The Lion King Review

Disney has continued the mining of their animated classics for box-office gold. 2019 sees the studio going for a triple whammy of cinematic remakes – concluding with a “live-action” remake of The Lion King.

In the African Savannah a new crown prince is revealed to the animals. The birth of Simba (JD McCracy/Donald Glover) means the power-hungry Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is pushed down the line of succession, leading to him plotting to kill his brother/the king, Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and the heir.

Disney has weaponized nostalgia. Their remakes of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin made big money and The Lion King is going to do the same. This film has a built-in audience who grew up with the animated classic and a new generation of kids who get to experience it for the first time. Because of this the filmmakers didn’t need to try.

Out of all the Disney remakes The Lion King is creatively the laziest. All the other remakes have attempted some sort of reinvention: Cinderella humanising the step-mother, and Aladdin made Jasmine a more dynamic character. The new version of The Lion King is pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of the original with few changes.

To show how little was changed James Earl Jones reprised his role as Mufasa and the film reused Hans Zimmer’s original score. There were scenes and lines that were just lifted from the original – it was almost like the only action the screenwriter did was change the title page.

The original The Lion King is a great film. It was one of my favourite films as a child and it was considered the peak of the Disney Renaissance. It’s a story that didn’t need much changing, although the flip side of the argument is The Lion King didn’t need remaking at all. The biggest changes from the original involved the hyenas with their personalities changed. Keegan-Michael Key and Eric Andre played a double act who annoyed each other. Scar was given a disservice because his song “Be Prepared” was shortened by a great deal and it was turned into Shakespearian soliloquy, mainly to suit Ejiofor’s acting style. It was a disappointing portrayal of one of the great Disney villain songs.

The big draw of the remake is the photo-realistic visuals and the visual effects artists deserve all the praise they get. The opening “Circle of Life” sequence was awe-inspiring as all the animals gather to see the new prince. The problem with the photo-realistic style is real animals don’t have the same amount of facial expressions as their animated counterparts. Whether the characters were happy, sad, or angry the expression was the same. Funny and emotional moments had less of an impact due to the character faces look the same. The “Circle of Life” sequence was incredible because it relied on the animals’ body language to express themselves.

The Lion King was directed by Jon Favreau whose previous film was the remake of The Jungle Book for Disney. He made a fun family film that also brought CGI animals to life. So it seemed logical for him to make The Lion King. However, The Jungle Book had a couple of advances – first, the original Jungle Book was not so well remembered as the original Lion King so changes could be made, second The Jungle Book centred on a human character.

The Lion King does have other grand moments besides the opening. The stampede of the wildebeests was well realised, Hans Zimmer’s score still has emotional power, and baby Simba was incredibly cute. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella were a favourite of mine as a child and Billy Eichner and Seth Rogan as the new versions still provide a lot of humour.

The Lion King serves a great special effects showreel and nostalgia trip. But it was a story that was better told 25 years ago.