“THE LION KING” FILM REVIEW
By: Brylle R. Claveria
INTRODUCTION
The Lion King had a very human, and very simple story, which made it effective. It was
about coming of age, it was about loss, it was about responsibility, it was about friendship,
and it was about betrayal. The characters were all animals, which was entertaining, but the
issues and relationships are very human, which made the story relatable and easy to get
invested in.
SUMMARY OF THE FILM/PLAY
The Lion King is about a young lion named Simba, who is the crown prince of an
African Savanna. His father, the king, is killed in an incident which his uncle Scar convinces
him he caused, though Scar actually staged it. Scar convinces Simba to run away because
Simba’s pride of lions will hold him responsible for his father’s death. Simba does and lives a
life of “no worries” with his friends Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog pair, until
Eventually, Simba’s childhood friend Nala finds Simba. She pleads that Simba help the pride
suffering under Scar’s rule, and take responsibility for the throne which was rightfully
bestowed upon him, which he does after much convincing.
ANALYSIS
The execution of the play does not hide the theatrical techniques used to bring the
story to life. The Lion King is not a showcase of how human actors can mimic animal
behavior, it’s a telling of a story with very human themes at its core greed, family,
responsibility. The director’s use of ‘double event’ shows the audience the human element
behind the animals and the landscape. There is no trickery here, no tech nor sleight of hand
to make it look like we’re watching actual lions, or hyenas, or giraffes.
The animals are represented in varied ways the lions and hyenas are represented by
actors wearing masks, the giraffes are performers on stilts, warthogs and elephants are
puppets worn by their, even tufts of grass are manipulated by ensemble members in
costume, choreographed to show a vast and dynamic wilderness in the confines of a limited
stage. The puppets managed by their puppeteers in full make-up and costume (like the
character in an all-green, to blend into their lush surroundings, and actor dressed as an
English butler in all blue, to signify Zazu’s role as the king’s majordomo. The masks and
puppets are also are beautifully crafted and the colors are richly vivid. Their use did not
diminish the feelings conveyed in the story and from the characters. Through movement the
anthropomorphised animals evoked the necessary emotions. Other than the acting we can
visibly see, Scar’s deceitful nature, Mufasa’s nobility, and Simba’s youthfulness were carried
out through specific movements. One of the show’s early emotional highlights involved the
lionesses grieving. They literally pull the tears from their eyes, but the confluence of music,
choreography, lighting and staging made it so that you believed their grief.
It’s actually quite astonishing that The Lion King is as stylized and as theater as it is—
swapping out the usual bombast and spectacle of musical theater for an interpretation that
is more expressionistic than escapist. The director’s double event doesn’t spoon-feed the
audience with literal visuals. Instead of just sitting back and watching, we are called to
participate by imagining. Viewing The Lion King is both a visual and mental workout. Apart
from all the new additions that have expanded the animated film into a three-hour
theatrical experience, there’s a thrill in watching recognizable scenes and songs translated
to the stage. The way the wildebeest stampede in act 1 and Mufasa’s memory taking shape
among the stars in act 2 were staged are unforgettable and best left seen, than read about.
The characters memorable songs are still highlights, with “Circle of Life” firmly
situated as one of the best songs to start and end shows on. “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” is
a burst of zany color, production staffs are expertly among props and puppets twice their
size, including ostriches they ride like horses. These young cast members were at home
playing roles of epic and iconic proportions, acting with youthful vibrance and energy that
somewhat eclipsed their older counterparts.
CONCLUSION
The production melds multiple cultures and techniques that the whole experience is
nothing short of an education. The pure creativity and theatricality of it shows the audience
exactly what theater can do in the hands of a director with a crisp-clear vision. In place of
sentimentality for the material, the show is well thought-out and visually cohesive from
start to finish. It may have taken quite a while before the show came to our shores, but The
Lion King that has finally arrived in Manila and currently running at The Theater at Solaire is
an experience that is uniquely, unequivocally a celebration of its medium theater.
“ BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” FILM REVIEW
By: Brylle R. Claveria
INTRODUCTION
Beauty and the Beast has all the markings of a traditional Disney movie. It’s
fantastic, mezmerizing and as over-the-top as it can be. There are moments when those
traditional ingredients that make up a Disney play can be obnoxious and over-stay their
welcome. Still, Beauty and the Beast is a charming play that uses the talents of its lead
actors to successfully recreate and redesign one of its classic stories.
SUMMARY OF THE FILM/PLAY
Having lived a life in selfishness, young Prince Adam is cursed by a mysterious
enchantress to having the appearance of a monstrous beast. His only hope is to learn to love
a young woman and earn her love in return in order to redeem himself. Ten years later, his
chance shows itself when a young maiden named Belle offers to take her ill father
Maurice'splace as his prisoner. With help from the castle's enchanted staff, Belle learns to
appreciate her captor and immediately falls in love with him. Back in the village however,
unscrupulous hunter Gaston has his own plans for Bell
ANALYSIS
The Disney movie "Beauty and the Beast" was the most astonishing story that I ever
watch and there are a lot of lessons that you can learned and can actually apply it to
yourself. The actors and actresses in the movie were impeccable and perfectly executed all
of their assigned roles. The main characters were Belle and the Beast, the character of belle
was a lovely heroine and beautiful girl who loves reading books and who can see the
outward appearance of the beast. She is the savior and her love can only break the curse in
restoring the beast to prince he once was. The character of the beast was a selfish man, full
of pride and arrogance and lack of compassion for those less fortunate people. Emma
Watson and Dan Stevens are the stars and the main character of the movie and both of
them was an amazing artist they did a great job in portraying the character of belle and the
beast. For me, all the scene was awesome and how they deliver their dialogue was concise
and perfectly executed.
To the set and art directors the location and place that they film was mesmerizing
and beautiful. The setting was really realistic and you can actually feel that you are inside
the film. The music and musical director used music in every scene that has musical dialogue
was perfectly amazing and the musical directors has good taste on matching the music on
every scene in the movie. In terms of the color they were colorful and it is not that bright
and dark but it was balance which is great to look in our eyes and a high quality of video.
When it comes to the make-up, hair and costume design of the characters were really suit
to the role that they are assign and it is connected to the time period of the story and their
makeup are just light which is great. In costume design, the designer did really well because
they are all magnificent to look at and you can see in the film that they used their creativity
and innovativeness to design all the costumes to make it look beautiful and completely
appropriate in the time period. For the sound, camera, and special effects technicians the
cinematography of the movie was extraordinary, start from the level of sounds in terms of
the dialogue, the angles of every shot in scene was remarkable and the special effects that
they used is genuinely match and suit to each scenario.
The movie wants to show us and learn that true love sees the beauty within our soul not by
our physical appearance or the external beauty of the person. It is always based on what
kind of heart and attitude the person have, and not the beauty that can be seen in our
naked eyes that can actually fade away when we are already old. First lesson, true love is
sacrifice, as I watch the movie love isn't only about the relationship between two people but
it can also be in your family and the people that surrounds you. Second lesson, being poor
doesn't mean being different, just like belle she reads a lot of books and striving hard in
living her dreams but the people on her village is just laughing at her and that makes me
realize that you should not mind others just follow and believe in your dreams no matter
what those maybe. Third lesson, don't let criticism minimize your self- worth, I believed you
embrace yourself no matter what flaws you have because we are all unique in our own
ways. To our life, not everyone will like us and someone will be going to discriminate us but
it is always depending on you if you're going to let them drag you down or just ignore them.
Fourth lesson, letting go will never be easy, this situation can be happened to our
relationship, friendship and in our family and it is a tough one and letting go of people you
loved the most is the difficult time. to say goodbye. Fifth lesson, all of us people have the "beast"
inside us, as far as I know that we all have the attitude and the behavior that we don't expect to
show up but it is a matter of deciding or choosing what action you will take. Sometimes think if you
want to be the beauty or the beast? Final lesson, the biggest is enemy is yourself, I could say that
this is the hardest enemy in your entire life, arguing with yourself will never be easy. Sometimes we
should stop and take time and look inside ourselves and discover if were happy on what we are
doing
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, for me I've realized to value and appreciate the internal
characteristics of a person such as kindness and understandable other than superficial
characteristics, like good looks. The moral lesson of this movie is that if you love a person
like them despite of their outward characteristics and always remember that with great
power comes with great responsibility. The director stays true to the themes and styles that
made the original so beloved in the first place, but there’s also something unique about this
adaptation that makes it feel entirely new. It’s the combination of nostalgia and modernity
that will appeal to both fans of the original film and those who have never seen it, ushering
in an entire new generation of Beauty and the Beast fans. I was concerned about this movie
going in, considering how classic the original is, but I walked away from the play feeling
content and humming “A Tale as Old as Time”
“ THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA” FILM REVIEW
By: Brylle R. Claveria
INTRODUCTION
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical based on the 1910 French novel of the same
name by Gaston Leroux, it tells the story of a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who
becomes the obsession of a mysterious, masked musical genius living in the subterranean
labyrinth beneath the Paris Opéra House.
SUMMARY OF THE FILM/PLAY
The story of a young chorus girl, Christine - a young talented singer who, with the
right training, could become world famous. While rehearsing at the Opera Populaire, where
weird and unexplainable things happen, she captures the attention and the heart of The
Phantom, or as the Opera Populaire call him...The Opera Ghost. But he is no ghost - he is a
disfigured musical genius who has hidden away for years to avoid the cruel stares of
strangers. With the Phantoms help, Christine becomes the venue's leading lady, but tragedy
awaits as the young soprano has fallen for the charms of handsome noble Viscount Raoul De
Chagny, not realizing her Angel of Music is deeply in love with her. Insane with jealousy and
unable to see the object of his affection, and ultimately is obsession, in the arms of another
man, The Phantom kidnaps Christine - unaware of the lengths Raoul is prepared to go to get
her back.
ANALYSIS
Universal Pictures, Director Nick Morris and Laurence Connor adapted the work of
Gaston Leroux, "The Phantom of the Opera' and made it a musical play. To celebrate its 29
Anniversary, a performance was held at Royal Albert Hall and was released on October 2,
2011. The Phantom of the Opera tells a story about a man named Erik, who is a musical
genius but whose face is horribly disfigured ever since his birth and because of that he has
been shunned, hated and abused by the society and his mother feared and loathed him. He
falls in love with a young singer, Christine Daaé and starts to train her to become a singer.
He appeared to her as the Angel of Music, who her recently passed away father had
promised to send her and she believed in - so he is nothing but an echoing voice in her
dressing room. When Christine's childhood friend and sweetheart, Viscount Raoul de
Chagny suddenly appears back into her life. the Phantom becomes jealous.
As the Phantom has already fallen obsessively in love with Christine and his violent
and totally lonely life has made him horribly insane, the love triangle rises into a nightmare:
When Lot 666 chandelier was revealed I felt amazed by the effects used. And the huge
screen added color to the stage.
I fell in love with mysteriousness of the Phantom when he has his mask on played
by Ramin Karimloo. He portrayed the role very well as the protagonist turned into
antagonist. That part particularly asks a lot of an actor. Not only does he have to sing. he has
to find this very deep emotion to dig into Phantom was rather misleading than evil. I felt
sympathy for his character. His voice is also suitable for the part. Sierra Boggess, Christine
Daad in the play, effectively rendered his part and she sang high notes beautifully. They
were all perfect fit for their role.
CONCLUSION
Nevertheless, the characters did their part with professionalism. Hands down to
them The stage was well decorated that made me felt like I'm with them years ago. Effects
are all in timing. The Phantom of the Opera is a piece difficult to stage but they did it Like
Les Miserables, there was an orchestra at the back. In relation to this, strongly believe that it
is just to declare that it is one of the best Broadway shows ever made.
