The Lion King
The Lion King follows the journey a lion cub named Simba, the heir to his father, Mufasa. The lions live in the more grassy and inhabited part of savannah called the Pridelands. On the other hand, Mufasa's brother, Scar, desperately wants the throne all for himself. To do this, he murders Mufasa and forces Simba to run away. Simba winds up in a tropical paradise with his new caretakers, Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog. When Simba matures, he is reunited with his childhood friend, Nala. She urges for Simba to return home, as Scar is ruling the kingdom with the help of hyenas. However, it takes more to convince Simba to return. He is then visited by the spiritual apparition of his father, who chides him in not taking back his kingdom. This inspires Simba to trek back to his homeland, slay Scar, and return the Pridelands to their original state. The movie ends with the family friend, Rafkiki the baboon, showing the animals of the Pridelands the new heir to the throne.
The Lion King is literally my favorite movie to this date, and it is the reason I began to take art seriously. The animation was fantastic and majestic, the characters had their own unique style, the color palette was always beautiful, and the voice actors perfectly fit their characters. The songs were also a big hit, and it's obvious to see why. However, there was always one thing that I thought was odd: the way Scar was treated in the movie. Scar's backstory reveals that his father chose Mufasa over him for being the heir to the throne. Not only that, but his father would spend more time with Mufasa. Although that doesn't excuse Mufasa's murder, it still could have been avoided. This movie stil remains my favorite, and I know every single thing about it story-wise.
10/10
Adventure Time
Adventure Time is a TV series starring a human, Finn, and his talking dog, Jake. The two live in the magical land of Ooo and dedicate themselves to helping those in danger. Finn and Jake make friends along the way, such as Marceline the Vampire Queen, Princess Bubblegum, and The Ice King. Although everything in their world seems upbeat and happy, the show takes place after a tragic apocolyptic event and traumatic war.
The first thing I'd have to say about Adventure Time is that I admire the crew for creating dynamic, strong, female characters. The women in the show are strong and speak their mind, which is a fantastic influence for youth watching the show. Not only that, but they attempted to push for an LGBT+ couple, but because of the complications of openly showing a lesbian couple, the Adventire Time crew claims that they're 'only friends'. They also have an episode dedicated to how one can struggle with gender identity and mental illness. Aside from the serious episodes, the series has plenty of simple and fun episodes that are entertaining to watch. I typically watch more of the serious episodes, though. 10/10