When I think of cinematic masterpieces my mind instantly goes to my all time favourite film The Lion King. So I watched it again for the 100th time and picked up on different cinematic techniques used, specifically the use of colour and lighting to effect the mood of the film.
The Lion King is originally a 1994 Disney animation directed by Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers, following the story of Simba as he journeys from a cub to a king. In 2019, a new photorealistic computer-animated remake was released, directed by Jon Favreau. I’ll be talking about both in this post.
Colours in the 2019 remake are lacking, as it is a realistic copy of the cartoon, so the colours aren't as bright and vibrant as the original. However, the two main colours used throughout is orange and blue, two complementary colours often used in films to produce the strongest contrast while at the same time reinforcing each other.
Simba and Scar, (2019), showing the contrast between orange and blue in the scene.
In the 94 original, the colours are a lot brighter as it is a cartoon and not a realistic version, so more vibrant colours like green, purple and red are used alongside the main complementary colours, to emphasise certain scenes.
Characters:
The use of lighting and colour in the film is to emphasise the change in characters personalities. The use of weather is also a main way the difference between good and evil in the film is shown, ultimately changing the colours shown in the scenes.
Mufasa:
Mufasa’s scenes often shown with him in the sun, highlighting his orange fur, with a bright blue sky in the background. Orange is a colour associated with wisdom, warmth and happiness, and blue with loyalty, calmness and trust. All of these attributes link to Mufasa’s personality.
Mufasa in The Lion King (1994)
Scar:
However, whenever Scar’s scenes are shown, he is always in the dark, or in shadows, and when he does step out, the sky is usually cloudy and overcast. His scenes are shown with a deep blue colour, or otherwise dark and dull.
Scar in The Lion King (2019)
In the 94 original, Scar’s look as a whole emphasises that he has an evil nature, as he has a black mane, and green and yellow eyes. During his song ‘Be Prepared’, secondary colours of green and purple are used to create a menacing feeling to the film.
Scar in The Lion King (1994)
Scar singing Be Prepared in The Lion King (1994)
The green used in ‘Be Prepared’ is to represent feelings of greed, sickness, envy- and ambition. All these properties are found in many villains, such as Green Goblin from Spider-Man. But specifically in Lion King, the song itself is about killing Mufasa and Scar’s plan to become king. At the end of the song you can see Scar at the top of the mountain looking down on the hyenas and the colour changes to purple. All of this emphasises power, as the colour purple is best known for it’s association with royalty- and therefore, power, and Scar is at the top.
The use of colour helps to emphasise him and his intentions as a character, especially for younger viewers. I also think that in Disney films as a whole, you can find a correlation between the dominant colour in character designs and how ‘good’ and ‘evil’ they are.
Zazu:
I think the importance of how colour is portrayed in films and characters is particularly clear in the difference in Zazu’s look.
Zazu is a royal advisor to the monarchy, and looks out for Simba and Nala, so he is a good character in the film. In the 94 cartoon, he is a bright blue character, with hints of purple, which symbolises trustworthiness and royalty. He is a highly saturated colour to help give him a friendly aura.
However in the 2019 remake, he is a black and white bird, with dull, desaturated colours which makes him look more like a villain. He also has red on his beak which could symbolise danger, and as that is the only colour on his body, there’s nothing to offset it, or anything to suggest he is a good character.
Zazu in the 1994 Lion King vs 2019 Lion King
I Just Can’t Wait To Be King (1994):
‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King’ is a song used to distract Zazu, so Simba and Nala can sneak off to the ‘elephant graveyard’.
In the cartoon the colours are very vibrant and bright, showing different animals and bright patterns, as Simba and the other animals dance together to distract Zazu. This is used to show Simba’s childlike attitude and innocence, and it is heavily juxtaposed by the bleak colours shown in the elephant graveyard in the next scene.
These bright, overly saturated colours in the song won’t be seen again for the remainder of the film. Showing how Simba is growing up and leaving his childhood behind. The bright colours help to visually tell the story.
In the 2019 version, there are no bright colours, as it is a realistic version (and hippos aren’t actually pink in real life)
‘I Just can’t Wait to Be King’ scene (1994)
I think because of this, the 1994 version is more visually engaging and captures your attention more.
Elephant Graveyard:
Following this song, Nala and Simba sneak off to the hyena’s home (the ‘Elephant Graveyard’). The colours are bleak and grey, symbolising death, as there are multiple dead animal carcasses on the ground, and could perhaps foreshadow Simba and Nala’s fate.
The juxtaposition between these colours shows the difference in the way the cubs may now view the world. In the previous scene they were happy/optimistic and looking forwards to being king as they are ‘free to run around all day’ and ‘free to do it all (their) way’. Whereas when they visit the hyenas they’re in a high risk scary situation, which Mufasa ends up saving them from. That may be the turning point in Simba’s mind that being king is a lot more responsibility than he first thinks.
The Elephant Graveyard (2019)
The Elephant Graveyard (1994)
In the cartoon, red is also a main colour used towards the end of the scene, as Simba and Nala try to run away, while Zazu tries to help before Mufasa arrives. Red symbolises danger and violence, which matches the hyena’s intentions as they chase them.
Pride Rock:
The difference in colour to show the difference in leadership of pride rock is extreme in the 94 Lion King. There are bright, saturated colours when Mufasa is the King of Pride Rock, but when Scar rules it is dark, gloomy and bleak. Pathetic fallacy also is used to help emphasise the feeling of death, after Mufasa’s reign is over.
Pride Rock: Mufasa vs Scar (1994)
The 2019 version also does well to show the difference in feelings when Mufasa rules vs when Scar rules. Blues and greys are the main colours featured with Scar’s reign, emphasising feelings of sadness that Mufasa is dead, and Simba has gone. The use of grey and black also links with death, which can also link to the fact that there isn’t any food left, as Scar has killed them all off.
Pride Rock: Mufasa vs Scar (2019)
Conclusion:
Overall, I prefer the 1994 original Lion King when it comes to use of colour, as they are more vibrant and highly saturated, emphasising certain characters personalities, and helping to tell the storyline.
As a visual learner I appreciate the use of colour to help to emphasise certain qualities in a character, and I think Disney as a company do a really good job at that.
It shows how important colour can be to a film, and even just saturating the colours more, or making sure a certain character is wearing a certain thing, it emphasises and symbolises different things. When looking forward to my FMP, colour with definitely be a main thing I focus on.
References:
*All images and screen recording are taken by me*
Sapusek, S (2014), ColorMetrix, Why are oranges and blues so prevalent in the movie industry?, Available at: https://colormetrix.com/blog/oranges-blues-prevalent-movie-industry/#:~:text=Orange%20and%20blue%20being%20opposite,other%3B%20especially%20in%20graphic%20design (Accessed 4/3/22)
May, V, (2013), BlogSpot, Colour Theory, the Lion King and YOU, Available at: http://virginiainmay.blogspot.com/2013/08/color-theory-lion-king-and-you.html (Accessed 4/3/22)
Lion King Education (2019), Production Notes, p.3-12, Available at: https://www.lionkingeducation.co.uk/backend/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Disney_The-Lion-King_Production_Notes.pdf (Accessed 4/3/22)
MovieMation (2019), YouTube, Why The Lion King 2019 Looks Terrible, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1S-amXBcZI (Accessed 4/3/22)
McGuire, S (2017), Venngage, What Disney Villains Can Tell Us About Color Psychology, Available at: https://venngage.com/blog/disney-villains/ (Accessed 4/3/22)
Isaak, J (2021), ScreenRant, Why So Many Comic Book Villains Wear Green and Purple, Available at: https://screenrant.com/comic-supervillains-green-purple-colors-joker-lex-luthor/#:~:text=The%20History%3A%20Greek%20Greed%2C%20Roman%20Royalty&text=Thus%2C%20the%20color%20green%20represents,Man's%20foe%20the%20Green%20Goblin (Accessed 4/3/22)
The Lion King (1994), Directed by: Minkoff, R and Allers, R. Available at: Disney+ (Accessed 3/3/22)
The Lion King (2019), Directed by: Favreau, J. Available at: Disney+ (Accessed 3/3/22)
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