Hakuna Matata!!!

So today I will blog about something special that could be said to coincide with certain milestones in my life.

The release of The Lion King on blu-ray. By far one of the greatest animated films of all time.
But this film probably more than any other has many memories for me...

It was released in 1994 at which point I was just entering high school. Yeah, I'm that old. Though I'm not really. I just like to joke about being that old.

I was just about to turn 15 a few months after it's release. Not really a milestone so much.

But these are.

I loved drawing all the time. I got my hands on everything I could related to art and drawing. This caused me to have a hard time in high school because I got picked on a lot. In 1994, being an artist in high school was grounds for bullying. (it probably still is)

If anything The Lion King (though I did not know I wanted to be an animator yet) kept me drawing even though I took abuse for it everyday because my fellow students labeled me an "art fag" A fave term of the bullies.

The Lion King also coincides with what was my first real girlfriend. Many times we sat and watched The Lion King and discussed the film and how much we enjoyed it. Though I do not see or speak to her anymore, I still remember those moments.

It also coincided with my formative teen years which can be rough for everyone. I was one of those kids that did not know what I wanted to do with my life except I knew it would be something artistic. Though my high school years almost killed that dream due to the bullying. I just wanted to not be bullied and tried to avoid it as much as possible.

I would watch The Lion King on my parent's old VHS copy when they weren't around because I was forced into being ashamed of liking animated films at 15 by my school bullies. I was picked on for still buying toys.
Though all of these things were signs of what I would become nearly a decade later. (or what I always was... an animator)

And also probably the most important milestone that began in my second year of high school that I learned from The Lion King. Be who you are and be who you are meant to be and let nothing stand in your way.

So I now have The Lion King on blu-ray and watch it fondly with memories of my childhood and how the film helped in defining who I am and to not care what anyone else thinks. :-)