#32: Look Harder

The Lion King, 1994
watched April 15, 2012

If Aladdin was the film that began my love for Disney, then The Lion King cemented it. This movie is everything I love best about Disney: artistic, funny, scary, sad, and memorable. And to top it off there are adorable baby animals. (If you didn't "awww" at the first glimpse of baby Simba, I'm not sure we can be friends.)

Rather than fully adapting a single story, The Lion King combines various narratives found in literature and history. It is a form of storytelling unique to Disney that succeeded, as The Lion King remains the highest grossing Disney animated feature both in the box office and home video/DVD sales.

First, LK bears a strong resemblance to another Disney classic: a coming of age tale featuring a young prince, whose birth to the monarch of the forest (pride land) is witnessed by the entire animal kingdom. After losing a parent at a young age, he grows up and learns the ways of the world, joined by his two buddies and childhood sweetheart.

In addition, the film borrows from Shakespeare's Hamlet (an acknowledged source): A jealous brother kills the king and drives away the heir to assume power. The king's ghost later visits his heir.

Simba also reminds me of one of my favorite Bible characters, Joseph. As a naive child, he can't wait to possess the power that he knows will be his some day. But a jealous relative sends him to a place where he is "good as dead," and he spends years wondering if he will ever become who he was meant to be.

There's one more parallel. We don't fully recognize it until we hear the voice of Mufasa coming from the sky: "You are my son, and the one true king." Sound familiar?

The Lion King stands as Disney's most successful animated movie partially due to its loud echo of the Ultimate Story, the story that is the very heartbeat of humanity. Simba symbolizes the "chosen one," destined to be king and to carry on the "circle of life" that his father set in place. He's the one on whom all hope rests.

While Simba is a shadow of the One who restored our world, he also holds a mirror to those of us who believe in Him. Because unlike the Son of God, the son of Mufasa is reluctant and afraid. For years, Simba hides, reinventing himself as a carefree, bug-eating friend of warthogs and meerkats. But he never completely evades his true purpose.

And doesn't this sound familiar too? Our calling to live for Him seems a daunting task. We face doubt, fear and remorse over past mistakes. We try to escape or go the easy route.

During Simba's identity crisis, a wise baboon helps him look harder. And what he sees is power and courage, coming from the one who lives in him. As he embraces this indwelt life source, triumph is achieved. The enemy is defeated. A desecrated kingdom is restored.

Likewise, in us lives the one whose power makes our weakness strong, and whose sovereignty makes our failures succeed. When we look harder, we see him, and we triumph.

Menken & Ashman saved Disney

Howard Ashman (lyricist) and Alan Menken (composer) collaborated on three of the best Disney films of all time. It could be argued that they single-handedly revived Disney animation. Here's my post dedicated to them and their music.

The Little Mermaid
It was Howard Ashman's suggestion that Sebastian be changed from an uptight British butler-type, to a Rastafarian reggae-singing crab. And what a change that made! The Caribbean feel of the music is what makes TLM so fun and memorable. And Sebastian totally steals the show, with Under the Sea - hands-down (fins-down?) winner for most fish-related puns ever to be contained within one song, (not to mention a little thing called an Academy Award), and Kiss the Girl, which has one of the best intro lines ever: "Percussion! Strings! Winds! Woooords."


Also awesome: Les Poissons, the completely random yet completely appropriate French Chef Louie's ode to fish. It's one of the most hilarious scenes in the whole film, and perhaps in all Disney movies. "Perfection!" (said in a French accent, of course!)


I'd also like to mention the villain's song, Poor Unfortunate Souls. Ursula makes us realize that it's possible to be both fabulous and terrifying at the same time. Her drag queen-esque diva attitude is perfectly portrayed in this song, especially when she's shaking her octopus butt and singing about the importance of body language!

Beauty & the Beast
I've already written an entire post about B&B's music, so there's not much left to say. I do think it's significant that this was the first Disney animated movie ever to be adapted to a Broadway musical. The strength and format of its songs largely contribute to its success on the stage. The opening song, Belle, is the perfect ensemble number. Also, it's one of the rare Renaissance movies where all major characters have a singing part, and the last film until The Princess and the Frog in 2009 for which all the speaking and singing voices are the same for each character.

Aladdin
If you haven't guessed by now, my all-time favorite Disney song is A Whole New World. It was my fifth grade class program's closing number, and I've loved it ever since. In my humble opinion, this is Menken and Ashman's most brilliant work and the height of Disney music. Not only does the song capture the romantic mood of this scene, it's also extremely fun and an awesome duet. Some day I'll find the right singing partner for this song.:D


Let's not forget Robin Williams' portrayal of Genie, highlighted by Friend Like Me, who my friend Cindy has now ruined due to pointing out its suggestive tone ("Mr. Aladdin, sir, what will your pleasure be?"). Just kidding. But there are parts of it that are sung so fast I still can't sing along. Prince Ali shows Genie's over-the-top generosity when it comes to granting wishes. He doesn't just make Aladdin a prince, he goes all out. Parade, monkeys, peacocks, everything! Random trivia question: How many times does Genie transform during this song?


With Ashman and Menken's broadway background, these songs flow seamlessly in and out of the stories of these films. It would be hard to imagine the stories without them. They have the perfect blend of memorable melodies and witty lyrics.

I dare you to listen to one or all of these songs and not be tempted to break out singing. Or dancing. Or both. Oh crap, now you know what I do when I'm home alone.

What's your favorite Menken/Ashman song?

Fashion Update #4.2: Aladdin

Here's part two of Aladdin fashion!

Magic Carpet: My friend Grete complained that I wasn't wearing anything patterned, but in my defense, I didn't have anything that was patterned AND the right color. Also, I think a rectangular purple dress is pretty appropriate for this look! My brown/gold shrug and dangly earrings were my interpretation of the tassels.

Jafar: hahaha, this picture of me is ridiculous. Now you know why I always smile in pictures. Anyway, so I have this long gray sweater that I used to wear back when long sweaters were in. This is the first time I've worn it since college probably. It's the most cloak-like thing I own. My turquoise necklace is an interpretation of the "mystic blue diamond" that Jafar steals from the Sultan.

Iago: Alright, the red sweater is new, and so are the orange earrings. I have plans to wear them again for other characters though (remember how I only had one red shirt?). So I didn't buy them just for this one outfit! I was pretty excited to wear my bright blue Toms, which work so well to mimic Iago's blue feathers.

Cameo appearance by my friend and guest blogger Abi, with whom I matched that day. Check out her blog at: offthefrontporch.wordpress.com.

Disney Princess Week

I'm a little disappointed I missed the opportunity to blog during most of Disney Princess Week. But there are still two days left, so I thought I'd share some of the more interesting or funny princess-related things I've found or that I've been sent since this whole Disnerd project began.

Princesses as Sailor Scouts

photo credit: findlaydonnan.wordpress.com

If you aren't familiar with Sailor Moon and pals, then you may not get why this is pretty much the coolest thing ever. Especially because I was a huge Sailor Moon fan in 8th grade, and because my favorite scout, Sailor Mercury, is depicted as Mulan!

"Real" Disney Princesses (& other female characters)

photo credit: jirkavinse.wordpress.com

I find these illustrations very intriguing because they make you realize how caricatured these female characters are. Which, to be fair, makes sense, considering they are drawings. Still though, just because the original characters are drawn doesn't mean they have nothing to say about body image. I find it particularly interesting that the faces which look most different from the cartoon versions are Mulan, the only Asian/Chinese girl, and Tiana, the only Black girl.

Princesses in period garb

photo credit: Claire Hummel at shoomlah.com

Thank you to Veronica for sending me this! These really cool illustrations depicting the princesses in more intricately styled clothing (and more cleavage, in some cases) make me a little jealous. Not because of the cleavage, but because I lack illustration skills!

Princesses as villains

I apologize to whoever created this; I cannot remember where I found it.

This was a great idea. I think Pocahontas as Governor Ratcliffe looks the most ridiculous. And Aurora as Malificent looks rather fabulous, actually. We're just missing Tiana as Dr. Facilier and Rapunzel as Mother Gothel. I'll bet that means this is a few years old.

Hipster princesses

thanks to Liz, Stacey and a few others I can't remember who sent me this. I don't know its origin.

Apparently there's this whole hipster princesses movement that I was unaware of! I guess I could say I was a Disnerd, before it was even a term. So does that make me a Disney hipster?  For more Disney princess hipster memes, check out the original Little Mermaid ones, and another collection of even more.

photo credit: viria13.deviantart.com

Here's one more hipster princess illustration. I'm kind of loving Snow White and Tiana's outfits. Also, did you spot the one non-Disney princess? Thanks to the friends (sorry I can't remember who) who sent me this.

Disney Housewives


Lastly, a Saturday Night Live video sketch. It's hilarious. Enough said. Thanks to Pete for sending it!

The Disnerd will return

I'm taking a week off from blogging due to some personal stuff I need to attend to. You know you'll miss me. Admit it.

In the mean time, don't forget to vote for your favorite Renaissance movie (I can't believe there are no votes for Aladdin yet!). Now would also be a good time to catch up on reviews, if you've missed any.

See you in about a week!

Fashion Update #4.1: Aladdin

I had a record six outfits this week, so I'll be posting them in two batches. Here's part one!

Aladdin: This was by far the most casual look I've done yet. He is, after all, a street rat. I seem to have misplaced my MC Hammer pants, so my gray jersey gauchos were as close as I could get. Also my fez went missing, so the red headband made another appearance. hehe.

Jasmine: This is what I call "business" Jasmine (not to be confused with "Business Time" Jasmine..ahem.) At work I wore a black sweater over the tank top. My favorite part about this outfit are my earrings, which look pretty much exactly like the jewel in her headband. The slippers don't have much to do with her look, but I felt like they went with the outfit. (I really want to get a pair of those cool curly-toed shoes!)

Genie: Question: How many shades of blue can you wear in one outfit? Answer: At least four. :P I'm not sure I would wear the light blue sweater over the royal blue shirt again. But for this purpose, it worked.

Stay tuned for Magic Carpet, Jafar and Iago!

#31: Flying Free

Aladdin, 1992
watched April 8, 2012

You might say my love of Disney animated movies began the first time I saw Aladdin, Abu and the Magic Carpet race through the Cave of Wonders, trying to escape waves of exploding lava. I remember thinking, Wow, this is amazing! I feel like I'm flying! It was a completely new sensation, and I was convinced it was the best thing ever.

I was 10 when my dad brought my siblings and me to see Aladdin, our very first movie at the theater, on a Saturday afternoon while my mom was at work. And it's been a twenty-year long love affair with the magic and adventure of Disney ever since.



  The larger critical mass of guys at my Disney nights means frequent commentary about the difficulty of certain video game levels. Apparently the Cave of Wonders level is super hard.
Like so many Renaissance movies, central to this film is the main character's quest to achieve his dream. Outwardly, Aladdin would describe his dream as "winning the heart of a beautiful princess." But in reality, this story is about a journey of identity.

Early on, the reprise of "One Jump Ahead" reveals Aladdin's dislike of being defined by his social class. "If only they'd look closer," people would know that he's much more than just a poor orphan boy. And, though most of us are not orphans, or poor, we know what it feels like to be labeled and put in a box, and to long to be truly known.

Aladdin's qualities are highlighted when he encounters Genie. At the opportunity to be granted a wish (or three), he does the unconventional, asking Genie what he would wish for. Learning of Genie's imprisonment, Aladdin promises to use his third wish to set him free. No one but a "diamond in the rough" would make such a generous offer.

At the same time, however, Aladdin's perception of what makes him worthy becomes muddled as he uses his first wish to transform into the handsome, wealthy Prince Ali (although, okay, let's just admit it: he was already handsome to begin with). No longer looked down upon, he realizes he enjoys the perks that come along with being a prince. Suddenly the "labels" that bothered him so much as a street rat seem to work to his advantage with his newly advanced status.

And so, it's no wonder that when he finally wins Jasmine's affection, he is left feeling empty and confused. He gets exactly what he wants, and yet remains unhappy. Retracting his promise to Genie, Aladdin hopelessly holds onto what he thinks makes him worth Jasmine's love. As a result, he not only begins an avalanche of disasters for himself and all of Agrabah, but his reputation for being an honest, good person is called into question.

Most of us fall somewhere between street rat and prince, and yet we, too, cling to that which we think will make us special, important, valued. It's usually something easily seen: our success, material possessions, charisma, or looks. As much as we don't like labels, we subconsciously reenforce them by living as if they were the most important aspects of ourselves. I've never seen this more truly in my life than this year as I've unabashedly embraced my identity as "The Disnerd."

It takes Aladdin a trip to the frozen ends of the earth and a battle with a twisted, evil snake to realize that what makes him worthy is something that he already has. When he finally understands who he is, who has been all along, then there is real freedom. Not only for Genie, but for himself as well. Living in that freedom is probably a lot like flying on a Magic Carpet. And I know what that's like.