The Lion King review

THE LION KING:

GORGEOUS VISUALS BUT LAZY, THERE IS NO KING HERE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

DISNEY

Mufasa and Simba in The Lion King (2019)

            Jon Favreau (Iron Man 1 and 2, Chef, The Jungle Book (2016)) returns to the world of Disney in The Lion King, the latest of Disney’s live-action-ish remakes and retelling of the 1994 animated film of the same name. When the original movie was first released in the summer of 1994, it was a massive blockbuster with praise from both audiences and critics, was a huge success and the box-office and held the record for the highest-grossing animated film of all time until Frozen surpassed it in 2013. 

            It really shows how the original Lion King stood the test of time, for fourteen years it was the highest-grossing animated movie of all time and people of all ages have watched it again and again on home media, spawned a franchise consisting of a 1998 direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, a 2004 midquel, The Lion King 1 ½, a Broadway stage musical, as well as two animated spin-off shows on television, Timon and Pumbaa and The Lion Guard. The Lion King is more than just an animated Disney film but a pop-culture icon with various spoofs and references made over the years, how many times has the image of Rafiki holding Simba up been reenacted? A lot, most notably in The Critic and Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.

             Given that I was only a year old when the film originally came out, I did not see The Lion King in theaters but watched it many times on video in the 90s like many kids. Can you really blame me? The Lion King is an epic film experience with its stunning animation, memorable characters, catchy songs, and larger-than-life sequences, I would eventually be able to see The Lion King in all its glory on the big-screen with its 2002 IMAX and 2011 3D re-releases. 

            Now we have this photorealistic CGI re-imagining directed by Jon Favreau who had recently directed Disney’s critically and commercially successful 2016 remake of The Jungle Book which broke new grounds in CG animation and motion-capture technology. Unlike most of Disney’s live-action remakes, The Jungle Book had the distinction of being arguably better than its animated predecessor and offered a new perspective on a familiar story while still keeping elements of the original in check…can’t say the same for The Lion King unfortunately.

            The Lion King (2019) while visually stunning and featuring a star-studded cast is a lazy, watered-down version of the original that does the bare-minimum of a re-imagining and is almost word-for-word. It honestly makes me sad for ripping on Disney’s Aladdin remake that came out a couple months ago because at least that movie tried to do things differently, granted it didn’t work but at least they offered a little bit of variety, this does not. 

            Set in the Pride Lands of Africa, the animals gather together at Pride Rock with anticipation for the birth of their future king, Simba (voiced by JD McCrary-K.C. Undercover, Tyler Perry’s The Paynes, Little) who is the son of current king, Mufasa (voice reprised by James Earl Jones-Star Wars franchise, Conan the Barbarian, Earth). However, not everyone in Pride Rock is happy about the arrival of Simba, in comes Mufasa’s jealous brother and Simba’s uncle, Scar (voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor-12 Years a Slave, The Martian, Doctor Strange) who was originally next in line to be king but now that Simba is born it will never be. 

            To get rid of Mufasa and Simba, Scar hatches a plan to kill them both with a group of hyenas banished from the Pride Lands. After Simba accidentally causes a stampede to happen (or so he thinks) Mufasa attempts to rescue him but is thrown into the stampede by Scar unbeknownst to Simba, killing him. 

            Believing he caused Mufasa’s death, Simba runs away from the Pride Lands and Scar claims the throne behind his back. Simba befriends a wise-cracking meerkat named Timon (voiced by Billy Eichner-Billy on the Street, Parks and Recreation, Difficult People) and a dim-witted warthog named Pumbaa (voiced by Seth Rogen-50/50, This is the End, Long Shot) who take him in, teach him about the wonderful phrase known as Hakuna Matata, and raise him into adulthood. 

            Now an adult, Simba (voiced by Donald Glover-Atlanta, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Solo: A Star Wars Story) runs into his childhood friend Nala (voiced by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter-Austin Powers in Goldmember, Dreamgirls, Cadillac Records) who informs him that Scar has taken over the Pride Lands and everyone is starving to death. With a little assistance from a wise mandrill named Rafiki (voiced by John Kani-Othello, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Murder Mystery) Simba must rediscover his roots and remember his place as Mufasa’s son and the rightful king of the Pride Lands in an epic showdown against his uncle. 

            The film also features the voices of John Oliver (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show, Community) as Zazu, Shahadi Wright Joseph (Us) reprising her role from The Lion King Broadway musical as Young Nala, and Alfre Woodard (Scrooged, Star Trek: First Contact, 12 Years a Slave) as Sarabi.

            Overall, The Lion King (2019) is the perfect example of a remake that has nothing new to share and offers zero imagination. Hey, do you like the original Lion King? Want to see the exact same movie again except in CGI with no surprises or changes whatsoever? Congratulations, you’ll love this adaptation just…don’t…talk…to…me.

            You’d think Favreau would take what he did with The Jungle Book and incorporate it into The Lion King and telling the story from a new perspective. I think it would be possible, The Lion King is such an iconic story heavily inspired by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet which also had numerous film adaptations each different from each other but still faithful enough, why couldn’t The Lion King be the same way? It’s an example of the once-imaginative Disney saying “F-it, which popular animated movie can we remake next without trying?” while diving into their Scrooge McDuck money vault, I await the live-action remake of Frozen in about twenty years. 

            It’s so unoriginal that even the voice actors sound bored while reading their lines which is a shame because this is an A-list cast but they’re not putting much passion into their roles because…well, the movie doesn’t have any passion behind it with Timon and Pumbaa being the only exceptions, at least they were funny. James Earl Jones notably sounds tired while reading Mufasa’s dialogue which he already read back in 1994 with no scene where Mufasa battles off the stampede with a lightsaber, Rogue One style to make up for it. 

            The Lion King (2019) is quite possibly the worst Disney remake we’ve had so far, and I can only recommend this to anyone who loves anything with The Lion King named slapped onto it. Otherwise, go back to the 1994 original that will be remembered for generations and throw this one into the elephant graveyard.