters a cat-woman named Bagi, a hybrid of a human and a puma.

The film relates the backstories of Bagi and Ryo’s mother, which culminates in stopping a conspiracy of scientists planning to unleash a strain of rice that can eradicate humanity, eventually returning to the present afterward. Overall, I found this a satisfying watch, even if I had to watch it in Japanese (but luckily with English subtitles), but the performances of the seiyū were superb. Given that the flaws of English voice acting are more readily apparent than those of a foreign language, this wasn’t a bad thing, and all the voices fit their respective characters. It’s on YouTube, so by all means, watch it.

The Wind in the Willows (1995)

Posted on April 8 by Remy St. Gallen

I may have heard of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows before seventh grade before I read the actual book, given its intelligent animal cast. After reading it, it remained one of my all-time favorite pieces of literature, mildly influential upon my written word. Numerous adaptations have spawned since the dawn of film and television (most on the latter), with Disney being among the earliest studios to take a crack at it by combining it with their interpretation of Washington Irving’s completely unrelated short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Among the more contemporary (sort of) adaptations is the 1995 British animated television film produced by the TVC (Television Cartoons) in London (likely defunct since nothing has come out of the studio since 2001). It opens with a live-action sequence where a Victorian woman begins to tell her children the tale, which quickly morphs into a full-fledged animated film. The story proper starts with Mole, disillusioned with spring cleaning, emerging from his underground home to meet and befriend Ratty (just called Rat in this adaptation), with both having a picnic with another river inhabitant, Otter, and his young pup, Portly.

Then they join the wealthy Mr. Toad, who takes them on a trip with his gypsy caravan, but the amphibian hastily develops a fascination with motor vehicles when one causes his carriage to crash. The following spring, Ratty, Mole, and their friend, Mr. Badger, attempt to dissuade their amphibian friend from his obsessions, but he steals and crashes a car, earning a score-long prison sentence. He ultimately escapes with the help of the jailer’s daughter, encountering various tribulations before reuniting with his companions and taking back Toad Hall when weasels seize it.

Overall, I enjoyed this adaptation, though I can’t wholly attest to its faithfulness to the source material (but it seems to do so, at least in my memory). The bookends of the Victorian woman telling her children the story seem unnecessary. However, I liked the various costumes of the animal characters, Otter in particular, and the animation was pleasant. I would gladly reread the book were I to get the time and watch its other adaptations, probably excluding the live-action ones since most seem to star humans that look nothing like the animals they allegedly play. Regardless, I don’t regret watching this film and would recommend it.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Posted on March 6 by Remy St. Gallen

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Written by Union Civil War General Lewis “Lew” Wallace, the first fictional work of literature blessed by a Roman Catholic Pope (Leo XIII), and the inspiration for numerous live-action and animated film adaptations, Ben-Hur opens with the Three Magi: Gaspar the Greek, Melchior the Hindu, and Balthasar the Egyptian, visiting the newborn Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Twenty-one years later, the Roman Messala and the titular Jewish protagonist, Judah Ben-Hur, have a rivalry, with the latter being sent to galley slavery for life after a tile from a home whence he witnesses a procession nearly kills the new procurator of Judea, Valerius Gratus.

A few years later, Ben-Hur labors as a galley slave aboard a ship commanded by Quintus Arrius, who is fascinated by the young Jew and thus adopts him as his son. In Antioch, Judah sees Messala again and yearns to rival him in a forthcoming chariot race while hearing of a Messiah speaking of a greater kingdom, not of the Earth. The race transpires, but the results are contested, with northern barbarians dispatched to kill the Jew when he finds himself in an empty palace following the games. However, a maneuver involving his falsified demise allows him to escape.

Afterward, Pontius Pilate succeeds Valerius Gratus as governor of Judea, and Ben-Hur seeks his mother and sister, who went missing after the incident that led him into slavery in the first place. He eventually meets the prophesized King of the Jews, witnessing His miracles and returning to his former palace. Throughout the book, Judah befriends Balthasar’s daughter Iras, who talks of an escaped galley slave Jew who murdered others when they reunite. Messala’s fate receives its resolution, Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus, and the Messiah is crucified, having refused the throne of His ancestor David.

While I had read this around a decade ago, it didn’t very well stick with me, but I remembered some elements. However, I enjoyed Ben-Hur more with my recent reread. The historical and geographical tidbits indicate that Wallace did his research, with the names of the Wise Men and their respective countries of origin adding nice touches. I could well relate to the themes, within and without my Christian faith, and while there were many portions I somewhat skimmed, I could still follow the central plot well. Granted, much of the dialogue is awkward, such as “Unclean, unclean!” regarding lepers, but Ben-Hur is a must-read for any Christian book enthusiast.

View all my reviews

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures

Posted on March 5 by Remy St. Gallen

Aimed at younger audiences, this animated addition to the Star Wars franchise occurs during the High Republic era, centuries before the Skywalker Saga films, focusing on fledgling Jedi younglings and beginning with six shorts that twenty-five half-hour episodes, divided into two stories each, follow. Throughout the series, the younglings repeatedly encounter a young pilot who goes by the alias Taborr Val Dorn. I highly enjoyed this series, my first exposure to any of the series content occurring in the High Republic era, and the Jedi youngling Nubs is undoubtedly one of the cutest characters in the franchise.

Home on the Range

Posted on March 1 by Remy St. Gallen

This 2004 entry to Disney’s animated film canon occurs in the Old West, with wanted cattle rustler Alameda Slim, who can lure along bovines with his hypnotic yodeling, purloining those of Dixon Ranch. The remaining cow, Maggie, is sold to a farm called Patch of Heaven. A local sheriff, Sam, informs its owner, Pearl, that she must pay back a bank in three days, or her farm will go to auction. The cows ultimately decide to pursue Slim for the reward money to save their farm, aided by their fellow farm animals and others.

I’ll admit that given the horrid titular opening theme song, Home on the Range didn’t leave a positive first impression on me. Furthermore, I don’t care for most music that features yodeling of any kind; however, a few like that during the ending credits are pleasant. The voice performances are decent, like Roseanne Barr as bovine protagonist Maggie, Cuba Gooding Jr. as Buck the horse, and Randy Quaid (aside from his singing) as Alameda Slim. Unfortunately, the writing frequently sounds awkward, and some plot beats, like Slim’s yodeling, didn’t sit well with me. Overall, this film ranks below average in my view of Disney’s animated films.

Hercules (1997)

Posted on February 16 by Remy St. Gallen

Disney’s original animated interpretation of the classic myth of Hercules opens with the songstress Muses narrating the film’s backstory in a musical style combining elements from the soul and gospel genres (and the studio back then was still mindful of DEI, even if in a different fashion), leading to the present where the gods Zeus and Hera have their titular son in Ancient Greece. Mythologically, the film fuses elements from Greek and Roman mythos, with Herc’s equivalent in the former being Heracles, but admittedly, that moniker doesn’t roll off the tongue, and deviations from the original myths abound.

While most of the gods of Mount Olympus celebrate Hercules’ birth, Zeus’ brother Hades, brilliantly portrayed by James Woods and the high point of the film, plots to overthrow the heavenly deities to rule himself. Thus, he sends his minions to kidnap the infant Herc and off him after having him ingest a potion that strips his immortality, although humans interrupt them and make them flee, leaving him with a drop of his godliness. Raised by mortals, Hercules faces estrangement for his excessive strength and discovers his destiny to rejoin the gods through heroism, with the satyr Philoctetes (or just Phil), just as memorable as Hades due to Danny DeVito’s performance, taking him on as his apprentice.

After proving his heroism in Thebes and boosting his popularity to being merchandized, Herc eventually confronts Hades and the Titans he seeks to revive while fighting for his eventual love interest, Megara (or Meg). In conclusion, this is probably one of my higher-regarded films in the Disney animated canon since I can easily relate to its themes of alienation and ostracization due to character and talent. Likewise, “Go the Distance” is an enjoyable central theme; despite what critics have said, I prefer Roger Bart’s in-movie rendition to Michael Bolton’s during the ending credits. As I mentioned, the film does take liberties with Greco-Roman mythology, but I nonetheless enjoyed it.

Zootopia+

Posted on February 12 by Remy St. Gallen

Since I reasonably enjoyed Disney’s Zootopia, I naturally watched its spinoff Disney+ series, consisting of six short side stories parallel to the film’s events. The first sees Judy Hopps’ parents try to rescue their youngest daughter among countless children, Molly, as she hitches a ride on the train that takes her older sister to Zootopia. The second sees Fru Fru the shrew participating in a reality television series while dealing with her forthcoming wedding. The third sees Duke Weaselton ponder his life choices through singing, the next one providing backstory to Mr. Big in a further nod to The Godfather. The penultimate episode features Chief Bogo and Clawhauser participating in a talent show, the last on Sam, an otter waitress, as she serves the sloth couple Flash and Priscilla. I enjoyed this mini-series overall, given its addition to the film’s events (and a few scenes from the movie are even featured); I hope the franchise mythos is explored more before the forthcoming sequel in whatever incarnations Disney decides.

The Rescuers Down Under

Posted on January 28 by Remy St. Gallen

Disney’s first theatrically-released animated film sequel opens with an Australian boy named Cody befriending Marahute, a rare golden eagle, after which he falls into a trap set by poacher Percival C. McLeach (George C. Scott’s final voice performance before he died in 1999), who holds him captive. An alert is sent to the Rescue Aid Society in New York City’s United Nations building, with agents Bernard and Bianca (Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor reprising their respective roles) on the case, the former’s marriage proposal interrupted as it is frequently throughout the film. Upon reaching the Land Down Under, the mice receive the help of the urbane hopping mouse Jake, unshy about doting on Bianca, to save Cody and Marahute.

Unlike the original film, the sequel doesn’t feature any noticeable musical numbers; however, the soundtrack fits the Australian setting, employing regular use of the digeridoo, and the voice performances are mostly solid. The animation is also colorful and fluid, rife with beautiful illumination effects and an early use of computer animation. The movie does have a few issues, like an apparent floating timeline that many contemporary animated shows like The Simpsons employ, given the brief view of computer technology. Regardless, I enjoyed it more than the original film, chiefly due to the setting, Jake, and that it has aged far better.