The Lion King (2019)

Review

118min

Genre:      Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Musical

Director:   Jon Favreau

Cast:        Donald Glover, Beyoncé, James Earl Jones…and more

Writers:    Jeff Nathanson, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi… and more

-Synopsis-

A prince Lion cub’s path to the throne is disrupted by the treachery of his ambitious uncle after the death of his regal father, forcing him into exile and a coming-of-age adventure, only to return and fulfil his destiny, in this supposedly ‘live action’ remake of Disney’s iconic 1994 animation.

Continuing its bid to dominate the box office year, Disney turns away from its hugely lucrative Marvel and Lucasfilm exploits and back to one of its more traditional properties, sticking to the strategy of remaking its own animations with a ‘live action’ twist and a heavy sprinkling of lavish CGI, as recently seen in May’s ‘Aladdin’. Relying on the safe hands of director John Favreau, the ‘house of mouse’ taps into the fond memories of generations by revisiting one of the most beloved, critically acclaimed and commercially successful creations in its recent history.

JD McCrary stars as princely lion cub ‘Simba’, lording over his would-be savanna kingdom under the tutelage of his mighty king father ‘Mufasa’ (James Earl Jones), his queenly mother ‘Sarabi’ (Alfre Woodard), and their hornbill steward ‘Zazu’ (John Oliver), while revelling in adventures with best friend ‘Nala’ (Shahadi Wright Joseph). But Simba’s destiny us upended when his scheming resentful uncle ‘Scar’ (Chiwetel Ejiofor) masterminds the death of his father and his own exile as a result, assuming the throne for himself. When the lost cub unexpectedly joins forces with self-styled meerkat ‘Timon’ (Billy Eichner) and warthog ‘Pumbaa’ (Seth Rogen), he finds a new life free from worries and responsibilities, and grows into a mighty adult Simba (Donald Glover)—only to be confronted by the past when he’s reunited with a grown Nala (Beyoncé), as his destiny comes a-calling.

Let’s just get one thing out of the way first. Despite their ability to define popular culture, lead an industry, and dominate the media landscape, Disney cannot redefine the concept of a ‘live-action’ movie—and this is an animation however you cut it . . . albeit a distinctly 21st century one. Regardless of the cutting edge techniques and extraordinary photorealism on show, there are no significant in-camera shots to speak of, and unlike Jon Favreau’s own 2016 version of ‘The Jungle Book’ there are no live-action characters—so despite Disney’s efforts to brand this as another live-action adaptation of one of its animated classics, it doesn’t really qualify.

Virtually everything you might expect from an adaptation of ‘The Lion King’ is alive and well here, from the story to the songs, the moral messages to the adventure. Yet with an extra half hour runtime compared to the original, Favreau and the writers fatten out the story, without ever truly straying from the narrative, characters and plot of the 1994 animation, omitting virtually nothing of importance and delivering something which flirts with being a shot-for-shot remake—making this an utterly faithful adaptation . . . but a fairly redundant one too.

Like the original, this remake remains a parabolic and educational, anthropomorphic adventure for the whole family, while simultaneously a biblical and Shakespearean family drama which essentially amounts to ‘The Jungle Book’ meets ‘Hamlet’, and all those wonderful talking animals require an eclectic cast of voice talent . . . which Disney delivers.

Only the great James Earl Jones returns to resurrect his mighty leonine character, while the cast is solidly led by the star power of Donald Glover and Beyoncé as the adult Simba and Nala—although they prove no more memorable than their younger counterparts. But for us the only truly inspired piece of casting is that of Timon & Pumbaa, with the scene-stealing talents of Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen elevating the film’s comedic chops and proving the most welcome contribution from this version.

Perhaps the most important returnee here though is the music, with all your favourite unforgettable numbers back in all the right places, plus a new original song from Elton John, while maestro Hans Zimmer returns to add some new flourishes and motifs to his epic Oscar-winning 1994 score—which with among other elements, helps to give the film a slightly more overt African feel.

The look of the film however is all new, taking the extraordinary work in photorealistic animal and landscape CGI done by Favreau and his digital artists in 2016’s ‘The Jungle Book’ and running with it—making for some particularly adorable lion cubs—all beautifully lit and captured by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Right Stuff, The Passion of the Christ).

Ultimately there’s no separating this lavish hi-tech remake from the animated original, or the audience from their connection to it, in fact Disney is counting on it for virtually the entirety of the film’s success. Yet despite ticking all the boxes and not messing with out childhood memories too much, at least in terms of the story, this version just feels slightly empty, and leaves us conflicted about how we feel about it.

In spite of the new dialogue and extraordinary effects, it doesn’t feel particularly contemporary or urgent, failing to do enough with the material to make it worthwhile for the majority of the audience which will have seen the original, although box office results will likely vindicate it as a project for Disney . . . and for a whole new era of devotees. It’s also a case study on how beautifully rendered, passionately voiced traditional animation can trump modern CGI when it comes to character emotion.

Yet despite owing all its qualities and success to the work done twenty-five years ago, this is still an entertaining and expertly crafted introduction to a classic Disney tale for a new generation, and a stylish reminder for the rest of us—plus a fun day out at the cinema for the whole family, and a valuable contribution to Disney’s quest for a $10 billion box office year . . . or more.

The Bottom Line…

Rather than re-inventing its own wheel, Disney adds a thin shiny veneer to it while hitting all beloved and familiar notes, delivering an impressive 21st century blockbuster and stylish sing-a-long for the whole family, but failing to truly capture the magic of the original or add anything to it—yet managing to underline its largely successful formula of ‘live-action’ remakes of their beloved animations.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Jungle Book (2016)

Disney’s CGI-heavy 21st century version of Rudyard Kipling’s iconic story, following the fortunes of an orphan who’s raised in the jungle by his talking animal friends in this epic fable featuring an all-star cast of voices from some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Neel Sethi, Bill Murray and Idris Elba among others.

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