A Family of Lions

A man's strongest bond is often considered to be his family. He is quite literally born and raised with them. This bond has been explored by many works of literature and cinema, often dealing with how far one would go in order to benefit his family, whether he is forced upon the mantle or the mantle is thrust upon him.One of the most famous films covering this is Francis Ford Coppela's The Godfather. 

I discussed several films that have been toted as the greatest of all time and The Godfather is no exception. This film is a miniature epic set in post-war New York, following the Corleone crime family and it's youngest son, Michael. Initially Michael is hesitant in participating in the family business, he has a serious girlfriend and is initially committed to her and their future. But after several events place Michael in a position where he must accept his role as the patriarch. We see Michael begin to betray his beginning values in order to secure his family's position, eventually transforming into an image of his father, the very thing he wanted to distance himself from.

Now is the part where I usually bring a second film up to compare it to, and I still am, but I'm going to change up my style a little bit in order to keep myself a little fresh. Normally I'd find some equally revered movie that I could couple with The Godfather, something that could tread on shared hollowed ground. However I could not think of something so I decided to go a bit off the rails discuss for the first time an animated movie.

In my limited opinion I believe The Lion King is the best animated Disney feature, and it shares several parallels with the The Godfather. We see Simba, the heir to Pride Rock, in contrast Michel Corleone. Where Michael was rejecting towards his family's business in the beginning, Simba on the other hand is eagerly awaiting his ascension to the throne. Both parties have groups invested in their demise, which leads to our protagonists exiles, Simba to desert and Michael to Sicily. And like Michael as well, Simba is called home by unforeseen circumstances to battle for his family and rise to his rightful position.

Both these films portray the lengths that a man will go through to protect his family and those who look to him to lead. Although these two films are extremely different in style, I believe they share a common thread in their core.