Jim on Film
Page 4 of 9

To me, the casting of Matthew Broderick as the adult Simba always seemed like an awkward choice. Jonathon Taylor Thomas, as young Simba, gives the character a youthful exuberance and a rich personality, but Matthew Broderick’s voice is without any of that color or texture. One might even say it seems flat and lifeless. But on this last viewing, it finally made sense. The adult Simba is very different from the carefree cub of his youth. He’s troubled and because of this, he’s listless and without the spark of life from his youth.

The Lion King was also the first feature to use slow-motion, and while it never really worked for me here, it’s amazing that it really emphasizes the strength of those drawings . . . They don’t like look like drawings. They really do look like real life characters in slow motion. This technique would be used more successfully in several of the subsequent features.

With The Lion King, there is also the first time there appears to be a repetition of an element. With The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, there are humor-laden battle climaxes. These are rooted in the needs of the individual stories, but because they appear in films released so close to each other, they feel similar. And these climaxes would continue through to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and others.

As in most films after The Little Mermaid and The Rescuers Down Under, The Lion King has few of the depth-filled multiplane effects. However, like the two films before it, The Lion King is also a beautiful film, and like the other films from this period, its beauty comes from the stunning animation, rich colors, computer-generated effects, and background detail.

Because the studio holds so highly The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, I wondered how, when watched in sequence, Pocahontas would stand.

While Pocahontas is a very different film, it is also very strong and stands proudly next to The Lion King. Visually, it is an amazing film with strong verticals influencing the design. There are several brilliant multiplane effects achieved here, including an opening visual reminiscent of the pan across the town in Pinocchio. There is also stunning detail throughout the film, such as the sun’s reflection on the bottom of the lake in Colors of the Wind and the extensive use of shadows.

Pocahontas is also a strong contrast to The Lion King in its use of humor because of the reliance on non-verbal humor in the characters of Meeko, Flit, and Percy. This makes for a rich sense of humor that utilizes the medium of animation to its best ability.

Interestingly, while Pocahontas is a move toward a heightened realism, it’s a film with a more traditional sense of character development. Pocahontas, John Smith, Ratcliffe, Thomas, Nakoma, and the others are all richly developed characters, but like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and later, Hercules, the story does not call for the complexity of Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King.

In many ways, The Hunchback of Notre Dame could be the pinnacle of the new generation. Everything is so detailed and beautiful. The opening scene in the streets of Paris is amazing, and it proves to be only the beginning in what is a stunning film. The backgrounds are filled with lush detail. In the Court of Miracles, for the example, the bricks are quite detailed, with variations in size. The draperies hanging are not just plain-colors, but they are intricately designed. And there are plenty of details elsewhere as well, such as the extensive use of fire and shadows to the reflection of water on the pillars when Esmeralda rescues Phoebus. Even in a simple moment, such as the rain outside the Cathedral when Esmeralda looks to see if she can escape, the artists took the time to add the extra details. Such touches are labor-intensive and costly, but The Hunchback of Notre Dame bears the marks of care and love.

Then of course, there’s the music. The Hunchback of Notre Dame has the most extensive use of music of all the films from this era, if not in the entire canon. The underscore is moving, often using a choir singing Latin to create the perfect mood. And the songs and the score almost seem to flow together like one large musical piece.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame also represents the best and the worst of computer-generated animation. The worst are the humans populating the town square who move like clumsy computer people, and while they are masked by hand-drawn characters, they are easily identifiable, making one wish a Xerox-style duplication process had been used instead.

On the other hand, the use of computers in allowing the camera to move around its environment to create scenes of excitement and emotion is expertly done. In scenes such as Quasimodo’s mother being chased through the Paris streets as well as the camera circling around Quasimodo as he raises Esmeralda into the air declaring "Sanctuary," the presence of the computer is not seen but is powerfully felt. It is clear that even from this film alone, the computer is more than just a fancy tool in animation, but it allows the artists to advance their art of storytelling so much more.

Up to this point, I would argue that all the films after The Black Cauldron are practically perfect in every way. While The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company are not stories that call for grandness, their modest goals are achieved in a superior fashion. As for the films following, again, there are probably things that different people would do differently, but I would suggest that as the original versions of these films stand (and only the original versions of the film), they are perfect.