THE LION KING (2019) REVIEW

Watched in: July 2019

Didn't like ▢ Alright ▢ Liked ✔︎ Loved ▢

Did I cry?: Yes

Would I watch it again: Yes

Would I recommend?: Yes

Watchability: Easy

Watch with: Family ✔︎ Friends ▢ Self ▢

I recently watched the new 2019 'live-action' remake of The Lion King, dir. by Jon Favreau and starring James Earl Jones, Donald Glover, and Beyoncé. I'll be honest, I was nervous for this one; was I right to be?

Plot & Story

I knew after I watched this film that this was going to be a tricky review to write, because it is basically frame for frame the same film as the 1994 original. This is partly a good thing, because the original Lion King is wonderful and thus this one holds a lot of the same charm due to it being so similar, but also a negative thing, as it almost makes you question what the point of it is. And I know I know, films don't always need to have a point, and I absolutely get that, but the original is so beloved and this film was so expensive you do wonder why they did it. None the less, it was great to watch the film again in a completely new way, a wonderfully interesting reimagining of the story we all know and love.

I'll be totally honest, I've never really had a connection with the original, I'd seen it a couple of times and loved the soundtrack but it was never my favourite, so I think this movie was a lot less high stakes for me than it would be for super-fans of the original. I would say that everything that was lovely about the original was there, the majority of the songs, the big characters and the interesting and brave story, although there were some things missing that for me really stood out. For example, there was no where near enough Rafiki for me, and considering what an important character he is I was confused by his lack of screen time; his iconic line about pain being in the past was missing and he just didn't seem to be considered all that important this time around. I also missed 'Be Prepared' which wasn't a full scale musical number like in the original, and I know they cut it out because they didn't know how to tackle all the Nazi imagery, but how they portrayed it would have been fine with the song as well, and Ejiofor absolutely could have smashed it. It just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me; they were removing or changing things that didn't need to be removed or changed. Some parts struggled to be as colourful and theatrical as they once were as well, because it just wouldn't have made sense with the hyper-realistic animals. This is the risk you face with films like this; you either have complete realism and run the risk of things being boring, or go too far the other way and have things not make logistical sense. I'm not saying this film was boring, it just was lacking some pizzaz that was necessary to take the film to the next level.

One thing I really enjoyed about the film was the fact that, for the most part, they haven't tried to dumb the story down at all. The end fight is every bit as intense, if not more so, as the original, and the stampede scene still made me well up. A part of me thought they would censor it a bit so as to appeal to younger audiences, because it can be almost scary at times, but they didn't, which I'm really grateful for, because it would have changed the whole vibe of the film.

I think as the story goes its pretty black and white, as its almost identical to the original, so there's not a whole lot to be upset about. Again, it does almost beg the question of why, and I think that is a lot of peoples' main issue with this remake, why do it, especially if nothing extra has been added to make it a new entity. I am inclined to agree somewhat with that, but it's tricky because the original story is so widely loved to change it would ultimately result in chaos and anger from fans. I think the safest option would have been to leave it alone, there are plenty other films they could (and are) remaking, though now all is said and done I'm not necessarily upset with the end result.

Characters & Performances

I have a lot of appreciation for these voice actors, as the prospect of voicing real looking animals must have been pretty daunting. It is a shame because the animals do lack emotion and don't express as much as we would like them to, so a lot of the emotion and storytelling rides of the voice acting, and I think everyone did a great job. I've gotta say, James Earl Jones is just spectacular and no one else could ever play Mufasa like he does, it was a joy to watch him reprise his role and its things like that that make these remakes worth while. Beyoncé was oddly great as well, which I honestly didn't expect her to be. It's a bit weird at first, because you're just sat there staring at this lioness thinking 'why does she sound like Beyoncé?' but soon it all falls into place and her voice actually has a really nice tone to it that suited Nala well. I'm still on the fence about how she sang 'Can you Feel the Love Tonight', because I think there are too many riffs and it seems out of character for Nala to sing like that, but also it made me cry so clearly she's doing something right.

I thought the characters themselves were as strong as they are the original, all carrying their own individual stories as well as the main plot. I will say I thought Scar was inherently more evil in this version, and I can't quite put my finger on why, but I think he was a bit one note at points. In the original he has a sly humour and almost relatable distaste about him, but in this film we see none of that, bar the odd line here and there. I missed that about Scar, as I think he's a really strong villain, but he can't be openly evil all the time, as he has to gain the trust of various characters throughout the story, and with the Scar that I saw this time around, I'm not sure anyone would trust him. His whole thing with the hyenas was strange as well, as it didn't seem as built up as in the original, and it felt like the hyenas didn't really like or trust him, whereas I was under the impression Scar was more like their leader. It's a weird dynamic to now have built properly, as basically the whole plot hinges on them all working together, and it doesn't make sense for them to do that within the relationship we see.

Direction & Cinematography

There's no denying that this movie is absolutely stunning and is gorgeous to behold. When you stop and think that everything in the film is CGI rendered and they're not real animals it does take your breath away. That being said however, its just impossible for the characters to be as expressive as they need to be to properly convey their emotions when they're animated to look so real. You can't make them cry or smile properly and this just made some scenes fall a bit flat for me. Some characters were more expressive than others; Zazu wasn't very emotive at all due to his beak not being able to move more, while Timon was, I think, the most expressive character, although he looked the strangest when he was singing. Its just a bizarre experience to watch these real life looking animals start talking and singing, and I do think it takes away some of the charm.

I think they did their best with challenging moments that we all knew were going to be difficult to portray using hyper-realistic animals. 'I Just Can't Wait to be King' was one I was worried about, as in the original was such a big number filled with colour and an animal pyramid. Now I knew they weren't going to try and stack these animals on top of each other, that just wouldn't have made any sense in the context of the film, and this is the problem. Animation and cartoon is such a strong toy and you have so much artistic license when working with it because anything is feasible. However, when the animation goes beyond the realm into the realistic, you lose a lot of that license you had because it suddenly doesn't make sense. This film is a good example of this, there were things in the original they just couldn't do because it no longer made sense in the context. I think they did a decent job with 'I Just Can't Wait to be King', still including all the animals at the watering hole and making it as much of a spectacle as they could, but it still lacked the colour and fun that the original had.

Personal Opinions

You can't be too upset with this film, because at the end of the day, it's just The Lion King through 2019 glasses. The story is the same, the songs have a new vibe to them but they're there and they're nice, and the characters are as strong as they were before with interesting new voice actors. The lack of expression throughout is disappointing but expected to be honest, and while it was a gorgeous film it did lack some of Disney's classic charm. The score is one of the best in any Disney film, and the magic is still there. It just felt like a film I'd seen before. I wouldn't choose it over the original, but it was still a lovely family film and a wonder to behold.

Final rating: ★★★★☆

Did you enjoy The Lion King? Let me know!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6105098/