The Lion King as political allegory

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2000)

When this first came out, I was so impressed I saw it several times. It still remains one of my favorite movies and nearly everyone I've ever met who has seen it regards it highly. That said, it is somewhat surprising to me that more people do not recognize that The Lion King owes about as much to Hamlet as it does Orwell's Animal Farm. Here's why. (SPOILERS)
The herd of wildebeasts utilized by Scar appear to represent mindless masses of general populace. By themselves they are essentially harmless, but properly (or improperly) rallied, they can even succeed in overthrowing an entire government. The hyenas who are conned into scaring them seem to stand for basic undesirable elements plaguing society today (the alluring culture of the street, corrupt law enforcement officials, possibly irresponsible journalistic practices). The movie also makes a strong point that when these individuals are allowed to roam freely in society, inevitably the same vices plaguing their territory (elephant graveyard - perhaps alluding to the inner cities of many major cities... at least in the U.S.) will befall everyone else as well. Note the strong resemblance of the rock formation at the end of "Be Prepared" to skyscrapers found downtown in any large city. For these and other reasons, it's not too much of a surprise that The Lion King was criticized for racist overtones. Still, if you can put this aside, and haven't seen it by now, The Lion King remains the most stunning and complex films in animation history