Soundtracking: "The Lion King"
Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 12:36PM by Chris Feil
When The Lion King arrived in 1994, it felt like the first Disney film fully developed in its post-Little Mermaid resurrected era. Whereas the genius of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin feel like passion projects born of new financial fluidity, this film rings like a triumphant self-actualization of its return to dominance. It’s right there in the in the rising sun and thunderous opening incantation of “Circle of Life” - Disney reclaiming with force what they had lost and owning the cyclical nature of creative power.
It’s arresting stuff on a meta level, but that’s still incomparable to the song’s visceral gut level impact. Paired with the imagery of a convening animal kingdom both too fantastical to be true and rendered with breathtaking reality, “Circle of Life” feels so monumental that even immersive IMAX screens and sound systems can’t do its scale justice...
When was the last time you experienced an intergenerational audience sit in silent awe during a musical number? Bet it didn’t also enrapture them in a complex relationship for the non-human world around us.
Not often does hyperbole feel insufficient, but the power of “Circle of Life” defies mild examinations. In the hugeness of the number, we feel the unfathomably large evolutionary chain of biological existence and our microscopic place in the middle of it.
“Circle of Life” is the high-budget prestige drama of Disney songs. Here the song finds the Mouse House taking itself very seriously and avoiding the pretentiousness that might have resulted through its genuine emotional reverence. Add in the prestige of Elton John and Tim Rice on songwriting duties, and you have come to the very pinnacle of Disney’s early 90s revolution.
And that’s how the movie begins. The sequence is so vast and flawless that it makes up for what some of the movie that follows lacks, an admittedly high bar for the film and songs to set from the jump. Later silliness ensues.
All that and “Circle of Life” still lost the Oscar to its act two chart topper “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”. The catch-phrase goodwill of “Hakuna Matata” never even stood a chance as the film’s third nominee. Oscar no longer allows this many nominees in the Original Song category, but The Lion King not only proves that a film can be worthy of 60% of the category, but taking the remaining two slots as well. Plenty will cry justice for “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”, but I prefer the Scar-as-gay-dictator drama of “Be Prepared”.
But honestly, how can “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, the Oscar winning track, even compare to “Circle of Life”’s elemental majesty? Yes, it was the film’s more radio friendly track, and one more easily transferable to John’s out-of-context vocal. But I don’t want to feel the love tonight. Plenty of other Oscar songs have felt the love tonight. Does Simba getting it on with Nala have the same melodic impact as an entire animal kingdom chorus acknowledging its cycle of rebirth? “Circle of Life”’s legacy will instead live on among other everlasting Disney benchmarks, a true all-time movie moment.
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Reader Comments (13)
Wonderful that they created their legacy before the computer come and take all the magic of it.
I never thought of "Circle of Life" as being the most impactful song of the film until your post. I do remember getting sick of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" though.
As a kid, I can vaguely recall watching the beginning of this film in the theater because of the many points you make in your post. But how lucky to experience it as a young child!? Only as a kid do I remember feeling as if you were really entering another world where Lions ruled, and there was order to the animal kingdom.
The Circle of Life-sequence is one of the most impressive Disney Openings for sure.
Beautiful song. I don't hate Can you feel the love tonight, but Circle simply should have won. Oh well....
And even more remarkable that Julie Taymor was able to replicate that grandeur, majesty, and magic of "Circle of Life" for the stage adaptation. Maybe the best adaptation of an individual song from screen to stage ever.
A beautiful song and majestic opening sequence.
I must say, though, that the story of The Lion King, as kicked off with 'Circle of Life', is chilling. It depicts a world in which every animal is expected to know its place and those who try to rebel are mocked, disdained and cut down. Good luck to anyone who doesn't have the good fortune to be born a cutesy lion cub. It's a woeful message for children to be exposed to. I want a movie about Scar.
This is my fav Disney movie of all time. The African theme, the Hamlet theme, the animals, the swahili and use of Afrikaans is magnificent!
I grew up with East African things in our house because my family used to live abroad and work there. So we visited their old friends and I got the African bug as well. It was so cool to understand the meaning of some swahili words in the movie like hakuna matata :)
I agree that Circle is grand and hopefully one day I get to see the stage version of this great animated movie
I sang “I just can’t wait to be king” in my 3rd grade talent to show. I knew a classic when I saw one.
I still tear up at Circle of Life! I was lucky enough to see a preview of THE LION KING in Minneapolis previews before its initial Broadway run. It works even more impactfully in theater.
The film doesn't hold up as an adult, I feel, but "Circle of Life" will always be one of Disney's five greatest songs. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" doesn't even come close, I'm afraid. There are certainly at least four better songs in it.
Can't wait for the computer-animated "live action" remake to come along! That's gonna be so much fun. :/
I was just on a rabbit hole of youtube clips of lion king before i went on this site again!
The lion king the movie never gets boring
This is SUCH a good post and you'e absolutely right, Chris. I hadn't thought of it and yet while reading your case for Circle of Life as THE song and moment from the film, I knew it was true. It's just so obviously now the most iconic part of the film and an iconic part of film history. No one references or talks about Can You Feel the Love Tonight today.
Shakespeare, as always.