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gemsofgreece · 2 years ago

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10 best animated movies to watch in Greek

One of the best ways to practice a language is by watching a movie. Even more so, watching an animated movie dubbed in your target language can be really fun and useful, as these movies tend to include jokes (even inside jokes specific to the language) and songs. So, without further ado, here is my personal list of 10 best animated movies to watch in Greek.

10. Shrek 2

The reason I am recommending Shrek 2 instead of Shrek is just because I have the - maybe not standard, but certainly not unpopular - opinion that Sherk 2 is overall a funnier movie than Shrek. The Greek dub maintains successfully all the witty and somewhat adult-oriented humour. The voice casting done for characters like Donkey, Puss in Boots and Gingy is memorable and accurate.

9. Lion King

The voice casting is really good. Adult Simba has a sympathetic voice, Mufasa has a superb kingly radio voice, the hyenas are hysterical, Zazu is funny too, Nala's voice is warm and womanly. I also love Scar's voice. Scar has a sinister voice but it's a weaker, not as “thick” a voice as Mufasa’s, just like Scar relied on the evilness of his mind and not his muscles. Timon and Pumba's dub is iconic. Greek Can you feel the love and Be Prepared are fantastic versions of the songs. And Greek Mufasa just steals every scene vocally, especially those when he appears in Simba's memory.

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8. Monsters INC

Another amazing voice casting for all characters but we all (Greeks) know that this is one man's show. Christos Hatzipanayotis just KILLS it as Mike Wazowski. I believe Greek Wazowski is much funnier than the original. Also let's remember "Fovízume yatí sas frondízume" lol the Greek "We scare because we care (for you)"

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7. Finding Nemo

This dub did something special with the casting. It casted as Marlin and Dory two actors that had already worked together in a super famous comedy series as a couple. As a result, their chemistry is off the roof and Dimitra Papadopoulou's voice is incredibly accurate for Dory's character. Dory's whale language is hysterical and I also love the incredibly relaxed voice actor they found for that turtle reincarnation of Bob Marley. All other casting is good too, except I want to slap the extremely nasal Nemo.

6. Sleeping Beauty

Although I love this movie dearly and I really like its Greek version, I actually place it that high because I have found it to be really popular with foreign people. Some say they like Aurora's song better in Greek, which I find interesting as I really love the original. It is surely a masterful work though. It is an old movie and the Greek actors speak more elegantly, more sophisticatedly like people tended to, back then. The voices suit properly an aethereal princess and her dreamy prince, the fairies have these warm, elderly, ladylike voices and Maleficent also is imposing and very cold.

5. Aristocats

This is a perfect example where it is clear that both the voice casting directors and the actors worked their asses off. Every actor chosen is simply ideal for their character, including the kittens, Edgar the evil servant, the diva, the super SUPER old lawyer, the tomcats, Lady is so prim and proper, Uncle Waldo and the goose nieces with their Britsh accent Greek lol BUT. I have no idea how it dawned on them to make the dog couple have a comedic Heptanesian island accent but whoever that was, they were a bloody genius. Not only it's impeccably performed, it's twice as hilarious when you see them in an old Parisian environment speaking some really strong Heptanesian out of nowhere. The dogs in the original do not have any particularly heavy accent to my understanding, so if you watch the original after you have watched the Greek, you won't even understand they are supposed to be funny. I love that the Greek directors took the uneventful speech of the dogs and were like "Clearly, we 're gonna make them speak extreme Heptanesian" XD

4. Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron

Spirit has mostly narration and songs, it has very few dialogues. Its songs are amazing though and they really make a difference in the movie. In the Greek dub, both the narrating and singing role was given to singer - actor Yannis Savvidakis who is very talented. Not only he performed those songs wonderfully but I liked how well it maintained the feel of rock ballads coming from America, despite being sung in a language from a place that has nothing to do with any of this.

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3. The Emperor's New Groove

Okay, we reached the Golden Triad. The Emperor's New Groove is, simply put, the best Disney comedy to date. If we consider that the Greek version is funnier than the original, as I strongly believe, you get a comedy for the ages. The voice casting is PERFECT. Every voice chosen is like it was created for the character, the characters get life and personality through the vocal performances. Kuzco sounds blasé, egocentric, sarcastic and you want to slap him silly, Kronk sounds like a soft dumbass himbo which is what he is, Pacha is your everyday good-hearted peasant, Yzma is killing it as the old ambitious narcissist. The humour is awesome and tranferred ideally into Greek comedy. It just works on every level. I can't explain it more, it's just perfect. While this movie is unfairly obscure and underrated on a global level, in Greece it was a hit and people still remember quotes by heart, exactly beause the dub was so god-tier level.

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Okay. The dub of dubs. The Dub of Notre Dame. Seriously, this is a masterpiece on every aspect. Again, this is better than the original. Esmeralda has a sensual, really beautiful speaking voice and an outstanding singing one (Alcestis Protopsalti y'all), Frollo has an ideal casting in that he sounds like a bad person but in a totally realistic way (as he is also a very realistic villain) and he sounds so very sophisticated, very elegant. Sinister and elegant, which makes total sense as in the Disney version he is the supreme justice minister of Paris. Quasimodo is voiced by Sakis Rouvas (a sexy singer with a soft voice), who a few found like a somewhat odd pairing but it works perfectly since Disney's Quasimodo is soft, sensitive and considerably sophisticated as well. Clopin's singing is done by tenor Konstantinos Paliatsaras. The songs in the Greek version are in my opinion better performed than in English. Hellfire is quite possibly the most loved villain song in Greece. A small example to understand the level of perfection; the intro song "Bells of Notre Dame" has an extremely difficult ending note that only a few versions globally managed to hit. Even the original singer struggles with the note, he hits it but a little weakly, he is very supported and almost covered by backing vocals. In other versions, even this is not possible at all and singers just skip the note. The Greek version by Paliatsaras is one of the very few where the note is hit correctly, he essentially rips it apart, but I think it is also the only version (unless something escapes me) where the lyrics were different in a way that it made a difference to the singing. All versions I have heard are a variation of the original "bells, bells, bells, bells" which prepares the crescendo / raise of the pitch and then, "of notre DAAAAAME". Greek is the only version I have listened to where a full sentence is delivered effortlessly, without a repetition of "bells". "Ke ihún pandú kambánes stin karthyá tis panaYAAAAAS". It's a full sentence instead of a convenient one-syllable word over and over. Of course, it had to be done because the word for bells in Greek (kambánes) wouldn't work but it still was a harder thing to deliver than the repetition and it was accomplished even better. Okay, in short, Oscar worthy dub. Perfect in every way. I am in love with it, you can tell. The only reason it is not first is because the first spot had to be saved for the obvious one.

1. Hercules

The obvious first spot. Of course, it doesn't take it without deserving it. Greeks really made sure to give this one even more attention to detail. So, it doesn't only feel like it's natural, it also IS the most natural one, as contemporary languages go. All voice casting is once more ideal. Hercules, or Heracles as he is of course in Greek, has a sensitive, warm, sympathetic voice. They did a great thing with Megara when they gave the role to Evridiki who has a more mature, seasoned voice which fits Megara's character and not like a girly, princessy, out-of-place voice. Famous comedian Lakis Lazopoulos steals the show in all his scenes and they are MANY, since he plays Philoktetes and Pain AND Panic, all three of them! But he can't steal the scenes where Hades is in, as Konstantinos Tzoumas is in reality the big star of the movie. First and foremost, you watch this movie for Hades. One more fantastic detail in my opinion is what they did with the Muses. So you know, the original movie Muses are singing a liberal style of American gospel. Instead of ditching it as unfitting and entirely inaccurate, the Greek directors played along with it. Most notably, one of the Muses is voiced by Julie Massino, a vocal coach and singer born and raised in the US (I don't know if she has Greek descent) who lives and works in Greece, so she has a natural and strong American accent in her Greek! I just found this so cool. It is a really cool dub. They knew the stakes were very high and they delivered down to the very last detail.

*We really had to title this: Heracles - Beyond the Myth...!

#greek #greece #disney #movies #dubbing #list #movie rec #opinion #greek facts #Youtube #long post #tw long post

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starlover2 · 5 months ago

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More HCS because my FOP hyperfixation kicked into overdrive

Re-names Schnozmo's actual name is Sagittarius in my au, Anti-Schnozmo's name is Oberon(No way in hell am I typing out the name backwards) Blonda's actual name is Wendy Bc Wendy and Wanda sound great together Goldie Goldenglow's new name is Amber Sunsprite, I don't like the og name so

More Orion/Omsoc

Orion and Oberon's relationship is like Mufasa and Scar, like "Oh I should practice my curtsy.." "Do not turn your back on me, Oberon!" "OH no Orion. Maybe you shouldn't your back on me" Furious cat growling and hissing "IS THAT A CHALLENGE?" "Temper, temper.. I wouldn't dream of challenging you"

Since regular Schnoz/Sagittarius is an evil conman with a fake nemesis, I pretty much went: What if Oberon is also an evil conman but is actually a threat and has enemies Oberon actually tried to kill Orion via hitmen multiple times and Orion has scars bc of them. And he knows its his brother behind them Oberon thinks Irep is the only good thing to come from Orion bc the little shit caused so much chaos the day he was born Irep on the other hand hates him

Orion is not only the king of the dark fae but also a historian. And he searched every nook and cranny to restore any dark fae history that was unbiased and thought to be lost to time Once he was able to restore enough of it, he decided to teach the next generation of dark fae himself, and it obviously includes his son And unlike Ms. Powers, Orion makes sure his son feels included Irep He eventually warmed up to the idea of taking over the Realm of the Fae as a family, and his father making him feel included contributed to that

#fop schnozmo #fop anti cosmo #fop irep #fop blonda #fop goldie goldenglow #anti cosmo #irep #blonda fairywinkle #goldie goldenglow #schnozmo cosma #fop headcanon

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my-book-list · 11 months ago

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When the Lights Go Out

Two races later, in Spain, Harry and Louis are racing in P4 and P5 during lap 35. Harry is using the turn to pass, sneaking past Louis as he takes the turn slightly wider. Louis cuts in as they go around the curve, and Harry is forced off the track as he pulls ahead and takes P4 from Louis. He pulls away from Louis during the second half of the lap, until he hears from the team radio during lap 36. “Harry, you have to give the position back.” “What?!” “You were not ahead at the peak of the turn, so going off the track was illegal to do while passing” Steffan says. “That’s bullshit,” Harry says. Aston Martin must have challenged his pass. “We have to give it back.” Harry does, but he isn’t happy about it. After the race, Harry stays after his press conference with Max to hover and watch the next one, which includes Louis. “You seemed pretty outraged by Harry’s pass,” a Dutch reporter asks. Harry mentally makes a note to seek out the footage from Louis’s team radio from the race. “At that moment, were you confident that it wasn’t legal?” “Immediately yes, I was ahead at the peak and knew it wasn’t right.” Harry doesn’t wait to watch the rest of the press conference and leaves. The incidents continue, small altercations during the races that are building up more and more. When Harry is set to win his first ever grand prix in Canada, Louis’s car breaks down and he doesn’t move it off the track before the power unit fully dies. Between these aggravations on track, and Harry’s persistent crush on Louis, he finds himself less and less confident of how he should act around the other driver. While they used to celebrate after races and run in the same circles, Harry now hangs out with Niall alone. Louis does the same.

“If you can’t take the heat, then get out of the kitchen.”

“Driving is your fuckin’ job, act like it.” on ao3 by @antidotetogo

79k

#ao3 feed larry #larry fanfiction #larry fic #formula 1 #f1 au #enemies to lovers #Spotify

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artist-issues · 3 months ago

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Mufasa Re-Do: Sarabi

So! I thought that the good thing about Sarabi in the new movie was:

She is characterized as not believing anyone can help her, and not believing anybody will accept help from herself. She has to learn to ask for help and risk helping others.

She sees what’s special about Mufasa and clues him into it—he’s the one she learns trust from, and she’s the one who kickstarts his confidence.

But! The characterizations were incomplete. Like I said in the Zazu post: for “romantic tension” and “Grrrl Power” she is introduced in a scene where she bizarrely trusts and accepts help from Zazu. A 1lb-bird. Even though her whole characterization is supposed to be “other animals can’t help me” and “I can do everything myself.”

So that’s Problem 1. Problems 2 and 3 that were going to solve are:

2. Sarabi Feels Out-of-Place in the Conflict - Sarabi seems to have no real reason to be in the movie aside from being the love interest of Taka and Mufasa. She got her pride scattered by the bad guys, but that never really matters later. She, Taka, and Mufasa never even have conversations where they bond over shared loss, and she has no interactions with the villain until the final battle.

3. Sarabi Isn’t Believable As Taka’s Motivation - If Sarabi is going to be the reason Taka turns bitter, feels a chip on his shoulder for the rest of his life, and ultimately believes Mufasa not only stole his girlfriend, but his “WHOLE DESTINY”…then Sarabi needs to actually be connected to his “destiny.” And we need to know why Taka even likes her.

So! Let’s kill two birds with one stone. Now, Sarabi has a Reputation. And, the way she is introduced gives us more background on her, plus more show-not-tell time with our villain. Let me show you:

Sarabi, the Sunset Princess

Sarabi is known in the “Valley of Kings.” Her name gets passed around because she’s an exemplary huntress as well as royalty. She’s also stunningly beautiful, you know, by lion standards. She’s like the complete package. And she knows it. Her “I don’t need anybody’s help” vibe comes from that confidence, that “I’m at the top of the food chain, I’m the greatest huntress in this valley, and nobody needs to give me anything.”

But! The thing that makes Sarabi attractive to both Taka and our Villain is just that—she’d make an excellent trophy. That’s what Taka really wants. He has just lost his own kingdom and heritage—when he meets Sarabi, having her on his arm would gain him the respect of any new would-be subjects.

Of course, he can also believe she’s beautiful and be attracted to her, too. It doesn’t have to be all-shallow. But, remember, Taka is genuinely all about himself. He eventually turns into Scar, a character who only sees the world through a lens of “How Does This Orbit Around Me, and How I Want to Be Seen?”

So he would never just be interested in Sarabi because she breathes and is a pretty lioness. He would be interested because who else would perfectly match the Magnificent Prince Taka? He wants to be “seen for the wonder” he is. He wants Sarabi, The Sunset Princess, to be the first one to do that.

And he’s not the only one!

How Sarabi is Introduced:

After our villain is alluded to (more on that in the Villain Post) by a refugee-herd of wildebeest, we follow their trail back to the land they’re fleeing. It’s Sarabi’s father’s territory.

Our villain is seen laying on top of the carcass of an entire elephant, while already chewing the leg of a zebra. He’s surrounded by his gang of hungry-looking lionesses who are noticeably not eating. They’re all standing on guard over the members of Sarabi’s pride—who have been defeated. Our Villain is gloating to these unfortunate lions about how everything in their land already belonged to him—they just didn’t know it until now. Just like how all of the Savannah belongs to lions, and every animal will learn it sooner or later. He’s telling them they still have a choice: join him or join the pile of bones he leaves behind.

Enter Sarabi! She’s hauled forward by the Villain’s lackeys, a bristling ball of fury. The bad guy can say some overdramaric, kind of creepy line, like, “Finally, I get to meet the famous Sarabi! I hear you’re called the Sunset Princess. Tell me, is that because you really can time a kill just as the sun is going down…or is it because of the color of those eyes?”

She just snarls. He just recently killed her father in an unfair fight, and he’s clearly over-hunting the territory he’s stolen. He moves on to mentioning all the things I said above—how she should be at his side, because of how great and powerful he is, and how it would actually be better for the lions he conquers, because they’d follow her without resistance. It’s setting up the power that would come with being Sarabi’s King, which foreshadows Taka’s disappointment when she doesn’t choose him.

Sarabi, of course, refuses and escapes—she almost doesn’t, but her pride sisters slow her pursuers down, and Zazu flaps in out of nowhere claiming to be her escort sent from her father.

Then when Zazu’s loud mouth attracts hungry refugees Taka and Mufasa, Sarabi has a reason to be prickly. She’s feeling weirdly guilty that her father and her pride sisters gave her her best chance to escape—and she’s covering that up with resentment toward them “they didn’t need to help me, I can take care of myself.” And she’s taking a lot of that out on Zazu, who won’t leave her alone or stop reminding her that her late father’s last decree was for a little hornbill to warn her about the Villain.

Taka sees how pretty Sarabi is and pounces on Zazu immediately, kind of to make an entrance. Zazu insists he can’t be eaten—Sarabi tells him to shut up, but he’s not listening to her—because what kind of ruffian would dare eat the Escort of the Sunset Princess?

Taka is immediately impressed, because he’s heard of the Sunset Princess. So that further solidifies and sets up why he likes her. From there, Sarabi does decide to travel with them…but only because Rafiki shows up and outlines a land where they can seek shelter from the Villain under the rule of the Great Kings.

Sarabi & Taka

Sarabi initially seems warmer toward Taka than she does Mufasa. This is because Taka flatters her reputation right off the bat—he says, “this is THE Sunset Princess!” And offers charming sympathy for the loss of her kingdom, since he just lost his own, too.

That’s contrasted with Mufasa, who’s like, “what’s a Sunset Princess?” And Taka scoffs at him and rolls his eyes and says, “you must forgive my brother, he’s not of royal blood like us, he doesn’t keep up with the heights of the food chain.” And he rattles off how Sarabi is the most feared Huntress in the Valley of Kings, making Sunset a time of terror for all the herds.

Mufasa acts a little amused—he’s a humble guy, he’s always sort of shrugged off pomp and ceremony whenever Taka waxes on about it—and Sarabi takes this the wrong way and immediately demonstrated her skill by tracking nearby prey. This turns out to be Rafiki, kind of like in the Movie We Got, which is how he’s introduced. But suffice to say, Sarabi and Taka get off on the right foot.

When Zazu tries to “defend” Sarabi from danger and winds up leading the Villains right to them, Taka kind of helps heap the blame on the little bird, and is indirectly the reason Sarabi shouts at and has a falling out with Zazu. Then Taka makes pretense to comfort her after their narrow escape, while Mufasa tries to understand how to make peace between her and the bird by talking to Rafiki. So it seems like Taka and Sarabi are actually closer at the beginning of this remake.

However, it becomes increasingly clear, as Sarabi learns what a Great King is like, that Taka doesn’t exemplify those traits. While they bond initially over their shared annoyance toward Zazu and shared pride, the turning point comes when Mufasa saves her from the elephant stampede (like in the Movie We Got.)

Sarabi & Mufasa

And he saves her by listening to Zazu, even after Zazu’s big mistake, then getting the elephants to divert their path. Even though Sarabi caused the stampede by believing no elephant would ever help a lion.

So that’s a big gut-check for Sarabi’s way of thinking, and she does owe Mufasa. From there, she definitely does begin admiring Mufasa for the traits she sees lining up between him and the Great Kings.

I’ll add more to this later—when I talk about how I’d re-do the climax!

#Sarabi #the lion king Sarabi #Sarabi Mufasa #the lion king #Mufasa 2024 #Mufasa #fanart #tlk fanart #Tlk fandom #re-do #Mufasa: Re-Do #fix it #au #lions #Disney

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breserker · 8 months ago

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my writing advice for the day is to re-evaluate instances of using "nearly, almost, practically" in your sentences. save them for things that don't actually happen, in particular things that have no debate over happening or not. you cannot un-crack an egg for example, so you can almost do so, or practically break the eggs on the way home from work, or nearly do so.

but if you got like, "he ran, practically sprinted" what you want is either "he sprinted" or "he jogged". my guess is you want the former, and the reason for nixing "practically" is that practically bloats the snappy tension. that's it, really; especially in a moment where sprinting would be understandable (a medical emergency, a vase falling, stampede, in the gorge, simba's down there) you don't want something fluffing your tension with an extra word for the reader to pass over especially one that may instill doubt or debate over what action is being taken. ok they're running, but not sprinting? is it that much of an emergency? must not be.

"Mufasa ran, practically sprinted to the gorge"

vs.

"Mufasa sprinted to the gorge"

and chewing on how those two sentences differ despite getting the same information across.

and i'm saying this because i do this all the fuckin time and i have to nix it from my drafts and all that, this is as much a bonk on my head as anyone's.

postscript: if you think of what you're writing in a visual manner, literally turning the words and sentences into a visual affair (how they look, the amount and shape of the words as strokes of paint on a canvas), the shorter snappier strokes can speed up the feeling of reading it (if we're going with the sprinting example above). does that make sense? it's not something you Have to take into account but if it helps it helps.

#writing advice #but don't take my word for it #try it out yourself and then read it to a friend or some shit #anyway figure out what's best for you and the draft #always

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 7 days ago

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And again! Weekend box office.

One princess stumbles, another one rises. PRINCESS MONONOKE saw a re-release - in a new 4K restoration - this weekend, taking in an estimated $4m and landing at #6 on the boards. More to add to the film's $170m+ worldwide total that largely consists of its original Japanese bow in 1997. Everything else is probably the original American release in 1999, followed by multiple re-issues/Ghibli Fest screenings here.

The next animated movie down is out of the Top 10, DOG MAN fell a solid 42% to #13. At $97m, it might still have some juice left for $100m domestically. MINECRAFT will probably cut into its showtimes, so it may just miss it, maybe not. Worldwide, it's at $131m. Good boy!

Right below is THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP. Losing over a thousand cinemas, the film unsurprisingly fell a sharp 62%. It's at $8m here and $10m everywhere. The not-great-quality theater 5min away from me still has it, the nearest decent theater is a half hour away from me and only shows it once a morning. That's how I know it's on its way out. Literally just squeezing every last dollar to make the double-digits. I still wonder how it would've done had it come out in February. Maybe about the same, given that Ketchup could only do what they could in marketing it, but I'd like to think having more ground before SNOW WHITE and MINECRAFT would've helped a little bit.

MUFASA is in the Top 20 still, taking a 64% tumble. $254m DOM / $719m WW.

MOANA 2, down 67%. $460m DOM / $1,059m WW.

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w1ld-wr1t3r · 4 months ago

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i have a lot of lucky numbers 🫣😆

#56, #64, #21, #18 & #77 with norrix? for the wrapped drabbles

pls feel free to split this up into different posts HAHA thank uu

The more lucky numbers, the better! I'll definitely split this into multiple posts, I'll include the first two requests in this one then do the next three separately.

And speaking of the first two . . . I almost started cackling when I scrolled through the list and realized what they were. You really couldn't have picked two more Lando-related songs than these if you tried!

56. Friday (feat. Mufasa & Hypeman) - Dopamine Re-Edit

Martijn was usually the one putting on a show in a club. But tonight, he was out in the crowd, dancing to the music with hardly a care in the world. And it was especially fun, seeing as the whole weekend was still ahead of them to have even more fun.

Of course, F1 usually fully occupied weekends. But not this one. Summer break had just started, and as soon as he'd could, Martijn had booked a ticket to the one place he wanted to be, and the one person he wanted to spend it with.

Lando.

They had found a fun, bright, loud club to kick off their vacation at, where they could dance and party to their heart's content. And Lando was making the most of it, out on the dance floor. He moved to the music with infectious energy, and Martijn found himself drawn to him.

In this place, they were free to enjoy themselves. They could celebrate past accomplishments and toast new ones. They could be together and closer than they had been in ages.

Martijn never wanted this night to end.

---

64. Lando Norris by Maxx Power and Carte Blanq

By the time Lando crossed the finish line, Martijn was completely hoarse.

He mentally patted himself on the back for not agreeing to do a post-race performance tonight. It was kind of hard to hype up the crowd and praise his boyfriend's achievement if he had no voice.

Man, he wished he could praise Lando right now.

He pulled into parc ferme and parked the car, rising out of the vehicle and reaching a triumphant arm to the sky. The crowd roared for him, cheering his win. He had conquered the field, beaten everyone else out on the track, opened up the championship lead by a wide margin. He deserved the applause.

In this moment, he was greater than everyone.

And Martijn had never been prouder of anyone.

#it would've been really funny if you'd picked these songs for any ship that doesn't include lando lol #lando norris #martin garrix #norrix #f1 rpf #f1 fanfic #ask #spotify wrapped drabble request

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miss-bvnny · 2 years ago

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Okay fine. MY re-write for Kion.

The lion guard has not existed for several generations. There was never a replacement guard inaugurated after Scar killed his. And while Simba had many friends, he had no siblings. When Scar took the throne after murdering Mufasa, he forbade a guard from forming, fearing that all the younger and stronger lions would form a coup and overthrow him. When Simba returned, he didn't feel the need for one either. Sarafina and Sarabi explained the tragic fate of Scar's guard to him when he returned, and Simba didn't want more stress in the middle of his busy term rebuilding the pridelands. The guard as an idea died out, and perhaps it was for the best. The royal family had enough of a rule over the Pridelands, and did not need to micromanage every little detail to an almost fascist extent. Everyone was shocked but content to see the new King Simba ACTUALLY fully retire the idea.

...And it might've been best if it had stayed that way.

Kion never took anything seriously. He could always be found fooling around and shirking his responsibilities. Simba worried about himfor this. The cub was adopted after he'd been found alone in the grasslands, and having a hard time fitting in with the royal family. Simba was the king. Nala led the hunts. Kiara was to be Queen one day. So...what was Kion? The spare? Royal only by mere adoption? He didn't seem to have any sort of importance to his name like the rest of his family. As a child that had always seemed nice. He would tease his older sister for the responsibilities she would be burdened with. Ha! He had none of that! He was free to play and goof off with the other cubs his age as much as he pleased! Such wonderful golden days! Nothing but a life of Hakuna Matata as far as he could see!!

...The ignorant bliss only lasted until Kion realized what it REALLY meant.

He stumbled across the abandoned lair of the Lion Guard by chance one day while playing. These days, the pride occasionally used it for privacy when lionesses gave birth, but not for much else. When he asked his father what it was, Simba felt like explaining the Guard and its controversial level of control over the pridelands was a good idea. Kiara had learned the dangers and true story about it not so long ago, after her adventures with Scar's heir that fateful day. Kion deserved to know as well. Simba cautioned him that the guard was a gateway drug. An open door to a lust for power that would eat him alive, the same way it had eaten Scar alive. Even a royal lion was not meant to have that much power. Kion seemed to finally take this seriously, and vowed to never become like his great uncle. But....in a way, it was always out of his paws.

The truth is...Kion was almost always destined from the start to follow in Scar's footprints. Despite being adopted into Simba's family with no idea of his own parentage...the evil red lion haunted his family tree far closer than anyone else might've wagered.

Kion was in a hurry to get the Lion Guard out of his head and go back to his normal life. And yet...it didn't leave him alone as easily as he wished it would. He kept thinking about how the guard would give him a purpose. Something important to do in the family. It would be just like being a king, wouldn't it? Keeping everything in check, and ensuring no harm befell innocent pridelanders. A lot of Kion's best friends were prey animals! And he wanted to help his friends! Simba always acted so calm about it in front of mixed company, but Kion heard his father's whispering about the hyenas, when no one was around. There was still a hint of resentment and distrust for the creatures. So...someone had to do something to keep the scum out of their lands, right?

It was a game at first. Something for Kion and his little ''Guard'' playing pretend as they went all over the pridelands. Being heroes and helping where they felt their help was needed. In reality, they were a bit of a nuisance. But the children didn't quite see it that way. The guard interrupted hunts, important ceremonies held by other species, and nearly got other animals killed with their interference. In an attempt to catch the eye of the beautiful Tiifu, Kion thought to show off by trying to fight Janja, the direct descendant of Shenzi herself. Had it not been for Nala interfering, the entire ordeal might've ended much worse.

The king and queen had to do quite a lot of cleaning up to fix the mess Kion and his friends seemed to leave wherever they went. Kiara wet along with them, dutifully trying to prove herself a proper princess in the wake of Kion and his chaos.

They were children. Children playing with something bigger than they could comprehend. Kion saw it as his rightful place in the circle of life, and his infatuation with his ''destiny'' blinded him from the truth. There even came a time when Ono, Fuli, and Beshte grew tired of the game and no longer wanted to play. Their parents had explained the gravity of things to them, and they understood. Kion refused to give in. Surely this was HIS destiny. HIS calling. His so called ''friends'' didn't believe in him. They were just like everyone else! They thought he was a useless spare! Bunga was the only one who stood at Kion's side, but...arguably that was just because Bunga was the only one fool enough to go along with it. Kion broke down in a fit with no one but Bunga to talk some sense into him, and...''talking sense'' was simply not Bunga's strong suit. With what he perceived as his purpose on the line, Kion decided he would have to show them all that this was what he was meant for.

He was so consumed and inconsolable about the idea, that he failed to realize the very familiar path he was walking down. But how COULD he know? He was only a child, seeing things from a very one-sided perspective. A perspective that was bound to get him in bigger trouble with other pridelanders one day....

#Identity crisis + fear of failure and uselessness + a dash of Lord of the Flies was kinda what I was going for here #Kion fears he's nothing compared to his family and overcompensates but his hubris and naive mind both combine into something Ugly.#Like you LITERALLY cannot have a character like this and not dabble in a a literal child having police jurisdiction #without it getting a little fucked up.#this isn't a fanfic or a lead-in to an AU or a comic or anything sorry #I was thinking about this in the shower today and I wanted to write The Brainstuff out.#the lion king #the lion guard

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the-rewatch-rewind · 2 years ago

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Sometimes our childhood favorites really are that good.

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane, and this is the podcast where I count down my top 40 most rewatched movies in a 20-year period. Today I will be talking about number 25 on my list: Disney’s 1994 animated musical The Lion King, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton, featuring the voice talents of Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, and James Earl Jones.

Desperate for power, Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons) murders his brother, King Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones), then blames and exiles his nephew Simba (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub and by Matthew Broderick as an adult). Simba grows up in the wilderness with the help of a meerkat named Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane) and a warthog named Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella), whose motto is “Hakuna Matata” or “no worries.” But after Scar and his hyena henchmen destroy the pridelands, royal advisor mandrill Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), Simba’s childhood friend and adulthood lover Nala (voiced by Niketa Calame and Moira Kelly), and the ghost of Mufasa all remind Simba that he actually does have some worries, and convince him to return home to challenge his uncle.

Apparently the first movie I ever saw in a theater was a re-release of Pinocchio, but the first movie I actually remember seeing in a theater is The Lion King. My aunt took me to see it first, and while I don’t have many specific memories of that experience (I was four), I do remember being overwhelmed with awe. I loved the characters, I loved the gorgeous animation, I loved the music, I loved the intense emotions – everything about it spoke to me. Later that year, I visited Disneyland for the first time, and the main things I remember from that trip are watching a Lion King themed parade and visiting a gift shop at the end of the day to get a Simba stuffed animal, which I still have. After we got back home, my mom took my sister and me to see the movie at a second-run theater, and I was very excited to be able to bring my Simba to see it with me. My sister also brought a stuffed animal of her own. I have a very distinct memory of being in the bathroom of that particular theater after watching this movie and saying, “Simba was very brave,” and when my sister commented that her stuffed animal was brave too, I said, “No, I mean in the MOVIE!” Why that has stuck with me for almost three decades I have no idea, but that exchange is indicative of how much I wanted to talk about this movie for my entire childhood.

As I mentioned in the Sound of Music episode, to my friend Christina’s shock, despite growing up in the 90s, I did not have a VCR until I was about 10 or 11 years old, which was around when most people started replacing their VCRs with DVD players. But my grandparents, who lived about a thousand miles away, had one, so I got to watch videos whenever we went to visit them, which was usually for several weeks once or twice a year. My grandma is not much of a movie person, and she only very rarely watches something more than once, so she has always been baffled and slightly amused by my penchant for rewatching. Before The Lion King, my favorite thing to watch over and over at their house was a video of four old cartoon shorts, two of which featured Humpty Dumpty, but after The Lion King was available for home viewing, that was what I wanted to watch the most. Whenever I put it on, my grandma would teasingly inquire, “How many times have you watched it now, Jane?” and for a while I could answer precisely, but I lost track somewhere around 10, 11, or 12 views, and that’s part of what eventually led me to start keeping track of my movie watching in 2003. So if this podcast was based on total rewatches throughout my life, The Lion King would be much higher in this ranking.

Eventually we did get a VCR and a DVD player, and we got a special edition DVD of The Lion King around 2004. We also got The Lion King 1 ½, which I very much enjoyed for a time, but haven’t revisited since 2005. I remember watching The Lion King II a few times, but apparently they were all before 2003, so I don’t remember much about it. But as far as the original Lion King, since keeping track, I saw it three times in 2003, twice each in 2004, 2005, and 2006, once each in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, and 2019, twice in 2020, and once in 2022. When my brother and I watched through all the theatrically released animated Disney films and ranked them in 2020, we knew we would be biased toward our childhood favorites, but I think we were both unprepared for just how clear it would be why the Disney Renaissance is so named. The striking, exponential increase in quality over the films immediately preceding this era cannot be overstated. But while the early Renaissance masterpieces The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are incredible, we noticed that some of the animation sequences left something to be desired. Aladdin was much improved in that sense, with some breath-taking scenes �� seriously, re-watch Aladdin’s attempted escape from the collapsing Cave of Wonders. And then The Lion King. Nearly 30 years after it came out, The Lion King is still one of the most gorgeous movies I’ve ever seen. I knew going into that project that it would probably end up pretty high on the list, but even I was kind of shocked to find that, at least based on the specific criteria we were looking at, there was no contest. The Lion King was number one. We definitely had differences of opinion throughout the project, but on that we were in complete agreement.

One thing that I particularly noticed while we were doing that project is that The Lion King’s voice cast was one of if not the most racially diverse of all animated Disney movies up to that point, which shows just how incredibly low the bar was, since most of the main cast is white. Robert Guillaume was put in a similar position as Samuel E. Wright in The Little Mermaid in having to adopt a rather stereotypical accent, but despite that, his is an excellent performance. The main hyenas were at one point going to be voiced by Cheech and Chong, and Cheech does voice one of them, but Chong had to drop out and was ultimately replaced by Whoopi Goldberg, which worked perfectly because hyenas are matriarchal, and because there really needed to be more female characters in this movie. Sarabi, Simba’s mother, was voiced by Madge Sinclair, in her final feature film, and definitely deserved a bigger role. Nala is really the only other female character who is at all important, and for some reason while young Nala is voiced by black actress Niketa Calame, adult Nala is voiced by white actress Moira Kelly. Not that she does a bad job or anything, I just don’t understand why they couldn’t have cast another black actress. But at least they cast James Earl Jones as Mufasa. His voice and acting were so perfect that he played Mufasa again in the 2019 remake – which, despite having an iconic and much less white cast, I will never voluntarily watch because the few clips I’ve seen look like they were made by a group of internet trolls as a bad joke, but I digress. All of the voice acting in this movie is fabulous, but James Earl Jones’s performance is unquestionably in the top two, along with Jeremy Irons’s portrayal of Scar.

I absolutely love Disney villains, and Scar has always been one of my favorites. I remember once when I was fairly young trying to articulate to my parents how much it delighted me that when he tells Simba that Mufasa’s death is Simba’s fault, his exact wording of “If it weren’t for you, he’d still be alive” was technically true on multiple levels, because not only did Mufasa die trying to rescue Simba, but it was also Simba’s birth that made Scar desperate to kill both of them, since before Simba was born he was first in line for the throne. But Scar was neglecting to mention that he was the one who had arranged the stampede. And I thought that was SO CLEVER and it blew my child mind. In more recent years, it has occurred to me that part of why I’m so drawn to villains is because they rarely have romantic partners. Sometimes that’s because of the painful stereotype that the hero wins romance and the villain is punished with singleness, but often the villain shows no interest in romance, and that is the case with Scar – or at least, the version of him that ended up in the movie. At one point he was going to hit on Nala and prompt her to leave the Pridelands, which is a storyline that was added back in for the Broadway musical. I appreciate that the creators of the musical wanted to expand the female characters, but I feel like there were better ways of doing that than showing Nala being sexually harassed. Anyway, movie Scar, like many if not most animated Disney villains, is very queer-coded and could potentially be aroace, and even though he is very evil, I’ll take any representation I can get. The way his ultimate downfall is that he betrayed his friends emphasizes the importance of maintaining trust in non-romantic relationships at a level that most stories wouldn’t dare approach.

Speaking of queerness, Timon and Pumbaa are the closest a Disney animated feature has come to showing a gay couple raising a child together. Personally I like to think of their partnership as a QPR, or queer-platonic relationship, which is a committed intimate relationship that is not romantic but is also different from a friendship, but that is entirely the aromantic in me projecting. To anyone out there who reads them as being in romantic love, that is a 100% valid interpretation. As is the interpretation that they’re friends. Their relationship is ambiguous, and I kind of love that. I wish that the movie hadn’t forced Simba and Nala into a friends-to-lovers path. Their friendship as kids makes me so happy, and their romance as adults has always confused me. For a long time I assumed that it was normal to eventually fall in love with a friend of the opposite sex, and that there was something wrong with me for not doing that. But it got to the point where now I’m just annoyed at that part. Not that Can You Feel the Love Tonight? isn’t an excellent song – it is! I just…don’t really think it belongs in this movie. And I get that they wanted the story to end as it began with a baby lion to emphasize the Circle of Life theme, but still. It would have been nice to have ONE Disney Renaissance film that wasn’t steeped in romance (besides The Rescuers Down Under, which doesn’t really count).

So yeah, there are things about this movie I don’t love, but they are so overshadowed by the aspects I do love that I don’t usually dwell on them. Even after all these rewatches, there are still scenes that give me chills. That opening, when the sun and Lebo M’s voice break through at the exact same moment, and all the animals are heading to Pride Rock through the fog and the intro to Circle of Life – ugh, it’s so beautiful! And the wildebeest stampede! Apparently it took over two years just to animate that two-and-a-half-minute stampede scene, using and innovating new computer programs and systems, and man, did that work pay off! As with the opening, the score and choir greatly enhance the stampede scene as well. Even if I didn’t love the story and the characters – which I do – the gorgeous animation and music would be enough to convince me to keep rewatching this movie. Which is particularly interesting given that most of Disney’s top animators at the time, along with Disney Renaissance music superstar Alan Menken, were working on Pocahontas instead because the studio wasn’t really taking this lion movie seriously. So the visuals were created by relatively inexperienced animators, and the score was by Hans Zimmer, who had never worked on an animated film before. The story itself went through a staggering number of concept changes and rewrites. Three people are officially credited as screenwriters, but then there are 17 people credited with contributing to the story, an additional eight people credited under “additional story material,” plus a story supervisor. At one point it was going to be a story about lions vs baboons, and the original title was King of the Jungle before somebody realized that lions don’t actually live in the jungle. Eventually the pitch became “Bambi in Africa meets Hamlet” and everyone just ran with that. Somehow, seemingly by accident, exactly the right people with exactly the right talent and dedication managed to create a masterpiece out of what by all logic should have been a disaster, and learning all of this over the years has made me appreciate it even more.

The Lion King is also full of difficult lessons that I still find relevant as an adult. Hakuna Matata is a good motto to apply to things you truly have no control over, but should never be used as an excuse not to work on problems you can do something about. Often it’s hard to tell which is which, and that’s why we all need friends and mentors like Nala and Rafiki to help. This movie also provides a deep and profound portrayal of grief through the eyes of a child, and how it stays with him through adulthood. Many other Disney protagonists have deceased or absent parents, but there’s no other moment in the Disney canon anywhere near as devastating as Mufasa’s death. It’s not exactly the same situation, but my aunt who first took me to see this movie died of cancer when I was 11. That was the first real loss of my life, and I think the fact that I will always associate The Lion King with her has significantly deepened my appreciation for this movie. My first viewing in 2020, before my brother and I embarked on our Disney project, was in honor of the 18th anniversary of her death, and I sobbed through most of the movie. It was very cathartic. I know that The Lion King is widely beloved and acclaimed – it’s the highest grossing 2D animated film of all time, it won two Oscars, it has 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s currently ranked #37 on IMDb’s top 250 movies – but it still feels incredibly personal to me. It was the first movie that I ever fell truly, deeply in love with, so it will always be one of my favorites.

Thank you for listening to me discuss another of my most frequently rewatched movies. Stay tuned for next week, when I will be talking about another Disney film that I’ve seen 19 times. As always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “Darling. Could you, like, chill for a sec?”

#the lion king #lion king #disney #the rewatch rewind

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my-chaos-radio · 1 year ago

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Release: January 15, 2021

Lyrics:

Mufasa

Hmm?

You know we finally here, right?

Where are we?

It's Friday then

Then Saturday, Sunday (what?)

It's Friday again

Then Saturday, Sunday, what?

It's Friday again

Then Saturday, Sunday, what?

It's Friday again

Then Saturday, Sunday, what?

It's Friday again, 'ain, 'ain', 'ain (what?)

I thought the hands of time would change me

And I'd be over this by now, yeah

It's been too long since we got crazy

I'm lowkey spinnin' out

I'm countin' down 'til Friday come

I'm gonna, I'm gonna do too much

Know I'm all in my bag, that's clutch

Feelin' it, feelin' it, feelin' it

Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Endless weekend, on a wave, yeah

Go, jump!

It's Friday again

Then Saturday, Sunday, what?

It's Friday again

Then Saturday, Sunday, what? (We want that weekend)

It's Friday again (oh)

Then Saturday, Sunday, what? (We want that weekend)

It's Friday again

Then Saturday, Sunday, what?

Hmm, their lives again

Their lives, to pull us, mm

Their lives again, 'ain, 'ain, 'ain

This could be bad for me 'cause I want more

Wanna feel the bass vibrating through the floor

So keep it playing, I'm on a wave

And I'ma ride it all the way

When it comes like

We want that weekend (again, again, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain)

('Gain, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain)

Again, 'gain (again, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain)

('Gain, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain)

We want that weekend (again, again, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain)

('Gain, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain)

Again, 'gain (again, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain)

Hey, we want that weekend

It's Friday again

Then Saturday, Sunday, what?

It's Friday again (go!)

Then Saturday, Sunday, what? (We want that weekend)

It's Friday again

Then Saturday, Sunday, what?

It's Friday again (go!) 'gain, 'gain, 'gain

Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Endless weekend on a wave

Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Endless weekend on a wave

Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Endless weekend on a wave

Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Endless weekend on a wave, yeah

(We want that weekend)

It's Friday again

Then Saturday, Sunday, what? (Let's go!)

It's Friday again (huh)

Then Saturday, Sunday, what? (We want that weekend)

It's Friday again (hey!)

Then Saturday, Sunday, what?

It's Friday again, 'gain, 'gain, 'gain (oh)

Songwriter:

It's Friday then

Then Saturday, Sunday, what?

John Robinson Reid / Graham Mcmillan Wilson / Hugh Jude Brankin

SongFacts:

👉📖

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frustrated-writer-skyeknight · 2 years ago

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A Tale of Chiefs (The Lion King AU)

First of, they are not lions. Someday, I may write a re-do of my friend's old fic A Viking's Pride. At first, I wanted to write an ending for her work but I can never find the muse enough to do it. Maybe I'll figure it out by doing this. For this story, I may or may not do it. If not, then this is here for anyone who wants to use it too.

An Awkward Scion (The Lion King!AU)

Stoick is the proud chief of Berk, recently made a father to what their people would consider a hiccup. Regardless, he had fate that his son would grow to a fine chief someday. A few years later, his son grew and the people still think it's a little less then evident that he would be expected to become as fine a chief that Stoick currently was. Still, Stoick and Valka knew the time would come that their son would grow into the role. A hidden foe intends to stir up trouble. However, it may just be what would be necessary for the young man to grow into his destined role.

Drago wants to become the ultimate chieftain. To do that, he intends to wipe out all the scions of each island; Hiccup, Jack, Rapunzel, and Merida.

The Rebellious Scion (Simba's Pride!AU)

Years after Hiccup was made chief of Berk, he becomes the proud father to a young boy. Jim's part Viking and another part mageborn, everyone expects him to be the most powerful chief to be yet. Jim thinks it would be much more fun to become a normal person, without any obligation to take care of a whole village. Meanwhile, Dimitri is an orphan and bought as a slave warrior. He works for Viggo and Ryker, later becoming the key to a plan to take down all the chiefs of Berk, Crescentia, Corona, and Dun Broch.

Except nobody expected a chance encounter of two youngsters to interfere with the plan.

An Awkward Scion characters

Stoick - Mufasa Valka - Serabi Hiccup - Simba Jack - Nala Nightlight - as himself Timon and Pumba - Gobber and Aster Zazu - North Pitch - Rafiki Scar - Drago

The Rebellious Scion characters

Hiccup - Simba Jack - Nala Jim - Kiara Kovu - Dimitri Vitani - Viggo Nuka - Ryker Zeera - Rasputin

AU Lore

Berk is only one of the important islands. The others are Crescentia, the island of Mageborns. Corona island, ruled by chief Frederic and lady Arianna. Dunbroch island, ruled by chief Fergus and lady Elinor.

Drago, similar to Httyd 2, tries getting all the chief to turn to him and acknowledge him to become a supreme chieftain. Of course, they refused. For a while, he was never seen again after an attempt to kill them all.

The four islands were once at war with each other. But when dragons arrived, they worked together to fend them off.

Dialogue ideas

Stoick: Look at the people, Hiccup. They are yours; someday, you will become a fine chief worthy of leading them. Hiccup: But... All of them? They all look... Much strongew and bravew than me. 'm just... Tiny. Valka: Of course you are, you're but a babe, love. *hugs him tightly* Hiccup, giggling: But Snotlout's 'bout my age... But he's already bigger than me. Valka: Maybe, but you know, there's more to strength than by just how big you are. Hiccup: Huh? Stoick: Don't worry about it now, son. When you're ready... You'll understand.

Jack: So how do we ditch the big guy? Hiccup: I'm thinkin'... You could distract him, then I'll go on ahead and wait for you there. Jack: Wha... How? Hiccup: I don't know, you come up with a plan for that yourself. Jack: C'mon Hic, you can think of a plan better than that...

Gobber: One day you two are going to be married! Jack: Uh, ew... Hiccup: Gross! I can't marry him; he's my friend, and a guy! Jack: What he said. Aster: Sorry to burst it to ya, but it's been arranged. Aster: Besides Jack, that isn't an issue with our kind. With mageborns being as scarce a race as we are, even guys adapted to copulate and produce offsprings. Jack: A what? Gobber, nudging the man: Uh, too early for that talk, don't ya think? Aster: You're the one who brought up bloody marriage. Hiccup: THERE'S BLOOD IN MARRIAGE?! Jack: That's it, I'm never getting married.

Nightlight: You have to go Jack. Jack: No! I'm not leaving you. Nightlight: If Crescentia and our neighboring islands are to have a future, you must. Nightlight: And I still have some magic in me, so don't you count your brother out just yet. Jack: Please... Don't ask me to leave you, I can help! Nightlight: You can. But it's not by staying, you need to find Hiccup. Jack: Hiccup?! But... He's been dead for years! Nightlight: It seems like not everything is what it appeared...

Hiccup: Wait, no Jack! Stop, stop! Jack: What?! How do you know my name?! Hiccup: How do I... Oh, sorry. Mask. *takes of his mask* It's me, Hiccup! Jack, widening his eyes: Stars above, Hiccup! *rushes towards him* Hiccup: *opening his arms and getting ready for a hug* Jack: *punches him at the shoulder* Hiccup: OW! Jack: Serves you right, have you any idea how I felt when I thought you died?! *hugs Hiccup tightly* Gods, I missed you. Hiccup: *hugging Jack back* Next time, maybe just go for the hug? Jack: What happened to you? Hiccup: It's... A long story. Jack, narrowing his eyes and pinching Hiccup by the ear: Hiccup: Again, ow, ow, ow! Jack: Uh, yeah, I've been grieving for years. It's a long story? I fucking deserve to hear it then.

A growl is then heard, making Jack jerk away and he sees a dragon charging towards him. He screams, and pulls his staff out

Hiccup: No, no, no! *charges at Jack and makes him drop the staff before blocking Toothless' way* It's okay! He's a friend. Jack, staring at them incredulously: Holy moon... Hiccup: You just scared him. Jack: I scared... Wait, him? Hiccup: Uh... Long story? Jack: Ohhh, you are definitely telling me this story.

Jim: What if I don't wanna be chief of Berk? Jack: Does that mean you want to fight your cousin and try to become the chief of Crescentia? Jim: NO! Don't wanna be chief at all! Hiccup: Well, what do you want then? Jim: I dunno... Anything else! Maybe... Fly to the moon! Hiccup: Well, Berk has dragons now. You can do that! Jack: Way to miss the metaphor, Hic.

Jim: Aster! I'm bored! Aster: Okay, I can show you how to throw a boomerang again. Jim: Nah... Let's go exploring! Aster: What did you dad and papa tell you? Jim: Not to leave home. Aster: So, what makes you think I'm going to let you? Jim: Because you once told papa he's not the boss of you anymore. Aster: Aster: I didn't mean it that way, and you know it. Jim: So... You were lying? Aster: Jim: Dad says it's bad to lie.

Dimitri: What the hell are you doing? Jim: Watching my back, duh! Dad told me never to leave it open to an enemy! Dimitri: And I betcha always listen to what daddy says. Jim: Don't you? Dimitri: Don't have any. So, I get to do whatever I want when I want to. Jim, beaming: Really?! Cool! Dimitri, caught off guard with the smile: Huh?

Rasputin: And at the final battle, we take no one alive. They're all to be killed. Ryker: Can we keep the mate of Berk's chief though? Rasputin: What? Ryker: I think he's pretty. Viggo, face palming: Odin's beard, Ryker... They need to be killed to be re-summoned for the undead army. Ryker: But he won't look pretty anymore as an undead. Rasputin: Rasputin: I'm surrounded by idiots...

Jim: Hey, uh, thanks for saving me earlier. Dimitri: Well, anyone can make mistakes. Jim: I'm sorry? Dimitri: I mean, was probably pointless doing so. I saved you, I'm still at the stocks. Talk about gratitude, right? And you're probably going to get in trouble again, which means saving you would be for nothing since I see that you haven't learned how to pick your fights more carefully. Jim: Hey, like I said, I had everything under control. Dimitri: Didn't look like it. You should really work on your hunting skills. Jim: Oh, and I suppose you're such an expert you could show me how it's done? Dimitri: Definitely. It's a date then. Jim: Wait, what? Dimitri: What? Do you or don't you want to become a better fighter? Jim: Uh, I want to... Fight better? Dimitri: All right then, just name the time and place, puppy. Jim: I'm not a pup! I'm a mighty mageborn Viking! Dimitri: Pup it is then.

#ChildOfSolace plotbunnies #HiJack AU #Hiccup Haddock #Jackson Overland #HiJack #Jim Hawkins #Dimitri Sudayev #JiMitri #The Big Four #Rapunzel #Merida #The Lion King AU

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kaythefloppa · 1 month ago

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The Lion Guard: Song Ranking: From Worst to Best: [Part 3: #36-1]

Continuing from where we left off with Part 2 of my ranking of songs from The Lion Guard, as part of the decennial celebration. The third and final entry as we approach some of the best songs in the entire series.

Some things to keep in mind.

This is all my opinion, don’t banish me to the shadow realm.

The only songs I will include are songs from the episodes as well as the soundtrack. Songs from the Disney Junior musical shorts (such as the Circle of Life music video from two years back) are disqualified as they’re far more disconnected from the series proper than say, the songs exclusive to the soundtrack.

Background tracks from the one-hour specials that were officially released on Christopher Willis’ SoundCloud will be included in this list as well.

I am counting songs separately from their reprises. However, if a song appears in the end credits of an episode, I am counting it as the same entity as their episode counterpart.

Tumblr will not let me physically post this entire review because it is too large for its limits (which tests that of my own). This’ll be uploaded in parts and hopefully it should be finished before the month ends.

Finally…. I did the math. I had to listen to all 96 songs of the show. Not for the weak…

Word-vomit under the cut and away we fucken go!!

36: Make Way for Bunga the Wise

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Wait, why is this actually catchy?

35: Bunga The Wise

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NO FR WHY IS THIS ALSO CATCHY???

34: Lions Over All

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Unpopular opinion… this MIGHT be on-par with My Lullaby…. No cap.

Unlike most people I don’t mind Zira’s recast. It’s no Suzanne Pleshette, but damn Futterman kills it, ESPECIALLY for the villains’ song. I love the blatant Be Prepared/My Lullaby references. I also liked the song expanding on Zira’s character, even if the episode is infamously messy and contradictory in terms of continuity.

The duet between her and Kion at the end is pretty nice as well. The effect of the shadows showing Zira as the more dangerous threat that domineers over Kion is so damn good.

33: We Will Defend

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This is the perfect way to open up the final season, with a brilliantly subtle recap to the arc as shown in the previous season, cleanly transitioning into the final stage of said arc.

What I noticed about this song that no one else seems to mention is how the lyrics foreshadow the rest of Season 3’s story arc. Listen closely at 1:48 and 1:51, and you can hear the chorus saying “Moja Kwa Moja” and “Tuliza” respectively. This song hits the ground running for Season 3, and if it weren’t for the stiff competition that lies ahead, it would be the best damn opener to a Lion Guard two-parter ever.

32: Our Kupatana Community

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If they can put Jackal Style onto the soundtrack, there is NO REASON why they couldn’t have done the same here. The vocalization, the subtle ‘Circle of Life’ references, the melody and harmony!!! AAH!!! Adore

31: I Do Have a Great Deal to Say

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Yes, we all love the two re-animated bits from the original film in The Lion Guard’s animation and art-style. But this song is so much more than that!!!

For what it’s worth, it’s pretty much an “evil” or rather inversed version of Zazu’s song “The Morning Report” from the extended cut of the original (of which this episode is named after). Zazu sings about what he observes in the Pride Lands to an intended audience. To Mufasa, it’s involving animals, with occasional puns, to Janja and his hyenas, he involves pointless info about Simba whilst whilst wording his statements in a precise way to make himself seem reliable to the hyenas and evade punishment. Peak character writing and peak music. And don’t think I didn’t notice the creepy ass chorus near the end.

(Also the “sounds like he’s flat” joke from Bunga was funny enough to make me forgive the muted section of the song).

30: Tonight We Strike

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I remember the very night where Return of the Roar came out and this song came to air. I swear to god those purple singing Hazbin-Hotel lookin' ass hyenas gave me nightmares for weeks. Even as an adult, it’s still a mind-fuck to see them.

Return of the Roar airing on the main Disney Channel allowed it to push more limits as opposed to the series proper on Disney Junior. Hence why the words “die” and “dead” are both verbally said in the pilot, and why this song is allowed to be as batshit acid as it could and I love it for that.

Also, to any “Lion Guard stops predators from hunting and are the bad guys!” Mfers, look to this song right here. It spells out everything that shatters that argument almost as much as Janja shatters the bones of his prey.

29: Long Live the Queen

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I hate the reprise that this number, builds up to, but I love the original song, Long Live the Queen, in arguably the best regular-length S3 episode.

It does Rani’s character the justice of actual character focus and struggles with a proper set-up and resolve, and is a good way to end the episode after we open with Janna’s passing.

Also, if you listen closely, Nirmala’s singing voice sounds eerily identical to Fozzy Bear. Now you can’t unhear it either :))

28: May There Be Peace

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Another song that I loved hearing in the episode’s promos and was twice as overjoyed to see in the episode’s proper. Whoever came up with the lyric “What’s inside matters so much more than feathers, fur or skin,” I salute you.

27: Ghost of the Mountain

I wish I had more to say about this song, but I love it. Very Halloweeny

26: Shujaa Ponda

Holy fucking shit they got Christopher Motherfucking Jackson to play this Hulk Gorilla on The Lion Guard and to sing as Hulk Gorilla on The Lion Guard and I fucking love it.

For a character with limited vocabulary, they had to be extra clever with the lyrics and they indeed were. Also, that vocalization is GODLY.

25: As You Move On

This song was ROBBED of an Emmy. Christopher Jackson and Heather Headley were a PERFECT duo here (Hi Broadway Nala!) and their performance was stellar. I was way more excited for this song than whatever the fuck the Scar Joker origin backstory song was turning out to be, and I was not disappointed.

Also little Makini is soul-crushingly adorable.

24: Beware of the Zimwi

Khary Payton is a worthy successor to Robert Guilllame in terms of both voice acting and singing. He pulls off this creepy ghoulish vibe that does this song a magnificent service.

23: Height and Sight

Again, words do not do this song enough justice. This song was the best part of the Season 2 finale.

Even though I think Anga needed more appearances in Season 2 before joining the main cast in the next season, this song does a good job at getting us invested in Anga’s character and abilities, as well as showing the really cute friendship between her and Ono: Two crucial details that will come in greatly hand for the climax of Season 2’s story arc.

It really soars, is what I’m saying.

22: We’ll Make You a Meal

The double-entendres in the song involving food were so good, I was almost rooting for Reirei to win. That’s how good this song is. Even though it’s a villains’ song, it sounds perfectly upbeat and camp, which fits Reirei’s manipulative nature.

21: Find Your Roar

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a song pulled straight from Rhythm of the Pride Lands and/or is a straight-up deleted song from The Lion King. It arguably has the most feel and tone of the original movie out of every song on this list. I like montage songs, and this is an example (one of many on this list), that’s done right.

20: Jackal Style

The first Reirei song of the series…. AND THE BEST!!!!!

I like how the song doesn't actively *sound* villainous. Much like We'll Make You a Meal, if you hear the instrumentals, it sounds like a classic fun song, but the lyrics from the villains make it what it is, reflecting how the villains themselves are con-artists (and very so in this episode).

19: A Real Meal

I love how Mwoga glazes the fuck outta carrion when in Season 1, all he and his flock was trying to do is eat live animals.

Still, it’s one of those acid sequence Lion Guard songs where you love how camp and off-the-walls it can be. Plus, Cam Clarke is a good singer (he dubbed Simba’s singing voice in Simba’s Pride), he deserved to be at the forefront of a musical number.

18: Hero Inside:

This song reminds me a bit of Sisi Ni Sawa in tune, but I still like it. I love the chorus, accompaniment, and the overall moral of the song.

I think the show’s ending sours it a teensy bit. Imagine if Mtoto wound up succeeding Beshte as the Lion Guard’s Strongest at the end of the show after Beshte and co retire. Oh well.

17: Kuishi Ni Kucheka

I’m so glad that the Dan and Phil Gorillas didn’t actually have a full-blown musical number and that the actual musical department went to Beau Black and the Chorus for this song.

I find myself repeating this song over and over again because every single bit of it is an earworm. This episode aired when I was stuck at home sick with the flu, and seeing this kinda cheered me up, so maybe I'm more attached to the song than I should be, but regardless, it's a good song.

16: Stand Up, Stand Out

When Never Roar Again was delayed from its original air date, this song (or rather the shortened version that played on Disney Jr. music videos during commercial breaks) had me in a CHOKEHOLD. I loved it, and always found myself singing it.

I was glad to see the song in the episode proper, and it was way better. Fuli and Beshte’s accompaniment was also really welcome.

15: Life in the Pride Lands

Disney Junior loved to play music videos of this song. I would always get hyped seeing it show up and I would sing this at the top of my lungs.

Headphones are not enough for such an experience. I promise you. Also, Beshte's rap in this song >>>

14: Kion’s Lament

A somber song that involves our protagonist’s struggle with a neat break in between the end that transitions into a powerful uplifting moment. It’s glorious.

13: A Beautiful Day (Ni Siku Zuri)

The perfect song to kick off the new series and introduce us to our five main characters. This, I believe is the biggest strength of Return of the Roar and this song is essentially a full minute or so of that strength being shown to us both in visual and song form. Much like "I Always Wanted a Brother" from Mufasa: The Lion King, this is a song that deserved the constant attention it had during the promotions for the special (previews at D23, released clips online, promos, ect).

12: Big Bad Kenge

The last Ushari song in the series and it’s out with a BANG. I could not stop singing this song out loud on repeat, and this was simply from hearing it in the PROMOS.

Christian Slater nails every line of this song, every octave, every tune, and the hype for Kenge that this song is paid off by how badass Kenge himself is.

11. Fujo

I consider The Rise of Scar to be the true Season 2 premiere (as it was originally scheduled to be according to Kevin Schon) because of this song alone. It serves as a brilliant mirror to “A Beautiful Day” from the pilot episode, showing us the main characters’ interactions with the Pride Landers, only now, in a way to introduce us to the ‘new normal’ of the season. The intro, much like We Will Defend, has amazing foreshadowing, showing characters that will gain more importance in Season 2’s story arc. It also shows a painting of the Tree of Life, foreshadowing Season 3’s arc. The show gets really good once it heads into the dry season story in Season 2 and this song is a very good reason why it gets good.

10: Trail to Hope

I am including the episode version, extended version that was featured on several Disney Jr. promos back when th episode aired, as well as the end-credits’ version of this song all as one entity. A great way to kick off the top 10 list.

Alex Cartana, much like Beau Black, is an amazing singer for the series, and I’m surprised she didn’t get as many background songs as Beau Black did. It’s another song that would feel perfectly at home in the 1994 original film.

9: Sisi Ni Sawa

I call “The Rise of Makuu” the first song of the series since it was released on demand before its actual television airing, but Never Judge a Hyena By Its Spots was ‘technically’ the first episode in airing order. I mention that because the choice to have this be the first to air after the pilot and clear up the “not all hyenas are evil” thing was really smart, and nonetheless, my love for this song is purely because of how good of a message this is to aim towards children.

8: My Way

Best Fuli song ever. I can’t even come up with the right words for it, I am just in love with this song. I heard it in the promos for TLG’s soundtrack before the episode itself aired, AND listened to it on the soundtrack. I was the most excited for this song to come up, and was in musical heaven seeing it on the small screen.

I can also HEAVILY relate to Fuli as an adult, so there’s that.

7: The Legend of Scar

The Legend of Scar, is a piece by the Lion Guard Chorus that appears in Return of the Roar when Simba explains to Kion about the legend of Scar and his Lion Guard, as well as the fall-out between them. This piece appears regularly in the series proper, such as Lions of the Outlands or Return to the Pride Lands. A snippet of it also appears in the official trailer for Season 3.

The repeating Swahili chants, the tune gradually becoming more and more intense, the crescendo, and ESPECIALLY the haunting vocals at the end after the story is finished. I headcanon that the Lions of the Past sung this to Scar as they took the Roar of the Elders from him. It’s THAT freakin good.

The juxtaposition of the Lion Guard’s lemotif with the Legend of Scar theme at the end, which ALSO foreshadows Scar’s return in the Season 2 premiere! AAAAHG!!!

6: Flamingo Dance Party/Go Go Flamingo

This song should be a Tik-Tok dance. Why is this song not a Tik-Tok dance.

5: I Have a Plan

Real ones remember the Scar clickbait incident of 2017 where the promos tricked everyone into thinking this song was gonna be in The Rise of Scar, only for it to not be in the special, but in fact very next episode two weeks later.

But it was good clickbait because I love this song. It fucking slaps. In case you didn’t notice, he has a plan. Let him cook.

David Oyelowo was a perfect casting choice for Scar. He pulls off the perfect level of hammy for a villain of this show, and simultaneously the perfect amount of entertaining menace and malice that suits Scar’s character. The notes and the beat are all perfectly within his range, with hauntingly amazing visuals. Nowhere near the level of Be Prepared, but still really fun.

4: On The Last Night

This is the best character sung song. It encapsulates everything we've come to know and love about the main characters as they reach the end of their journey. As much as I'm still mad at how Max Charles' singing was recasted, I'm twice as happy that the last song he got to sing before the series closed.

3. It is Time

I remember hearing this song in the promos for Return of the Roar and the main show and I wondered what it was, or where it even came from. I soon learned that this was featured on the soundtrack and was basically what inspired Kion's Lament.

I repeat. Beau Black is a musical GOD. So much life and energy is put into his performances and it all just adds beautifully to what the show is about. I'd argue that this song could've been in the finale [entry #1 non-withstanding]. There are already two variants of it in the series proper. Plus Beau Black has enough singing and vocal range to dub an Adult Kion singing, and it would be thematically appropriate for the show, and Kion's character in general.

2. Call of the Guard

I wasn't expecting this to be the theme song for the show, but I was pleasantly surprised. The actual theme for the series proper does a very good job at setting the stage for what's to come in the episode. The soundtrack version is what largely gets this this onto the top three. MAN is it good. It starts off calm and mysterious before swelling into grandiose., with the chorus being divided evenly in half. By the time it ends you feel so satisfied. I'm very glad we get to hear bits and pieces of it in both the movie pilot and the series proper.

1. Here Comes the Lion Guard

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I'm very jealous of all the people at 2015's D23 expo who got to see this song be performed live by Beau Black and the Lion Guard chrous.

But seriously, lives were changed. The earth shook.

If you've at all even gone within an arm's length of The Lion Guard, whether you watched the show when it was on the air and saw it in the outros, seen promos of it on Disney Jr, watched the show online, or even saw some clips on YouTube, there's a good chance you've heard of this song in any capacity.

I said it before and I'll say it again. Beau Black was the perfect choice for the musical talent behind this show. So many songs on this list, but especially this one just prove that point. It retains the same African vibe that flows through the franchise, is upbeat enough to be welcome for the show itself, the Swahili chorus, lyrics, and Beau's vocals are all breathtaking, and all topped off with the instrumentals. And the outro versions of the song (both in Return of the Roar and in Seasons 1-2 of the show) are brilliantly edited to where you can still enjoy it in its own right. Also, shout-out to Disney Jr. for reworking the post-credits scene from the pilot into their actual promo for the show.

I actually think the song could've worked as the intro to the show, because for all Call of the Guard manages to successfully pull off, Here Comes the Lion Guard manages to do that twice as well as an entry point to the series.

Alternatively, I would've easily accepted it being reworked into the series proper. The hill that I will always die on is that Here Comes the Lion Guard should've been the final song of the series. If they didn't have the budget to compose one last original song, then they should've went for this to be recycled for the finale. It would compensated for the song being axed as the Season 3 outro, and it would've better made the series come full circle. Plus I know for a fact Diamond White would've absolutely eaten up the final Walinzi Wa Simba! lyrics.

If you ever decide to tell your friends about The Lion Guard, or show it to your children someday, introduce them to this song. The show itself may not be perfect, but this song is.

And there you have it. My official ranking of every Lion Guard song. Lots of calculations (and errors thereof), as well as all-nighters were pulled in the making of this ranking and it's fucking worth it.

Happy [early] 10th anniversary to The Lion Guard!

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