sitting in the dark

movies have provided many escapes, many hours of entertainment, many laughs, many thought provoking moments.  i decided to pinpoint my favorite movie just as i did my favorite song.  without any hesitation (or surprise) it is the lion king.  surprising would be the reason, which i will get to.  i have many favorite movies for various reasons.  the nonsensical laughs provided by mindless comedies like 1941, clueless, or dude where's my car?; the senseless disaster flicks like dante's peak, twister, the poseidon adventure; the frivolity of grease; the seriousness of schindler's list; the adventure of the raiders of the lost ark, terminator 2 judgement day; the horror of the mummy, the shining.  i could go on and on.  getting back to my favorite movie.  it is my favorite for a number of reasons.  it is a good compelling story, beautifully animated, engaging characters, memorable music.  summer of 2000 while browsing through videos on sale at a store closing, i found a copy of the lion king for $5.00.  i bought it because i had just started getting back to my fondness and love of things Disney after a long time focusing on other things.  on a rainy sunday i put on the movie and was instantly captivated.  it brought me 100% back into the magic and joy.  i watched it multiple times that day.  i have watched it regularly since.  still captivated, mesmerized.