MovieChat Forums > The Lion Guard Discussion > Not Too Bad But One Thing Annoys Me

Not Too Bad But One Thing Annoys Me

posted 8 years ago by zsofikam
4 replies | jump to latest

Warning: Rant Ahead:
The animation is good but not as good as the original but I wasn't expecting it to be. I also liked the idea of Mufasa coming back and of a good hyena. While it does mess with the continuity of Simba's Pride and Kion could just as easily have been the son of Kiara and Kovu, that's not what bothered me. I was never bothered by how the hyenas were portrayed. The original is actually how I first got into hyenas. Also in the original, the vultures were neutral and simply flying around. Sure Timon and Pumbaa chased them but it was all in fun rather than racism. Even the vulture cops from the Timon & Pumbaa TV show aren't bad, they're just doing their job. Now we have the idea that vultures are simply the abusers of life that have no business being anywhere near lions (what's so great about lions anyway?) Vultures are among the most peaceful creaturess on earth. In addition to disposing of the dead, they kill dying animals and thus grant them the the mercy of a quick and easy death rather than a slow and horrible one. Even hyenas, which are also mainly scavengers, will also kill various animals. Vultures do nothing more than eat corpses that could harbour anthrax, botulism, and cholera, to name a few, and yet the vultures themselves don't get sick. They also eat pain-wracked terminally ill/injured animals that would otherwise have a long drawn-out death. In addition, they have close-knitted communities where they mate for life and put their chicks and elders first.
PS: Call me a vultureboo all you want but I just love vultures and I simply adore birds in general. At least Disney
has this thing were kids can learn to appreciate vultures, inspired by the fun friendly vultures in The Jungle Book.

[–] BuzzHanks 8 years ago

I do not think the show is saying that all vultures are bad, its just Mizingo who is bad because he chooses to be bad. Like everything else in life it is our choices that shape who we are. There can b just as many good vultures as there are dinosaurs or lions or people, and there can also be just as many bad.

[–] zsofikam 8 years ago

Agreed, you have a good point. It's our choices that dictate who we are. I was just having a bad day.

[–] PopSixSquish 8 years ago

Whoot!! Vultures (and hyenas) are awesome!! 👏👍👌 It's a shame they had to use individuals of those species as the primary villains, but they've already got one friendly hyena--perhaps a good vulture will show up to balance out Mazingo? An homage to the Jungle Book quartet would rock because I've always loved those guys.

This show was, I thought, intended to be more educational. Not something that lazily takes advantage of the idea that "Well, people don't have such a great image of certain species anyway, so let's keep that up and use them as villains! Some wildlife is better and more important than other wildlife! Yee-haw!" I know it's hard because we're already anthropomorphizing the nonhuman animals to a degree, but the Lion King films managed not to screw it up. Present nature and facts as they are without being so darn judgy.

[–] A-zone 8 years ago

You make some interesting points. However, a few things I'd like to point out:

* Animation - I agree, is not as good as the original movie, but that was expected. As with all of Disney's TV series being made these days, they want to keep costs to a minimum and expect quick turnaround. For this reason the animation will always be hastily done and they actually use more computers to do the animation so it is not as "lively" as the original hand drawn animation

* Vultures and Hyenas - Yes you are right about them being wrongly portrayed. In fact there are no "good" or "evil" animals. They simply act on instinct and do whatever they can to survive. However, you have to remember that this is a children's cartoon, not a documentary made by National Geographic. They don't have to make every animal 100% accurate to their real life counterparts. It's a cartoon and they want some good guys and some bad guys. So usually the hyenas and vultures and other such animals that people don't generally like will be cast as the villains.

* Vultures - most of what you said about the behavior of vultures is true, but some of it isn't. They definitely aren't among the most peaceful creatures on earth. Have you seen vultures fight among themselves when eating a carcass? Even animal trainers who keep vultures are VERY CAREFUL when handling these birds. They have terribly sharp beaks and a bad temper as well.

They are mostly scavengers but not always. When they are many in numbers, they often drive away Cheetahs from their kills. Kills that the cheetah made to feed her young and didn't even get a chance. So vultures aren't as "good" as you claim.

You also mentioned Vultures eating sick animals. Yes, they do that, but unlike lions who first choke the victim to death and then eat it, vultures start feeding on the animal while it is still living. I wouldn't exactly call that "putting the animal out of its misery".

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