The Circle of Life

I know that it has been a long time since I last posted but life has got in the way of things. So I am back with one of the first ever scores that I ever listened to. It is from one of my favorite kids movies ever, The Lion King. I am seriously hooked on this film, I have my own Simba and Nala.

I digress, most people do not know that this score is an Oscar Winner. It shocked me too when I found out. Plus it has a true powerhouse of musicians involved in it, Sir Elton John, Sir Tim Rice, and Hans Zimmer.

I know I haven't reviewed anything that had true lyrics before or was classified as a musical but here we go...

"The Circle of Life" is the perfect picture of a grand promenade. It does exactly what a score should do and that is help you to visualize the scene in the film. I really don't have much to say about this one.

"I Just Can't Wait To Be King" is one of those that I think even 3 year olds can sing along to, quite happily. It is very simple and bouncy. Which is fine because that it what it is supposed to be.

"Be Prepared" is one of those little gems that women can enjoy when the kids are away. Let me explain...Jeremy Irons plays Scar in this film and sings. Woman drool over Jeremy Irons (lord knows I do). So when the kids are away break out the yummy Jeremy Irons baritone notes and a nice romance novel and have a great time. Musically it works very well. This scene is for all of those WWII buffs, in that it recreates a Nazi rally. Seriously...go Disney!!

"Hakuna Matata" brings out one of my favorite people, Nathan Lane. I love him, he is such a character in everything that he does. This has the wonderful cheery Disney bouncy to it that most people can enjoy. It works just as well as a bottle of prozac. Oh a funny note, we find out that Jonathan Taylor Thomas can't sing, that really isn't his voice. There is a random woman's voice in the song that I just can't place too.

"Can You Feel The Love Tonight" was the "it" song in the film. It was the one that you heard played over and over again on the radio stations in the mid 90's. It didn't get as bad at that darn song from Titanic. This is the film version which, I like better than the single radio edit.

"This Land" is where the instrumental stuff kicks in. It shows the film score world who Hans Zimmer is, now that most of us rock out to his stuff now from Pirates of the Caribbean to Hannibal. This piece features a very dark sounding strings ensemble. It has a background choir that makes this piece so haunting.

"To Die For" is from the stampede scene in the film. I just love this piece on so many levels. It is active, in your face, but unique. Now, I have been rather nerdy with this score over the years, the wildabeast's hooves are making the same exact rhythm that the lower strings and the drums are making. Nifty ain't it?

"Under the Stars" is probably one of my favorite pieces in any Disney film prior to Pirates of the Caribbean. It is very light and delicate to start with but it paints a wonderful image of the scene in your head. This piece brings out the subtle theme of Rafiki that fun little blue-butt baboon. This theme is staggered throughout the film in several places. My favorite is at 2:33, the running through the shrubs scene. Then at 3:00 it has this amazing African chant and the scene where Simba is running across the desert, amazing.

"King of Pride Rock" is another one of my favorites. It opens with a very dark sounding oboe soli and in 3/4 time which just makes everything sound very depressing and forboding. This piece reminds me a lot of Pirates of the Caribbean in several ways, the progression, the chords, and the instrumentation. I do enjoy the amazing transitions between the various sections of the piece. It just flows and never with a definite ending but one propels to the other and so on. The last 2 minutes of the piece are probably the most remarkable and what probably won the Oscar for Hans Zimmer. It is so breathtaking that it leaves me with goosebumps every time that I hear it. The African chant at the end of the piece just seems to bring everthing to a perfect ending that most people can recognize. The lyrics are the "Circle of Life" which bookends the film rather nicely.

Yes, I know that there are three other songs on the actual album but I will not be reviewing them, simply because they aren't in the actual film. They are Elton John's versions of songs that are in the film. They are worth a listen if you didn't hear them on the radio enough the first 100 times.

Most of the people that I tell that this is one of my favorite scores, they look at me rather weirdly. I hope that this helps out the confusion. This is an Oscar winning score for several very good reasons. Now if only Hans Zimmer can get another Oscar which he so deserves.


Happy listening,
FilmScored