The Lion King - a Disney classic since 1994, and it is loved by generations over the years. I remembered the movie as a child with my younger sibling and even the Broadway version twice in Singapore in 2011. Now I got to experience the magic again with a live orchestra!
We asked the directions on how to get to the Plenary Hall; the staffs were kind to guide us through. While we were at the lift, I saw the ticket redemption counters and lots of Simba plushies. "Mummy, the lucky draw is on the first floor," I said. When we reached the third floor, mummy parked me in my special stroller while she and my younger sibling headed back to the first floor to try out the lucky draw.
It was 15 minutes until showtime, so I guessed we had to do the lucky draw later on. Since I bought the tickets online, it was easy when we were going through the checking process. Since The Lion King is a firm favourite for generations, some of the parents were even more excited than the children! I guessed it's their way introducing their childhood to them.
Since my last visit to the Plenary Hall was seven years ago when I attended the 45th Diplomatic Anniversary between Malaysia and China, I forgot what did it look like. I left my special stroller at the designated area and climbed up the steps to the room. Mummy showed the tickets to the ushers, they led us to our seat. The orchestra is The National Symphony Orchestra under The Istana Budaya, they were just doing some final soundchecks.
At 2.30pm sharp, it was showtime! The conductor, Mr. Eric Lee, made his way to the stage with a very special guest - baby Simba! With baby Simba presented to the audience, he has a special seat so that everyone could see him, I found it cute! Yes, I wanna take a baby Simba home. The iconic Disney intro, and it was off to the Pride Lands.
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| Welcome to the Pride Lands! |
The Circle of Life - a connection to all, it was a reconnection to my childhood. The iconic presentation of the newborn Simba when Rafiki lifted him at the edge of Pride Rock for the gathered animals to see the young prince. I got excited with I Just Can't Wait to Be King - it's one of my favourite songs in the movie because Simba knows that he will be The King of Pride Rock.
Simba clearly was looking forward to his future role one day but tragedy strike when Mufasa was killed during the stampede which was set up by Scar - Mufasa's scheming younger sibling, who planned to usurp the throne from the moment Simba was born. He shifted the blame to the young Simba for causing the death of Mufasa and indirectly exiled him from the Pride Lands.
Simba lived carefree life throughout his growing up with the motto Hakuna Matata - it means no worries, Hakuna Matata brought the fun side of the movie. I remembered playing this on my iPod shuffle back then (the good old times of MP3) on repeat!
During the intermission, I quickly sent a couple of photos to Jun Wen (yeah, we met at Siddhartha The Musical): "The Pride Lands has come!" It's always nice to share a classical piece with anyone in the arts scene. The intermission slide was so cute with Simba and Mufasa on Pride Rock for Simba's future role. The scene continued with The Lion King sleeps tonight with Timon and Pumbaa.
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| Returning to the Pride Lands in just a bit! |
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| My Lion King themed inspired outfit. |
With Simba and Nala feeling the love on their reunion, Nala convinced Simba to return to Pride Rock to take the place where he truly belonged but Simba still felt guilty of his past and left the place angrily. Not until the royal family's advisor - Rafiki told Simba that Mufasa would always be there because he still lives in Simba. Visited by Mufasa's spirit, he told Simba to continue to take his place in the Circle of Life and remembered who he was.
The magical thing about The Lion King is you must always remember where you are from and never forget the role you played in a family unit. I do not have any royal blood or taking up big responsibilities like royalties, still I always know my place in a family setting. Simba had to face his past but at the same time he learned from his mistakes.
His past mistakes taught him that he shouldn't run away but faced with bravery. With the help from his pride and his friends, Simba got the throne he deserved. When he walked till the edge of Pride Rock. Mufasa's voice once again echoed in the rain "Remember", Simba led the first roar as King of the Pride Lands. The Circle of Life continued!
The movie ended, the orchestra bowed to the audience but that's not all, there's another show at 8.30pm. We went to the first floor to try our luck on the lucky draw and I was hoping to win a Simba plushie but the queue was long. All the songs were classic Disney movie songs including the one from Zootopia. While we were heading to one of the posters for the mandatory "red carpet" photo, the KLCC staffs were giving out free flowers, so I got one!
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| A photo with baby Simba and Rafiki as the mandatory "red carpet" pose. |
The Disney magic never fades, thank you for the show! If there is a High School Musical one, count me in!
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