Animation Source Forums

'Tis your opinion.

Ok I'm pissed off now.

TLK? Overrated?

I'm sorry, I could never call such a masterpiece 'overrated' XD I think this wonderful and majestic film deserves every ounce of it's fame and popularity. The animation is truly STUNNING; so realistic, the music is amazing, I LOVE the African feel it gives to the scenes, the songs are really enjoyable and so memorable; something truly rare in Disney classics; the characters are unforgettable and the plotline is just brilliant. And the stampede scene is perhaps the most extreme and breathtaking scene ever in an animated movie - the groundbreaking (phew, so many long words! ) the sound effects, the screams, the death...and of course there's Simba finding his father's dead body and so on.

I absoloutely love this film. I grew up with it; and very quickly learnt every song off by heart; and by now I know practically the entire script. And yes, it IS similar to Kimba. But it's because it was inspired by Kimba. And about the names being similar, Simba means 'male lion' in Swahili. ;]

But Tani and gold kitty...you 2 are seriously overreacting. This is a great topic; and it shouldn't be offensive towards you; for it's just an interesting debate on opinion. Canis Lupus honestly doesn't care what you think of Balto. And neither do I, and I am an EXTREME Balto & TLK fan. And you two are taking this so offensively when it isn't MEANT to BE offensive. So seriously; stop it and start acting more mature. Canis is 14, and she's handling your opinions extremely well. Why can't you handle her's in the same way??

And what does this topic have to do with Balto anyway?! And stop speaking about TLK and Balto fans like they're 2 different sorts of people. Us Balto fans are sure as hell allowed to come into 'your' boards (which they aren't). For some people might love both TLK AND Balto - like me. And I HATE Balto 2; but I still go in that board to share opinions. And you's have every right to come into the Balto boards as we do in the TLK boards. It's not like TLK boards are forbidden access for a certain number of people, jeez >.>

Anyways; I love this film just as much as Balto; even a little bit more than Balto. It's a timeless classic that I'll always keep close to my heart XDD

- Rebel

Short answer...no. It's not overrated.

Animation, music, characters, dialogue, voice acting, design, backgrounds...all sublime. The story is tight, well-paced, and classic, it doesn't cater too much to children at all...in short, I think The Lion King is Disney's masterpiece. While I love classic Disney films like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, I think The Lion King stands out as their most perfectly made and balanced movie, and I'm talking as a former theatre major with a lot of training behind me, not just as a fan.

Do I think it was heavily inspired by Kimba the White Lion? Yes, that's been pretty well proven. The generally accepted story is that they planned to get the rights to Kimba, went ahead with production, and were well along by the time they found out they couldn't have said rights. And...continued anyway. Frankly, Disney has FANTASTIC lawyers.

But that's kind of beside the point. Inspired by or not, it isn't a direct remake of Kimba at all, and inspiration really has nothing to do with how well it was carried out. Which is to say, just about flawlessly.

And I'm sorry, but I don't think Balto compares. It's a fine movie, I enjoy it, but the characters are often more stereotype than person, the music was decent but uninspiring, and the sidekick characters just...bugged me. While Timon and Pumbaa are integral to the plot of TLK, Balto's sidekicks are just kind of there.

As for TLK2? Hate it. Decent premise, Romeo and Juliet to go with TLK's Hamlet, but it was botched, and badly. And frankly, if you prefer TLK2 over the original, I'm going to have to consider your opinions suspect.

You have a good point. I agree that Disney were trying to get the rights to Kimba. I think that Disney loved Kimba so much that they wanted to make it part of their canon. Thanks to the connection, many LK fans have come to know and love Kimba.

And I know, my comment on liking Simba's Pride more than the original is going to seriously offend real die-hard fans of the original. But it's just my opinion. I thought it was a beautiful rendition of Romeo and Juliet, just as the original was a cool rendition of Hamlet. (my favourite Shakespeare play! ) I liked the whole message of the sequel better, about how you should accept others for who they are, regardless of appearence or heritage (much like Balto). I just don't like it how in the original Mufasa tells Simba to 'respect all creatures,' and then go off and clobber some hyenas just because they're uglier and weaker. Overall, I just find the sequel a more positive film. But that's just me.

"Positive message" doesn't mean as much to me as artistic merit, which the original film has in spades over Simba's Pride. Honestly, whoever is responsible for the song "Upendi" needs hardcore medication, or possibly just a merciful execution. Not to mention gigantic, gaping plot holes, shaky continuity, wooden characters, and an inability to stick to character designs, even the ones set by the previous movie. While I liked the concept of TLK2, it wasn't given the time, attention, and budget it needed to be a worthy sequel to what I'm still going to say is Disney's best animated classic. And Kiara certainly doesn't hold a candle to Simba or even Nala as a protagonist. The film does indeed have a positive message, but it clobbers it home with a sledgehammer, missing any subtlety.

As for Mufasa preaching tolerance and then going after the hyenas...there is definitely some history there. After all, they're not wholesale murdering or hunting hyenas, but there is definitely some sort of agreement about them not going onto the Pridelands, which Shenzi, Ed, and Banzai break. Which echoes real life friction between the species, really, since hyenas frequently kill lion cubs and vice versa. I always figured the hyena clan did something horrible and there was some sort of conflict which ended with a live and let live agreement, as long as the hyenas stuck to their territory and the lions to theirs. Seems reasonable to me, and that kind of deal-brokering is part of a king's work.

I don't think Lion King is overrated, but although i greatly admire both the art and the music (not the broadway musical spinoffs) I can't say that it is THE best thing ever that Disney has made, and I can see how it very similar to Kimba, but so can many stories. Themes touched in both movies are not specific to each, but many are universal lessons on humanity. I believe first that it was inspired by Kimba rather then that it was a total rip off. I've never seen Kimba before, but from the screenshots, I could say that Kimba isn't my thing when it comes to art direction either , and i value art direction alot.

Things I didn't like about Lion King however, was the fact that it wasn't able to hold a serious tone for a long time, and jokes had to be carelessly inserted in to make it, I don't know, "brighter?" for some people. I understand why stereotypes are used, and they are used in alot in various different forms of entertainment, because a stereotype allows an instantly recognizable image of something. And about the hyenas, yes, they are total goofs, but one cannot say it "sets the mold" for a stereotype because how many hyenas do we get to see in all the TLK movies that have developed personalities? I see only 3. Mufasa wasn't a developed enough character, but it isn't Mufasas story, he also dies, so I could imagine he might have grown as a character if he were actually alive during the later parts of it. One thing I do find essential about Mufasa is he certainly allows Simba to find his own identity as well as give him a driving force to kill Scar.

And to all those telling this topic to be locked, give yourselves a break. Noone is being hurt by this topic, and people who think people are coming in to flame must be expecting it so much they imagine it because the topic from my view is just fine. This has nothing to do with Balto anyway. I do realize that it is a Balto website predominantly, but theres also a part of it that is a Lion King website. Although, it seems it's quite difficult to accept differing opinions.

I picked "OMG, no way!"
I noticed how popular Lion king is, but I believe it deserves all of that.

Excuse me? Just because you don't go on it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It is parochial for you to say that the just because you only go to one place, makes that the only place on the site.

I don't go on TLK that often,and find neither it,or Balto Source to be overrated.

The Lion King is my favourite film over Balto actually, although they are my two favourite films. Personally, I don't think that taking elements from other shows/films or whatever contributes to making a film overrated. I personally can't see much wrong with it. I can't say I've ever felt sorry for Scar, except for the way he died, not nice. Most people seem to have forgotten about the film unless they're a big fan of it. Truth be told I'm not keen on The Lion King II. The animation isn't as nice and Simba's a bit of a jerk. Much as I love Balto, I do think the "lack of publicity" and "The Lion King's a Disney film, therefore it got more publicity than Balto" thing is wearing a little thin.

But at the end of the day, who cares? The Lion King and Balto are both good movies, everyone has their favourites, everybody has their opinions. Personally, I like having to explain about Balto to people when I say it's one of my favourite films, but that's just me.