Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/The Lion King/archive7

The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was not promoted by Karanacs 13:54, 18 March 2009 [1].

---

The Lion King

previous FAC (01:39, 16 August 2008)

I have performed two prior peer reviews and a previous FA nomination for this article in the past. I have contributed to it heavily as well along with my fellow editors. It also went through a copy-edit. This is a self-nomination after many edits since the previous FAC, I believe its is very close, if not ready. Please feel free to give me constructive input. Thanks. DrNegative (talk) 23:58, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

• A quick heads-up before I sleep: this cite is a deadlink. Will attempt to review towards the weekend. Steve ^{T • C} 00:45, 18 March 2009 (UTC)
  • Fixed. Thanks. DrNegative (talk) 00:56, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

• Strong Oppose I'd suggest withdrawing for now. Copyvio among other issues (I wonder why folks think that copyvios will slip by at FAC...). Not well-researched. Unreliable sources. No analysis section (the film has numerous academic studies in which its origins, themes, characters, etc. are analyzed). Prose could use improvement. Examples at random:
  • http://www.jamescumminsbookseller.com/detail.php?itemnr=229445 a) How does this meet WP:RS? b) How does this in any way back up the claim that "Since his treatment was written as work-for-hire, Disch received no credit or royalties."?
  • What is http://www.lionking.org/text/FilmNotes.html? Seems like a copyrighted work by Disney that was transcribed (legally? illegally?) by some random person. Will need more information on this if this is to meet WP:RS.
  • Speaking of that site: "Jim Fowler, renowned wildlife expert, visited the studio on several occasions with an assortment of lions and other jungle inhabitants to discuss behavior and help the animators give their drawings an authentic feel. He taught them how lions greet one another by gently butting heads, and show affection by placing one's head under the other's chin. Fowler also talked about how they protect themselves by lying on their backs and using their claws to ward off attackers, and how they fight rivals by rising on their hind legs." Compare that to that site's wording: "Jim Fowler, renowned wildlife expert, adventurer and veteran of television's long-running "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom," visited the studio on several occasions with an assortment of lions and other jungle inhabitants to discuss behavior and give the animators an authentic feel for their subjects. He taught them how lions greet one another by gently butting heads and show affection by placing one's head under the other's chin. He talked about how they protect themselves by lying on their backs and using their claws to ward off attackers and how they fight rivals by raising on their hind legs like a clash of the titans."
  • "Screenwriter Irene Mecchi joined the team that summer to help further develop the characters and define their personalities. Several months later, she was joined by Jonathan Roberts in the rewriting process. Working together in the animation department and in conjunction with the directors and story team, they tackled the unresolved emotional issues in the script and also added many comic situations, with Pumbaa and Timon and with the hyenas." vs. "By that summer, screenwriter Irene Mecchi was brought on board to help further develop the characters and define their personalities. Several months later, she was joined by Jonathan Roberts in the rewriting process. Working together as the "Nick and Nora Charles" of the animation department and in conjunction with the directors and story team, they tackled the difficult unresolved emotional issues in the script and also added lots of new comic situations with foils, Pumbaa and Timon, as well as the hyenas."
  • http://www.eeggs.com/items/46803.html, http://www.eeggs.com/items/1306.html There is not a single possible interpretation of WP:RS that would allow these.
  • "The Lion King is regarded as a landmark in animation," If this is covered adequately in the Reception section, then there is little need for a citation. However, since you do provide one here, then this opens the article up to more questions on whether it is using sources correctly. The claim is cited to http://web.archive.org/web/20071231043027/http://www.dvdfile.com/news/special_report/in_the_round/lionking/1.html, where it appears in a question of the interviewer. It is an off-hand remark that is an assumption on the part of the interviewer, and in no way reliably backs up the claim that "The Lion King is regarded as a landmark in animation" (even though it probably is).
  • Speaking of that clause... "The Lion King still holds the record as the highest grossing traditionally animated film in history[4] and belongs to an era known as the Disney Renaissance.[5] The Lion King is regarded as a landmark in animation,[6] and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the film for its music and story. During its release in 1994, the film grossed more than $783 million worldwide, becoming the most successful film released that year, and it is currently the twenty-fourth highest-grossing feature film." All three of these sentences suffer from an awkward mashing of ideas with "and". They can be recast for tighter prose: "Released at the height of the Disney Renaissance, the Lion King still holds the record as the highest grossing traditionally animated film.[5]" "During its release in 1994, the film grossed more than $783 million worldwide, becoming the most successful film released that year and the twenty-fourth highest-grossing feature film." or similar.
  • The plot section is written for an inappropriate audience. It adopts an informal tone and goes to great pains to achieve simplistic prose.
  • "Christopher Vogler, in his book The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, described Disney's request that he suggest how to improve the plot of The Lion King by incorporating ideas from Hamlet.[62] It has also been noted that the plot bears some resemblance to the West African Epic of Sundiata.[63]" Don't understand what the first sentence is trying to say. Are these controversies though? They are not explained at all and do little except confuse readers.
  • "a game where you use a peashooter to hit enemy creatures in the jungle" Are we seriously resorting to second person in an encyclopedia article?
  • "He also appears again as a summon character" And that is?
  • Development section jumps from the written script to animators inexplicably. How did Disch's script get picked up? BuddingJournalist 05:01, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.