The Lion King Live in Orchestra (13/6/2026)

 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. 

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.

Returning to the Pride Lands in just a bit!

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! 

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! 

Let's connect to find the fun things I do: www.linktr.ee/katelynchin97

Opinion: Out of My Mind (Movie Review)

Disney's new Out of My Mind is adapted from Sharon M. Draper's novel of the same name. The movie is about a 12-year-old named Melody Brooks (played by Phoebe Rae Taylor) who has cerebral palsy and is trying to navigate her inner voice. 

Like the main character, Melody, I have had cerebral palsy since I was 18 months old. I'll tell you later what Melody and I have in common. Okay, let's follow Melody's journey (note: please do not read for spoilers).

Despite enrolling in a special education school, Chuck and Diane Brooks (played by Luke Kirby and Rosemarie Dewitt respectively) are convinced by Dr. Kathrine Ray (played by Courtney Taylor) - who is a PhD candidate and a regular visitor to the school, to enroll Melody to a different school - to be with students at a regular middle school.

At first, Chuck refuses to enroll Melody in a regular middle school but after some convincing from his spouse - Diane, he decides to give it a shot. Melody gets to experience the life of a regular middle school student weekly and she is placed in Mr. Dimming's (played by Michael Chernus) History class, The question he asks before the class starts is - Why do we need to study the past? The answer is to prepare for the future. 

Melody's new classmates give her some weird looks because they have not seen a classmate and student with disability join their class but she proves she can just be like everyone else. She even got a question right on her first day! After class, she befriends a classmate named Rose Spencer (played by Maria Nash), Melody starts to feel like a regular 12-year-old, hanging out at malls with friends. 

Here comes the challenging parts, be prepared! Melody and Rose's first hangout is at a space fair but when Rose sees her friends from school, Melody is left behind. Chuck told Rose to include Melody in the activities and not to leave her alone. Melody, on the other hand, wants an assistive talking device after watching a short clip of the late Stephen Hawking, who also used the device throughout his life. And again, her parents considered the device to be "too expensive" to them. 

After that with Dr. Katherine Ray’s help, Melody got her assistive talking device on track and it brings the family closer! They can understand what Melody wants to express. Another challenge that Melody has to face is her friends. Let’s just say not everyone is accepting our habits and behaviour. Due to cerebral palsy, Melody has challenges to control her motor skills. 

Besides that, she also faces some indirect discrimination. Mr. Dimming refuses to grade her test even though she scores a full marks on it. Due to the last-minute notice, she misses her flight to Washington DC for a national competition, she feels left out and by expressing her anger - pouring milkshake on to the assistive talking device.

Lastly, parents should listen to their children. Diane accidentally knocks over Penny on the driveway even Melody tries to warn her that the younger sibling is behind while reversing the car. I’m 27, sometimes my parents don’t understand me as a person. I don’t even have a chance to speak even though I can talk like everyone else.

As a person with cerebral palsy, I do get cut off in mid conversation when I’m with the folks, I got cyber bullied when I was 13 and more indirect discrimination. These challenges do not define less of a person with disability, I still can do the things like people of my age. I just want everyone to be treated with equality and respect, more importantly spreading kindness (and not out of sympathy). 

I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 18 months old. This is me chilling at Jyuan Cafe in Ipoh, Perak.

People with disabilities are not inspirations, they leave an impact to the world to make a difference. 

I just want to leave an impact on the world.

You can catch Out of My Mind on Disney Plus, watch the trailer here. 

“Maybe I’m not so different from everyone else after all” - Melody Brooks.

Note: The above write-up is entirely my opinion and review of the movie.

Mickey Mouse 90th Anniversary Celebration (17/11/18)

Who's the leader of the house that's meant for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E! Yes, it's the Mickey Mouse 90th anniversary celebration here at Pavilion KL, Malaysia! Since Mickey Mouse is in Malaysia for a visit, why not give him a warm Malaysian welcome?

I'm a huge Disney fan, and I bet everyone mostlly grew up watching Disney Channel right? Pavilion KL is going to be packed with people, so it's safer to be in my "carriage" when I get there. On the way, I look up Disney Malaysia's official Instagram account to know more about the event. One of the Mickey Mouse sculptures is made up of 50,000 crystals! We have a hard time to get in the parking lot as evening time is peak hours in the big city. Luckily, we manage to find a parking spot, and it's off to magical adventure to the main hall of Pavilion!

I'm shopping for some clothes, I see a familiar face at the stage area. I spot Gabriel and the other Mouseketeers (Wafiy, Dheena, Faiz, Erissa and Ellya). Most of all I finally meet Charis, also known as Kak Charis! She's the captain of the Mouseketeers and my favourite among them all! I want to take a picture with her but all the Mouseketeers are in their stand-by position for the performance later on.

The emcee, Nadia, comes up to the stage to greet the roaring crowd! All the designs which are going to be modeled are the top 10 creations by Malaysia's fashion designers from all walks of life. This is my very first fashion show in my life! What's more? It's Disney! The fashion shows starts with the role call of the Mousekeeters with the theme song of Club Mickey Mouse, follow by my two favourite songs- Take on the World and Crazy. I didn't stay out throughout the celebration due to timing but overall I have the best time! 

Unfortunately, I didn't meet Mickey Mouse himself but my mum bought me a soft toy of him to commemorate my 21st birthday two weeks ago (2 Nov 2018). Yes, I had a Disney birthday to mark my milestone to adulthood.

As I'm about to leave, I have a surprise encounter with Malaysia's national mixed doubles player- Chan Peng Soon! It's a dream come true! It's really a magical event! If you ask me, would I go for  a second trip? The answer is definitely yes! I guess no matter how old we are, Mickey is for everyone because he is everyone's favourite mouse!

Selamat datang ke Malaysia, Mickey! Happy 90th anniversary Mickey Mouse! Hope you will continue to spread the joy and love in your big heart!

A surprise encounter with national badminton mixed doubles player-Chan Peng Soon

Beauty and the Beast (2017): Movie Preview (16/4/17)

  I finally had the chance to watch the latest Disney classic remake of Beauty and the Beast. It's one of my favourite movie when I was a young girl. It taught me that inner beauty is the true you and stay true to yourself.



  There was a handsome young prince (played by Dan Stevens) in a far way land, who had everything he wanted- a big castle, beautiful servants, power you name it! One night during a party, an old woman, who was an enchantress in disguise seek shelter from the cold. She offered the prince a single rose but he shrugged it off. With the second rejection, the old woman transformed into her true form- a beautiful enchantress. Dazed by her beauty, the prince begged for forgiveness but it was too late. As punishment, the enchantress cast a spell on the prince which transformed into a Beast. To break the spell, he must love another before the last petal falls, he would remain a Beast forever as well as the antiques who were once servants. The question is: Who would learn to love a Beast?



  Due to spell, everyone's memory had been erased. Years passed, there was a village called
Villeneuve, a young girl named Belle (played by Emma Watson), who lived with her inventor father, Maurice. The scene where Belle sings the opening line of the first song- Belle. The villagers thought Belle didn't fit into their society because she of her love of reading book. Meanwhile Gaston (played by Luke Evans) returned from his latest hunt with his trustee sidekick LeFou (played by Josh Gad, you might remember him who voiced the bubbly snowman, Olaf, from 2013's hit Disney movie- Frozen). He had his eyes on Belle and planned to marry her.



  Belle was on her way back to her hose when Gaston approached her and asked her out to dinner but Belle refused. Belle didn't fancy Gaston at all due to his arrogance and narcissism towards her. Back in the cottage, Maurice was making some final touches on his latest music box which he is going to sell. "Papa, am I odd?" Belle asked Maurice. "My daughter? Odd? What makes you said that?" Maurice said. Belle told her father that the villagers think she is but not to her father.


  Maurice embarked on his journey to sell his music boxes. Before departure, Belle requested him for a rose that she always wanted. On his way, Maurice encountred the Beast's castle. To prevent the cold, he went into the castle to seek shelter but was amused the castle was enchanted. Terrified, Maurice fled away but keeping his promise to Belle to bring back a rose upon his trip, he went to the garden to pick one but this time he encountred with the Beast, who later imprisoned him in the castle for stealing. Shocked by Philippe's arrival, Belle braved herself to the castle to save her father's life.



  In trade of her father's freedom, Belle took her father's place. Along she befriended with the castle staffs- Mrs. Potts and her son, Chip. Lumiere and his love interest, Plumette as well as castle's head household, Cogsworth. Due to Belle's curiosity, she went to the forbidden West Wing. As she discovered the rose, the Beast chased her out but she was attacked by wolves while fleeing. The Beast came to her rescue but was injured in the process. Belle nursed him to health and asked why the staff chose to stay loyal to their master. They told her: "We believe you are the one to break the spell. The last petal falls, the master will remain a Beast forever while we remain as antique households."



  What Belle and Beast both have in common is they both lost their mothers at a very young age. Belle was just an infant when she lost her mother while the Beast lost his as a young boy (probably seven to eight years old). Gaston asked Maurice for his hand in marriage to Belle but he refused. With anger, Gaston led the villagers to kill the Beast. The Beast was too depressed to fight back as he was thinking of Belle. When Belle arrived, he regained confidence. Sadly, the Beast was shot Gaston, who fell from his death.



  When the last petal of the rose fell, Belle confessed her love to the Beast. Agathe, who transformed her true self into the enchantress, used her magic to transform the Beast into his human form- a handsome young prince. Belle was hesitated at first but she recgonised the blue eyes which she saw the picture of the prince. They shared a romatic kiss which transformed the castle into its former glory and all the household servants were no longer in their antique forms. Well, the most heartwarming scene where they reunited with their families.



  To celebrate the cursed is broken, the castle held a dance ball with Belle and the Prince leading the way. Proud father, Maurice painted the magical moment. They all lived happily ever after! 

  We can't look judge a person by the outside,  what's more important is on the inside. I would recommend to watch the Disney classic. Who knows you might inner Belle?