The Lion King (2019)

photo courtesy of ew.com

BEWARE: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS – BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE ORIGINAL CAME OUT OVER TWENTY YEARS AGO

     Jon Favreau (Iron Man, 2016’s The Jungle Book) directs The Lion King, the latest in Disney’s string of remakes. Like the original film, this Lion King follows young Simba’s journey from cub to outcast to triumphant king. The difference is that this time, the story—including the fan-favorite musical numbers—is rendered in near-photorealistic computer animation. The cast includes such notables as Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, James Earl Jones, Alfre Woodard, Chiwetel Eijofor, and John Kani, and John Oliver.

     Let’s be real. If you’re like me, the images and songs from the (incredibly successful) original film have been seared into your brain from a young age, so for a lot of us, The Lion King will be worth the price of admission just for the nostalgia and spectacle. Generally speaking, the fundamentals of the original translate to this remake: the story is archetypal, the setting is sweeping and immersive, the songs are catchy. Your kids will probably be fans, though the whole thing comes off a bit darker/scarier this time around.

photo courtesy of popsugar.com

     Apart from the stuff we already know, The Lion King makes its case with new animation and a new voice cast. The animation is stunningly realistic, so the filmmakers do deserve credit for perfecting and excelling at what Disney began in 2016 with The Jungle Book’s CGI animals and environments. As far as the new cast goes, the singing and voice acting is inconsistent (yes, even from Beyoncé), but the movie benefits from new talent, especially Eichner (who voices Timon) and to a lesser extent Rogen (Pumbaa), whose self-aware ad-libs make the movie’s second act the most memorable part.

     But if you can resist the overwhelming tide of nostalgia, I would genuinely recommend you stay at home, save the price of admission, and pop the original DVD in instead. The 2019 Lion King, story-wise, is an incredibly similar, beat-for-beat, sometimes shot-for-shot remake of the original; it adds almost nothing of substance. In every other respect, the original has this version beat, easily.

photo courtesy of vox.com

     It all comes down to the animation, which, although impressive, ultimately ends up being more of a limitation than an asset. Photorealism necessarily limits what characters—in this case animals—can do, binding them by the laws of physics and, of course, visual realism. So when Simba cries at Mufasa’s death, the voice performance (from JD McCrary) might be engaging, but Simba’s little lion face just looks like a little lion face. When Simba sings, he just looks like an actual lion, standing there with his mouth slightly open. At times, the movie reads more like Homeward Bound, an old-fashioned Disney movie where live animals are dubbed over with human dialogue, than actual animation. The problem becomes more pronounced in the musical numbers. Traditional animation allows the songs in the original film to be creative, expressive, and fun; here, through no fault of the score, almost every song is a dud.

     Of all the Disney “live action” remakes I’ve seen, this one is the most creatively bankrupt to date. That’s not to say that countless, remarkably talented individuals didn’t work and sacrifice to make this movie the best it could be. The Lion King displays immense effort and unparalleled craftsmanship. The question remains: why? In service of what? This same movie came out in 1994, it was better then, and you probably still own it.

The Lion King is rated PG for sequences of violence and peril, and some thematic elements.

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