Movie #417 - The Lion King

The Lion King
1994 - Rated G - 1 hr 29 min
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Starring: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jeremy Irons, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Moira Kelly, Cheech Marin, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Who doesn't love this movie? And who hasn't -- at some point -- quoted those iconic lines? "Everything the light touches..." "The king has returned..." "Hakuna Matata..."

Really, this one's so ingrained in my generation's childhood, it's hard to escape.  And now that it's a Broadway musical, everyone else loves it too.  It's easy to see why, with such a gripping story of deceipt that even adults can love, the kind of jokes that get mom, dad, and the kids all laughing, and some of the best songs Disney ever churned out of their powerhouse years.  This puts the cap on Disney's golden age for me.  I'll watch it over and over and over again.  Anytime Ellie asks.

Movie #75 - The Birdcage

The Birdcage
MGM
1996 - Rated R - 1 hr 57 min
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Diane Wiest, Hank Azaria, Calista Flockhart, Christine Baranski

First of all, the fact that this movie is rated R is definitely a sign of the times... I guarantee you if a movie came out today about "A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiance's right-wing moralistic parents" I don't think it would be rated R unless there was nudity and copious F-bombs. There are neither, so I'm guessing the gay thing earned it the R. How lame of you, 1990's FCC.

On to bigger and better things, for example, how much I love this frickin' movie. It still makes me laugh, thanks to the amazing cast. And although it's kind of annoying that this nice couple's idiot son wants them to be untrue to themselves to impress some jerk, if you forget about that and just enjoy the hillarity that ensues, you're golden.

It's hard to decide whether Nathan Lane or Hank Azaria is the best thing about this movies. From the spot-on melodramatics that Lane provides to the "combination of Lucy and Ricky" that makes Azaria so memorable, I'm truly torn. Fortunately, I don't have to decide because I can get them both. I will also add, though, that this movie is an interesting one, since Robin Williams plays the "straightman" (I know, I know. He's gay, but he's the straightman. Are we clear?) It was probably one of his first roles not being the loony one.

It was nice to laugh with this movie today... I consider it one of my favorites.