My Lion King Forum

Slightly philosophical question.
During the first meeting Rafiki advised Timon "to look beyond what you see". Timon not quite correctly understood it, that is literally. But in the end it led him and his colony to happiness. That is, maybe he got it right?

I don't really know what you're asking

Saying simpler: Timon understood Rafiki correctly?

Even though it was a joke, Ma told Timon that everything the light touches "belongs to someone else." When Rafiki first tells Timon that he had to "look beyond what you see" in order to have "hakuna matata" (no worries) in life, he thought finding a paradise home for himself would end his problems, but as evident at the end of the movie, Timon described it as "beyond his wildest dreams, but it still wasn't home." It wasn't until he brought his colony to the jungle that he felt he fulfilled his journey and found his place in the Circle of Life. So, at the end, Timon got it right because he found a place of no worries and proved that a living space for his colony beyond the burrows is possible. Notice how he described as "predator free environment".

[quote="TheLionPrince"]Even though it was a joke, Ma told Timon that everything the light touches "belongs to someone else." When Rafiki first tells Timon that he had to "look beyond what you see" in order to have "hakuna matata" (no worries) in life, he thought finding a paradise home for himself would end his problems, but as evident at the end of the movie, Timon described it as "beyond his wildest dreams, but it still wasn't home." It wasn't until he brought his colony to the jungle that he felt he fulfilled his journey and found his place in the Circle of Life. So, at the end, Timon got it right because he found a place of no worries and proved that a living space for his colony beyond the burrows is possible. Notice how he described as "predator free environment".[/quote]

That makes a lot of sense. I never thought about the ending much but yes by bringing his colony to a predator free environment he found his place in the Circle of Life. Sounds perfect.

Making any sense out of TLK's franchise philosophy is hard because I believe that ever since the original, the creators knew that whenever you prone an unclear and obscure philosophy, then never try to explain it rationally. For instance, the notion of 'circle of life' is in itself pretty bland, and it remains unexplained throughout the first film. So, why would the director bother, in the second sequel, develop any further the idea of 'looking beyond what you see'? That right here is plain bad writing.

I think the meaning is left to interpretation, though from the behind-the-scenes features, the production team did care about the plot in general. Given the original cast came back, they must've known that this movie (and "Simba's Pride") have value or they wouldn't want to be a part of it - they still talk about how much they respect the original film.

I didn't say that the creators disregarded the plot or disrespected the first movie. All I said is that the 'circle of life' and 'look beyond what you see' concepts are comparable in that they're unclear, for they revolve around the mystical.