This film is a PG, was released on July 19th 2019, and this review will contain SPOILERS, but to be fair if you don't know what happens in the original Lion King, what?
Introduction
I love The Lion King. It is one of my favourite films of all time and definitely the best-animated movie that Disney has made without the help of Pixar. It has such gorgeous animation, lovable characters, a majestic sense of scale, excellent songs I know every word to, a really powerful message, and some strong emotional moments. It's just flawless. So, why remake it?
Thoughts Going In
I didn't have my expectations high for this film. I could tell that it was going to be worse than the original but also lack a lot of the original's magic too. This was evident from what I saw in the trailers. I also suspected Jon Favreau, while being a talented director, wouldn't be able to do a great job here. This is because when he made the first Iron Man, it was great. But, Iron Man 2 wasn't as good. Here, he's already made one fabulous Disney remake, The Jungle Book, so maybe he'd run out of steam by the time The Lion King came around. Who knows, I was just keen to see it now.
The Story
Simba is a young cub who is next in line to the throne of Pride Rock. However, his jealous uncle, Scar, brings tragedy into his life and Simba is banished from the Pride Lands and forgets who he is. Yadda yadda you know the rest.
What I Liked
Well it kind of goes without saying but the visual effects work in this film is stunning. You begin to forget that this film was entirely animated in a computer after some time as you just accept it as real. The attention to detail to make this as photo-realistic as possible is astonishing. The fur, the water, the blades of grass, each individual leaf on the trees, every little spec of dirt, the rocks, the sky, it is all well done to a remarkable extent. This is one aspect of the film that you can't fault because it is clear that a lot of people have spent a lot of time on this part of the film.
Some of the voice acting was good. Not a stamp on the original but competent. Donald Glover was really good as Simba. I love Donald Glover as an actor, he's done so many great performances in recent years in films like The Martian, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and others. Even though he had minor roles in all of the above, he still makes the most of what he's meant to do. Here, he has all the charm and charisma that Matthew Broderick had before. Seth Rogen was perfect as Pumbaa, his comedic timing and his laugh were on point, even if his singing wasn't quite. Of course, James Earl Jones being back as Mufasa was the right decision because nobody could ever replace him, and he did a great job once again.
The score is absolutely as electrifying as it was before. Although, they do some nice variations on it here which were well done. This is one of the best scores of all time and I don't think it will ever not feel epic.
The last thing that is praiseworthy is that the film has the overall tone and feel of The Lion King. While I was watching it, even though it looks and sounds different, it still felt like the 1994 classic. I know the opening to the original like the back of my hand, I know it starts with the sunrise, then a rhino, then some antelope, then some meerkats, then a leopard, and so on. And the opening shots of the film were exactly the same but in live-action. I wasn't hoping for them to make any great changes as that would risk tarnishing what we love, and I liked seeing how they recreated nearly every scene from the first time around but with the live-action twist.
What I Didn't Like
There are many issues with this film. Firstly, these characters are all made to look like real animals. The issue with this is that they are no longer as expressive as they were in the original. This is a big setback in a story where connecting with the characters is quite a significant attribute. Then you look to the voices. Because the actors are all acting with the necessary emotion and energy, it felt unnatural when it looks to be coming out of the mouth of a creature that doesn't look as if they feel the same thing. What's even worse is that some of the animals have limitations where it doesn't seem as if they can pronounce certain words. Zazu's beak moves up and down like a Muppet's mouth so you couldn't see what he was saying from what you saw, and it looked jarring when you heard what he was saying. Additionally, some actors seem to be going over the top. Chiwetel Ejiofor seemed like a good choice for Scar, but he was so melodramatic when delivering lines such as "long live the king" or "run away and never return" which was unnecessary when Scar was better off as sly and malicious in his delivery, which Jeremy Irons pulled off perfectly. As much as I liked Donald Glover, he too seemed to be exaggerating in the wrong way at certain points, the climax in particular. As for the other actors, John Oliver didn't have the witty and charming nature of Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, Billy Eichner lacked the energy and quirkiness of Nathan Lane as Timon, and Beyonce didn't add much to the role of Nala, her delivery felt flat and dull and it was clear that she was only cast because she's popular and can sing well. The actor for young Simba was also really irritating, which made me feel bitter about the character when that was clearly not how I was meant to feel. Unfortunately, there were even some times when James Earl Jones seemed a bit artificial as Mufasa. This is most likely due to how he was in the original so it feels like his dialogue was just slapped into this new version. So, as a whole, the film presents many issues with its characters and actors.
Secondly, the aesthetic of the film, while visually impressive, felt wrong for this story. When I think of some of the most memorable scenes in The Lion King, I think of the beautiful opening sunrise against the monotonous red sky, or the variations of colours and designs for a more exotic feel during the Just can't wait to be King song, or the murky greens in the Be Prepared song, or what about the obvious contrast of colours of the Pride Lands in Mufasa and Scar's reigns. A lot of what makes these scenes special is the colours. Animation is what allows for such vibrancy and it makes certain stories more visually interesting and engaging. This is why I felt underwhelmed when I saw the bleak sunrise against a much less atmospheric sky that opened the film, or how Just can't wait to be King is basically Simba running around singing, with all the colours remaining the same, and then Scar sings Be Prepared in an insipidly grey cave area, and when he becomes king, there isn't a great difference between how the Pride Lands looked when Mufasa was king. This has also had an effect on the character design. You no longer have the iconic red manes, Zazu's bright blue feathers and bright orange beak, Scar's beady yellow and green eyes, and so much more. So, the transition to live-action has washed out a lot of the adventurous colour palette that made the original so visually exciting.
Another odd thing is that the film doesn't feel as grand as it did before. Once again, thinking of memorable scenes in the original, I think of the sharp reveal of a striking Pride Rock, or the gigantic stampede of charging wildebeest which allowed for an equally as gigantic sense of impending doom, and then there are my favourite scenes in the original, the majestic ghost of Mufasa and the awe-inspiring moment when Simba slowly walks upon Pride Rock in the rain. The original film has an unmatchable sense of majesty and scale, all due to the animation. So, once again, I was underwhelmed when I saw a slow pan to some pile of rocks I'm supposed to see as Pride Rock, as well as a stampede that takes place in what felt like an extremely narrow ravine with wildebeest not running particularly fast nor in as great of a quantity, and Mufasa's ghost is swapped to be some swirly, faceless cloud in the sky, and when Simba walks upon Pride Rock, he literally just walks upon Pride Rock. The same way that he walks throughout the rest of the film. Not in slow motion, not over a great period of time, and even the score can't make it seem great. These once terrific scenes no longer feel as glorious or as huge as they were before.
You may look at a lot of these criticisms and say "Well they can't fix those issues because it's meant to look realistic." And in many ways, that is the film's major issue. It is trying to be realistic. Animation is a criminally underutilised medium of film, and I hate how so many people pass it off as just a way to tell stories to kids. No, that is absolutely not true. Animation allows us to tell stories that would seem ridiculous in the real world, animation can allow you to feel emotions for things that you can't feel for in the real world, and animation allows for limitless amounts of expression, creativity, imagination, wonder, character, vibrancy, beauty, and so much more. It is the very reason why we could ever have imagined The Lion King, to begin with. When you go to live-action (or try to make it look like live-action) you take away all of the above. And all of the above can be summed up in one word, magic.
Conclusion
The Lion King remake does feel like it is The Lion King, and there are some good performances, the same brilliant score, and groundbreaking visuals. But, the fact that it tries to be live-action has taken away the expression, vibrancy, grand scale, and simply the magic of the original. This film has absolutely no reason to exist, and because it is essentially a shot-for-shot remake, I cannot see myself rewatching this instead of just rewatching the original. I can see plenty of people going to see this film and loving it. After all, it is the start of the summer holidays for a lot of people and many families will go to see this and enjoy it, and that's fine. Although, if you have kids and you're excited for this film so that you can introduce them to this story, why not just show them the original? It's superior in every way and much more serviceable to young children. Don't ignore a perfect film for a bland and lifeless retelling of the same story.
I'm going to give The Lion King a 5/10
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