The Lion King/Scar talk
And a little bit about Mamma Mia 2 & Rush..
This blogpost will perhaps be in stead of my monthly inspiring quotes blogpost. Writing is something I love to do and always films give me a lot of inspiration. I let my dreams lead my life. I start with my blog/review about The Lion King with showing my love for Disney‘s character Scar, switching to 'Scar‘s Reign', another story I enjoy writing. This week I also saw Mamma Mia 2 again and this movie is an inspiration to follow your dreams. Let that be one of my motto‘s.. Do what brings you happiness!
It‘s no secret that Tom Hiddleston, with bringing Loki in my life, has inspired me this much in writing (& sharing it) and in to believe in my Dreams. So perhaps it‘s not strange as I say the following: For me Tom/Loki is the Circle of Life!
The Lion King
Summer 2019: Where are we going? Let‘s go to the savannah of
Africa, on a safari among the giraffes, zebras and last of course: lions! But
you don't really have to go that far this summer (depends on where you live of
course..) Just with one single cinema visit you are there! I think you have
read me by now.., I'm talking about The Lion King! This summer you can watch
the Disney lions Simba, Nala, Scar and Mufasa lifelike in 3D! Obviously they cannot
escape the weird bird Zazu, the giggling/drooling hyenas and the comic duo
Timon & Pumbaa can‘t be missed too!
The original Lion King from 1994 was a big blockbuster at
the time and I think with this version it don‘t be much different. The Lion
King already is one of Disney most successful franchises for years. The
musical, which stops this summer here in the Netherlands but has been playing
non-stop in London and in New York for years,
remains a great success.
As for the Disney Remake Live Action films there‘s always the
question whether it actually works just as it did in the original. The story of
The Lion King is one you should definitely not add too much changes in , Disney
also hasn't done that except for some expansions and some small things. Where I
believe this version of director Jon Favreau rocks in, has everything to do
with the breath-taking real-looking shots. The African landscapes are
absolutely stunning to see and I particularly was impressed by the scenes that
showed the starry sky. During the nature scenes, pay attention to the details. I
must admit: The talking and singing animals are a bit of a strange sight, but
of course a Lion King movie without the well-known songs is a no go! The intro
is again very amazing. During the first part of the film, the cute cubs totally
steal the show. The first look on baby cub Simba was without any doubts
definitely an "aww moment". The Lion King from 1994 really is one
that pulls your tears out! The expectation is that not everyone will keep it
dry while watching some scenes in real life. However even though they look more
real, I thought they didn't had the same emotion as in the animation. I thought
the interaction between the animals (especially during action scenes!) looked
epic (,especially on moments where they weren‘t speaking or singing haha). The
home front of Timon & Pumbaa was designed to be a bit more detailed and it
got more residents, that also caused some nice effects.
English version
Disney chose to let James Earl Jones return (Mufasa) as the
only one of the original voice cast. People now are wondering: Why just him? A
few of the missing ones are Rowan Atkinson (Zazu) & obviously Jeremy Irons,
who with his English accent, really brought Scar to life. He even appears to have
shown interest in this remake, but Disney chose actor Chiwetel Ejiofor to crawl
into the thin skin of this lion. However he wasn‘t bad and "Be
Prepared" sounded very entertaining (too bad they shortened the song, but
that‘s not his fault), but it really is no match for Jeremy Irons' performance!
And concerning Beyonce (Nala), the opinions are quite different. The new song
"Spirit" sung by Beyonce doesn‘t sound wrong but for me certainly didn‘t
reach the goose bumps level aka "Circle of Life" & "He Lives
In You", although there is also a bit of nostalgia attached to that. By
the way the song that you hear during the credits is called "Never Too
Late" from Elton John. Timon (Billy Eichner) & Pumbaa (Seth Rogen)
provide the necessary humor. This works out very well and Seth Rogen makes
Pumbaa a popper! Laughing moments guaranteed!
Dutch version
The original Dutch Lion King is really nostalgic for me.
That's why I thought it would be nice to also view this Dutch version. Although
again it is not comparable with the 1994 version, I am sure that children will
be impressed. Personally I had to get used to the voices but this version
certainly did well in the songs. Hats off to the young talents who took care of
the voices of the Simba & Nala cubs. They do an honour to the Dutch version
of the song "Just can‘t wait until I'm king!" On moments I couldn‘t
tell if it sounded any different than the original. Actor Jurgen Theuns also
emerges strongly in this song as the silly bird Zazu. Scar was voiced for this
version by Marc Jonkers. Also in the Dutch version of 1994 the voice of Scar
(Arnold Gelderman) totally gave you the shivers, so the expectations for the
voice of this evil lion is also quite high here! One moment, Jonkers‘ Scar
sounded like an old lion, but when the tense music plays in the background
(sometimes this was too loud to properly understand all what was said), it
suddenly jumps over and he sounds pretty frightening. Scar’s own song is also
very well sung. Against that, I am less enthusiastic about Mufasa (how is it
possible with James Earl Jones in the original version!), The hyenas and
Rafiki. Timon & Pumbaa are again spoken in by Belgian actors, which makes the
fact that they come from another piece of land more alive.
In addition to the few changes in the story, Disney has
given the animals a more realistic look to make the film appear more natural. The
character who definitely looked the most unrealistic in the cartoon was (I just
like to address him too often!) Scar with his black mane and orange-looking
fur. That Disney chose not to stick to that look completely seems actually
quite logical. However, you can still tell the difference between him compared
to Mufasa & Simba. Of course the scar, from what he owes his name, can‘t be
taken off! By the way, do you know there‘s a book that tells a part of the past
of the 2 brothers? This book is called A Tale of Two Brothers. If Disney ever
wants to make a Lion King movie again, I hope they prefer this prequel (in
cartoon form!) over re-making Simba’s Pride!
The Lion King will no doubt be the cinema hit of the summer!
The temperatures of Africa have already reached us (The Netherlands, 41 degrees
on the 25th of July!) and it‘s quite ironic to say that by a cinema
visit to a film about these hot landscapes, you can go for cooling down. The
Lion King will bring many of us back to their childhood. Don‘t be ashamed to
sing along with nostalgic songs such as "Can't Wait To Be King". Go
there with your group of friends and from experience I say that it might lead
to do "mini Lion King dialogues" among each other. Maybe you visited
the original film with your parents and you like the idea of repeating that
tradition with this version? The Lion King is suitable for children 9 years and
older. Simba is laughing at you!
I think Scar/Taka is a character Disney could have do more with. A few years ago I started writing a story a little based on The Madness Of King Scar scene (both the deleted scene of 1994‘s film and the musical version), but also I like to dig deeper into his past. This story is called Scar‘s Reign. I originally wrote this in Dutch and I‘m busy translating it, which also gives me new ideas for the continue. I just posted 'The Lead Huntress', a chapter I very much enjoyed writing. And for a upcoming chapter called 'The Madness of King Scar' I really stepped into that chaotic head of him. (I like to work with the italic font to reveal certain thoughts of the characters, but to truly show how chaotic his mind truly has become, I've written TMOKS in his perspective completely.) If you are interested in reading my story, here are a few links:
Scar‘s Reign (FanFiction.net)
Scar‘s Reign (Archive of Our Own)
Wattpad
This is the story‘s original summary:
"This story based on 'The Madness of King Scar' & 'A Tale of Two Brothers' is, what‘s revealed in the name, about what happened after Mufasa's death and Simba's disappearance. The story starts years after that. We all know that Scar took over the Kingdom. But what happened during Simba's absence? And after that? What's life like on the pride with Scar? What's in it for the future for Nala, Sarabi and the other lionesses? And how's Scar holding up as King himself? Scar/Taka is such an interesting character to write about and with this story I‘m deepening myself into his chaotic mind. Also there‘s a closer look into his past as Taka, as it still hunts this black maned lion. Is Scar able to deal with all these 'ghosts' of the past? Is Taka still hidden somewhere inside or is our pal truly destined to be doomed? - The idea of this story actually also has to do with the fact that I wanted to be able to live the scene 'The Madness of King Scar' completely from his perspective."
Scar‘s Reign
I think Scar/Taka is a character Disney could have do more with. A few years ago I started writing a story a little based on The Madness Of King Scar scene (both the deleted scene of 1994‘s film and the musical version), but also I like to dig deeper into his past. This story is called Scar‘s Reign. I originally wrote this in Dutch and I‘m busy translating it, which also gives me new ideas for the continue. I just posted 'The Lead Huntress', a chapter I very much enjoyed writing. And for a upcoming chapter called 'The Madness of King Scar' I really stepped into that chaotic head of him. (I like to work with the italic font to reveal certain thoughts of the characters, but to truly show how chaotic his mind truly has become, I've written TMOKS in his perspective completely.) If you are interested in reading my story, here are a few links:
Scar‘s Reign (FanFiction.net)
Scar‘s Reign (Archive of Our Own)
Wattpad
This is the story‘s original summary:
"This story based on 'The Madness of King Scar' & 'A Tale of Two Brothers' is, what‘s revealed in the name, about what happened after Mufasa's death and Simba's disappearance. The story starts years after that. We all know that Scar took over the Kingdom. But what happened during Simba's absence? And after that? What's life like on the pride with Scar? What's in it for the future for Nala, Sarabi and the other lionesses? And how's Scar holding up as King himself? Scar/Taka is such an interesting character to write about and with this story I‘m deepening myself into his chaotic mind. Also there‘s a closer look into his past as Taka, as it still hunts this black maned lion. Is Scar able to deal with all these 'ghosts' of the past? Is Taka still hidden somewhere inside or is our pal truly destined to be doomed? - The idea of this story actually also has to do with the fact that I wanted to be able to live the scene 'The Madness of King Scar' completely from his perspective."
Mammia Mia 2/Rush
Spoken of cooling down.. The other day it was around 35 degrees during the open air cinema with Mammia Mia 2 (if you are in need of finding inspiration for following your dreams, this one, Midnight in Paris (one of my favorite non-Loki Tom Hiddleston films) or Letters to Juliet I can recommend you.) Luckily this film had lots of goosebumps moments to cool off. Hopefully it's less hot during the showing of 'Rush' since this film with Chris Hemsworth has the opposite effect. (While I write this, I hear the F1 Grandprix from Germany in the background. The race is a bit of a problematic rainy race, oh yes I‘m looking forward in seeing this film again!)I love the music of ABBA and when hearing Waterloo my heart just warms. Last week I also heard it when a local band played it. Waterloo, Go Your Own Way, See You In My Dreams, Don‘t Stop Believing, only a few of the songs that make me touch my heart. Also a film which concerns your own dreams, is expected to touch you. In Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again young Donna is turning the wheel in her life by with traveling she begins her adventure. Traveling is one of my dreams. "Follow Your Dreams, You May Be Surprised Where They Lead You", is a lovely inspiring quote and I got a few places/countries on the list. Freedom is important and that I‘m seeking more and more in my life. You know, there‘s so much to discover in the world, but also discovering yourself more. When you take a step sort like Donna did, you‘ll grow and you discover that you can do much more than you perhaps thought you could. Another dream of mine is having a family. Films don‘t often make me cry but all baby/pregnancy scenes hit me every single time! I once wrote my dream this way: 'My dream is to hold my new born baby for the very first time. When imagining this happening, the warmest feeling fills my heart.'
Listen to your Heart,
Go your own path,
Reach your dream(s)!
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| An older photo of my two favorite words |
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