One of the biggest arguments on the internet among fictional writers and movie enthusiasts has been Confused Matthew’s infamous review of “The Lion King.” His hatred of this movie is legendary. If you would like to see his famous review yourself you can view it at this link. For those of you who don’t want to sit through the review, in short his argument depends on three main points.
1. Hakuna Matata is a terrible philosophy.
2. Timon and Pumba corrupt Simba.
3. Simba is a jackass in the beginning of the story.
Here are my thoughts on each:
Point 1: Hakuna Matata is a terrible philosophy.
I actually understand Matthew’s problem with Hakuna Matata. When I first saw the review a few years ago, I actually agreed with his argument. Hakuna Matata basically means what’s in the past, is past and there is no point in dwelling on it. But after further thought I realized that Jesus had said some things similar to this in scripture. So did Buddha and Gandhi for that matter.
After a lot of thought, I’ve come to believe that it’s not the philosophy that’s the problem in this story, but a matter of how it’s applied. Letting go of past mistakes (that you can’t change) is a good idea. Applying the philosophy to mean running away from your problems? Not so much.
Point 2: Timon and Pumba corrupt Simba.
I can’t really defend Timon and Pumba though. Their motivation for befriending Simba is outright stated in the movie: that they wanted a lion as a “friend” to use for their own personal gain. Then later when Nala finds Simba and they start to fall in love, all Timon and Pumba can think about how they’re losing their free meal ticket. They even make a whole Disney song out of that plot point.
Later Timon and Pumba (without any stated motivation) do decide to help Simba return to his home. This is redeeming in a way, but without explaining why they changed their position, it’s hard to really give them the benefit of the doubt. (Which, I do realize that’s what most people doing, just giving them the benefit of the doubt.) They are charming in their own way, and they are the comic relief for the film. But then so was Jar-Jar Binks, go figure. I expect that’s why most people give them this particular pass. Meh!
Point 3: Simba is a jackass in the beginning of the story
Simba’s development drives the theme of the movie. And while Matthew is correct that Simba starts off as a jerk, you see him become a very different character as the movie progresses. It must be noted that Simba is a child at the beginning of this film, and although he makes mistakes throughout the film, then learns from them.
Finally Simba takes responsibility for said mistakes. And that is the point the movie is trying to make. The conversation Simba has with Rafiki is very telling. Now that theme is botched a bit with the final scene.
Seriously, one of those lionesses really should’ve told Scar: “If he was really was responsible for Mufasa’s death, then so what? He was a kid when Mufasa died. YOU brought the Hyenas, and YOU are about to starve us all to death. I’ll go with the new guy, thank you very much.” As it’s written, the film seems to take the position that if you make mistakes as a kid — which we all have done — then that really does matter.
I do realize that, that’s not what the film was intending to say, but that really is how it comes off. Meh! It’s a kid’s movie, so that’s a minor point.
Editor’s note: There are some extra Star Trek analogies in Nidan’s post here, if you’d like to check them out!
guest
….anyone who analyzed the movie this hard was clearly not it’s target audience when it was released.
guest
The thing is whenever a protagonist is an asshole at the beginning of the plot, there’s usually a reason for it. If a character is not flawed, they can’t be a round character. Timon and Pumba were static characters and were befriending simba for their own personal gain but it was a reciprocal relationship. All friendships are. A sort of kinship is created between the three characters for solidarity. I mean, they’re animals. They teach him how to survive. They also taught him independence.
Ehh I really don’t care that much. Disney endorses a lot of concepts I don’t agree with. Ingraining sexist gender roles in the minds of young children, for one. That’s what I’m really concerned with.
guest
” Applying the philosophy to mean running away from your problems? Not so much.”
Don’t you remember when Rafiki hits Simba with a stick. The moral of that was “the past hurts, there’s nothing you can do about it,” and then Simba takes Rafiki’s stick. So you can’t dwell on the past, but face the problems you have head on and change them. (by taking the stick) That’s the whole problem Simba WAS running away but then Rafiki taught him not to so he went to his pride to face his past. (Scar and the fact he thought he murdered his father)
… I wrote too much for a comment about a cartoon. BUT STILL.
hydrangea / 59 posts
@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - RESPECT…. that was dead on. +1!
orchid / 128 posts
Hakuna Matata being a bad motto is pretty much the point in the movie. That isn’t a plothole some critic discovered, it’s a central theme in the film where Simba has to learn to take responsibility instead of running away from his problems. That goes hand in hand with the Timon and Pumba argument as well.
Also, for the third point, it wasn’t that none of the lionesses stood up for Simba but that up until the final scene everyone thought he was dead.
guest
There is a positive and negative way in looking at everything.
guest
it’s a disney movie. watch and have fun. don’t over analyze everything.
guest
I also can’t argue against point 2, BUT I do want to add that even though their motivation to be his friend was selfish, they clearly did become very good friends throughout the period of Simba growing up and they were upset because they felt Nala threatened that very close friendship. They helped him out BECAUSE they cared about him and accepted what Simba had to do.
Point 3, I have to agree. Simba was not only a kid, but he was being manipulated by his uncle. He had no sense of self yet, didn’t fully understand what was expected of him, and still needed guidance from his father to mature. Scar took away his father and used Simba’s youth and lack of self to make him run away. Back to point 2, Timon and Pumba didn’t help Simba at all in this regard, but they weren’t meant to. That was ultimately the role of Rafiki, the wise sage figure.
The Lion King follows the hero’s journey pretty closely, and all these things make sense when put into that context.
guest
I’m just throwing this out there, I know the movie word for word from beginning to end. I watched it so much as a kid growing up. Hakuna matata (as stated by the song itself) means no worries. no stresses basically. it isn’t that theres nothing you can do about your past. before they started the motto of hakuna matata timon and pumba say ‘you got to put your past behind you.’ that and hakuna matata are two different things. they just use hakuna matata to add emphasis to their lifestyle and how happy they are because they dont worry or stress about things. trying new things, trying grub which is something I’m sure he’d never thought about eating before.