Lion King Hits Every Universal Story Beat!

Whether it's a time-honored film like Casablanca (see last post), a horror classic like John Carpenter's Halloween, or the hugely popular re-released Disney feature Lion King, all three stories share the same universal minute-by-minute beats. All successful movies do!: 

*NOTE: The story begins after the big musical opening

MINUTE  1:  ATTENSION!
Scar’s foot stomps on a tiny mouse    
MINUTE  2:  THE BUILD
Scar warns Mufasa that he better not turn his back on him     
MINUTE  3:  THE RATCHET
Scar warns Mufasa that he (Scar) has the brains
MINUTE  4:  ANOTHER NOTCH
Simba wakes his sleeping father
MINUTE  5:  JAW DROPPER
Mufasa shows Simba the jaw dropping sunrise and the vast kingdom he will inherit
MINUTE  6:  FRIEND OR FIST
Mufasa tells Simba about the cycle of life (FRIEND)
MINUTE  7:  FRIEND OR FIST 2
Mufasa shows SImba how to hunt (FRIEND)
MINUTE  8:  SOMETHING STARTLING HAPPENS
Zazu screams “Sire! Hyenas in the Pridelands!”
MINUTE  9:  THE PURSUIT
Simba wants to go to the elephant graveyard
MINUTE 10: THE DISCUSSION
Simba and Nala discuss going to a “great place” with their mothers
MINUTE 11: THE WARNING
Simba shushes Nala, warning her not to talk so loudly
MINUTE 12: HARSHER WARNING
Simba (warning Zazu): I’m gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware!” 
MINUTE 13: THE SUBMISSION
Zazu says, “If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out”
MINUTE 14: DANGER WATCH 
Large animals fall towards little Zazu
MINUTE 15: WHEW, THAT WAS CLOSE!
Zazu thwarts Simba’s attempt to check out the elephant grave (Whew, that was close!) 
MINUTE 16: THE BIG CONCERN
Simba, Zazu and Nala see hyenas approaching!
MINUTE 17: WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
Hyenas threaten to eat them
MINUTE 18: TROUBLE TURN
Hyenas corner Simba and Nala
MINUTE 19: THE THREAT
Scar watches in the shadows (a threat to Simba’s future safety)
MINUTE 20: PUSH BACK
Mufasa scolds Simba
MINUTE 21: THE GREAT AFFECT
Simba and Mufasa bond as father and son
MINUTE 22: TRUTH DECLARED
Mufasa: “Whenever you feel alone, those kings will be there to guide you, and so will I”
MINUTE 23: SCARY STUFF
Scar shows up in the cave
MINUTE 24: SCARY STUFF 2
Scar wants the hyenas to kill Mufasa
MINUTE 25: SCARY STUFF 3
Scar says they will kill Mufasa, and Simba too
MINUTE 26: THE BIG UNEXPECTED
An army of hyenas line up to help Scar
MINUTE 27: THE MINI-QUEST
Scar leads Simba to a rock under a tree
MINUTE 28: BIG QUEST PREP 
Scar asks Simba to stay on the rock (so hyenas can kill him)
MINUTE 29: BIG QUEST PREP 2 
Hyenas wait until Scar gives them the signal
MINUTE 30: THE NEED
Simba needs to escapes the stampeding wildebeests
MINUTE 31: DISTRESS SIGNAL
Distressed Mufasa sees Simba slipping from the tree branch
MINUTE 32: ANXIETY AMP
Simba sees his father fall into the stampede!
MINUTE 33: OMINOUS OH NO!
Simba finds his dead father (Oh no!)
MINUTE 34: FRIEND AFFECT 
Simba cries over his father’s lifeless body
MINUTE 35: BAIT & SWITCH
Scar tells Simba to run away, but then he tells the hyenas to kill him
MINUTE 36: HIDE & SEEK
Simba hides from the hyenas while they seek to kill him
MINUTE 37: OVER HIS HEAD
The lionesses cry over Simba’s death
MINUTE 38: POSITIVE RECONNECT
Pumbaa and Timon find a barely-alive Simba
MINUTE 39: NEW JOURNEY BOND
Pumbaa and Timon carry Simba to safety
MINUTE 40: ALLY’S WORLD
We find out Pumbaa and Timon are “outcasts”
MINUTE 41: THORNY ROSE
Pumbaa and Timon teach Simba the positive phrase “Hakuna Matata” (the rose), but he’s still without a father and a kingdom (the thorn)
MINUTE 42: SURPRISE REVEAL
Pumbaa’s surprise fart scares away all the animals  
MINUTE 43: SURPRISE REVEAL 2
The leaves part, revealing the surprisingly beautiful place where Pumbaa and Timon live
MINUTE 44: NEW NEWS
Timon tells Simba: “If you live with us, you have to eat like us”
MINUTE 45: OUT OF THE ORDINARY
Simba eats a grub
MINUTE 46: THE REVELATION
Scar holds Zazu captive
MINUTE 47: THE ESCORT
The hyenas escort Shenzi to Scar
MINUTE 48: NEEDED KNOWLEDGE
Pumbaa reminds Simba about the stars (which Simba needs to know to remember what his father said to him)
MINUTE 49: FOREBODING FACT
Sad Simba remembers what his father told him about the stars 

MINUTE 50: THE PORTENT
Simba collapses at the cliff’s edge, deeply saddened
MINUTE 51: THE ENGAGE 
A lion charges after Pumbaa
MINUTE 52: SAY UNCLE 
Pumbaa gets stuck in the tree roots   
MINUTE 53: THE INTIMIDATION 
The lion pins Simba onto his back  
MINUTE 54: THE LIGHTBULB  
Simba learns that everyone thinks he’s dead   
MINUTE 55: SIDESWIPE
Nala can’t believe that Simba is alive   
MINUTE 56: DARK TWIST CHAT
Timon says Simba and Nala will fall in love (+), but their trio will now be down to two (-)   
MINUTE 57: DIFFICULT WORDS 
Simba sings: “So many things to tell her, but how to make her see?”   
MINUTE 58: VITAL EVENT 
Simba and Nala fall in love   
MINUTE 59: THE DECEPTION              
Simba lies to Nala and said he disappeared because he wanted to live on his own   
MINUTE 60: THE SHOCKER
Simba and Nala have a big fight   

And so on...

  

To learn much more about all 120 minute-by-minute beats, and how to apply them effectively to your screenplay, TV pilot, novel or graphic novel, order Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs To Know at Amazon.com or Barnes & Nobles. http://shop.mwp.com/products/something-startling-happens-the-120-story-beats-every-writer-needs-to-know

And try the #1 Bestseller, The Screenwriter's Fairy Tale: The Universal Story Within All Movie Stories: http://www.amazon.com/The-Screenwriters-Fairy-Tale-ebook/dp/B007U6D0CM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1348519200&sr=1-1&keywords=the+screenwriter%27s+fairytale+the+universal+story+within+all+movie+stories

Todd Klick Writing Services: www.toddklick.com