Disney is remaking all of its movies in live-action form, whether we like it or not. It is beating this absolute cash cow into the ground. All of their live-action films have been highly successful financially, even if six out of ten were critically panned. The Lion King is the latest "live-action" updated film, even though the entire film is computer graphic imaged. Can one of the most hallowed Disney movies be updated in a satisfying way? The short answer is...no
Let me start by saying that The Lion King is one of the most visually dazzling films I have ever seen. The detail in landscapes and character imaging is absolutely breathtaking. However, I am on the side of the complaints where its difficult to translate the action of the original film to "live-action" form. One of the benefits of the animated version is the pure emotionality in the faces of the characters. When creating traditional animation, you can show much more expression rather than showing emotion on anatomically correct animals. The voice acting and tones many times do not match the characters faces, which makes for a bizarre and distracting experience. It's like watching a bad dub of a foreign film, if that makes any sense. Another issue with the new adaption is the lack of certain action that couldn't be made realistic. The prime example of his is "I Just Can't Wait to Be King." In the original film, there is a sparkling scene of choreography inspired by the works of Busby Berkeley musicals of early Hollywood. In the new version, Simba and Nala simply stroll through a watering hole in a boring and bland adaptation.
I don't really have any qualms with most of the voice acting. Many of the voices, primarily Billy Eichner as Timon and Seth Rogen as Pumba were perfectly cast. James Earl Jones bringing his legendary voice back to the film is absolutely welcome. However, Chiwetel Ejiofor's version of Scar provided a lack of a singing voice. This created an incredibly poor version of "Be Prepared," which is one of the the greatest Disney villain anthems ever. Jeremy Irons gave the character a certain sense of Shakespearean gravitas or couth as the antithesis of James Earl Jones's Mufasa that Ejiofor just couldn't quite master. Even though she has the highest paid black actress of all time, it turns out that Beyonce really can't act. Her line readings are absolutely abysmal at best. Though her and Donald Glover's version of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" is beautiful, her new song "Spirit" detracts from the film. I'm begging Disney to stop adding new songs to their moves, as I had the same complaints with new feminist anthems for Jasmine in Aladdin. I'm also not a fan of the reduction of Rafiki's role in the film. Rafiki adds the sense of mysticism and spiritual guidance in the 1994 film that feels absent from the 2019 version.
For me, to update or remake a movie in any way, shape, or form requires a fresh take or a new aspect to the story. The Lion King plays it incredibly conservatively and sticks true to the original. I do not blame Jon Favreau for this, as fans would complain if he took any creative chances. This creates a lose-lose situation for the filmmaker. This film has the same problem as the remake of Psycho in 1998. Though it is nearly a shot for shot remake, it somehow loses the heart of the original somewhere along the way. Sometimes in film, there is a special magic a film has that is simply unexplainable how to translate to a new adaptation. The original Lion King has this, the remake simply does not. Though The Lion King is not a bad film, it barley touches average as a visually appealing yet substance-lacking film. I hope Disney will eventually stop making these live-action films. Unfortunately, till we, the people, stop seeing them, they will continue to be made.
Grade (6.5/10)
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