The Lion King Musical

was fantasy come alive.

I absolutely love how they did the giraffes - the people forming the body. But what I love even more is how they did this:

Each person carries three antelopes gazelles (:/) - one connected to each arm, and one on their heads. It's ingenious. It's amazing.

The one part of the movie I remember very distinctly is when Mufasa is taking his son, young Simba, home from the very dangerous encounter with the hyenas, and Musafa stops to "teach [his] son a lesson". As he prepares to talk to his son, the actor takes off his lion headdress. He is now a father.

To me, at least, it was incredibly symbolic. In the land of the play, Mufasa is king. He is looked upon with reverence. The hyenas are terrified of him. Yet when it comes to his son, he really is nothing more than a father, an ordinary father like all the other fathers in the audience - too afraid for his son's safety, yet too tender-hearted to scold the boy.

My favourite quote from the play -

"I will remember my pride."

By Nala, shouted with emotion in song. Said by a lion character, it's beautiful in its two meanings - never forget or doubt your self-worth; always remember the group of people to whom you feel a sense of family.

I love the phrase 'a pride of lions'. It's just such an apt collective term. Lions just... embody pride. The colour of their fur. It screams pride, glory. Glory. "A glory of lions" would sound cool too.

Remember my pride. The family of friends who never fail to be able to make everything better with a word or a hug or by just being there. Who understand when I lash out at them in a fit of anger. The ones who urge me to push on when they're reaching their breaking point themselves. The ones who know I'll always be there, and that they can count on me, too.