Shakespeare meets Tim Rice and Elton John

What do you get when you mix a Shakespeare classic with Tim Rice and Elton John?

One of the top Disney movies of all time! (complete with Broadway musical)

In case you were unaware: June, 2014 marks the 20th anniversary for The Lion King! If you are not a fan of this movie, I just don't know how you live with yourself.

Seriously.

Okay, not seriously.

But still.

Dang.

I decided to redo The Lion King meme from the previous collection that I discussed in my last post as my... anniversary? birthday? I don't know - as my gift to Lion King for reaching this wonderful mile stone.

The original meme stated that The Lion King taught children to run away from their problems.

Which I, of course, completely disagree with. If you only watch the first half of the movie, that may indeed be the impression that you get. But the whole plot leads up to Simba realizing that running from your problems doesn't do any good. For crying out loud - HIS DEAD FATHER COMES TO HIM IN A CLOUD AND TELLS HIM TO GET HIS ACT TOGETHER AND GO BACK.

Admit it: you still get chills when you hear James Earl Jones tell Matthew Broderick to "remember who you are..."

I don't know... I feel like Disney really hit home with this one. It's not that hakuna matata is bad. I think we all need to remember to not get wound up too tightly in life. In fact, I plan on taking the next couple days to practice this hakuna matata philosophy myself.

But the whole point of the movie is showing that TOO MUCH of that can be detrimental to our well being, as well as those we care about. Simba goes back. Why? Because he got some sense knocked into him, thanks to his childhood best friend, a crazy monkey and his deceased father.

The Lion King taught me there is more to me than what I see when I look at my reflection.

"You see? He lives in you."

You can take this to mean whatever you want. As a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I'm going to take it to mean that we all have a more divine identity than what we usually settle for. We've been given this life as an opportunity. How many of us really take advantage of that and do something worthwhile with it?

Disney didn't teach me to run away from my problems. It taught me that running away doesn't do anything. If something in the past is unresolved, rest assured that it will eventually catch up to you. So don't give it the upper hand. Learn from it. Go back. Take care of your responsibilities. Remember, you are more than what you have become.

We all have someone we are meant to be. And, the truth is, even with all the crap in the world, the person that is most likely to keep you from that, is you.