The Lion King: 2019 (GUEST Film Review)

Written by my special guest and close friend Joel Coppadge!

If you were a 90s kid, then The Lion King is what comes to mind when you think of great 90s Disney movies.  Not only is it apart of the Disney Renaissance, but it had something for everyone, both kids and adults.  Fantastic animation, great, catchy songs, and a compelling story that is still relevant to this day.

1994’s The Lion King is one of my favorite Disney movies of time all, so when I first heard Disney was making a live-action remake, the kid in me said; “This is awesome!”, but the adult in me said; “Oh god, please don’t screw this up.”  The first time seeing the remake didn’t go well because the bass in the movie theater was off, as it kept making a weird gargle sound every time a loud noise occurred.  After letting the theater staff know about the sound problem, the people in front of me were going unbearably slow, right as the movie was about to start.  As in, the first ‘Nants ingonyama” starting.  I wanted to tell them “go faster” but that would be rude.  I ended up seeing the film a second time (in IMAX) for a better experience (that’s just how big a fan of The Lion King I am).  

So, after two viewings what do I have to say about the remake?  It was fine, just fine.  While the remake does some new things I actually like, there are things it either does or removes from the original that hurt the impact of the story.  Since most are aware of the movie’s plot by now, it’s better to tackle this review in more of a pro/con setting, praising the movie’s strengths, but also addressing the weaknesses of the film.  So, without further ado, let’s begin.

THE PROS:

The easiest one: JAMES EARL JONES AS MUFASA!!!  If anyone had to reprise his role from the original, James Earl Jones was at the top of the list.  The actor effectively expresses Mufasa’s wisdom, poise, and strength in full display.  Unlike the original where he fights three hyenas to save Simba (JD McCrary/Donald Glover) and Nala (Shahadi Wright Joseph/Beyoncé), this time Mufasa fights a whole pack of them and scares them off.

Shenzi (Florence Kasumba) as lead hyena: One of the more interesting parts of the remake is the blood feud between the hyenas and lions.  Shenzi describes this feud going on since the dawn of time, which leads to more of an incentive why she and the other hyenas form and alliance with Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

The fall of the Pride Lands: In the original, once Scar takes over the kingdom you don’t seem him, the hyenas, and other lions in the film until Simba returns home, which he finds in complete ruin.  The remake takes time and shows how that happens.  It’s caused by the hyenas over hunting and driving the other herds of animals away.  This reinforces what Mufasa was explaining to Simba about the circle of life and the balance it maintains.

The female lions have bigger roles: Both Sarabi (Alfre Woodard) and Nala are given bigger roles than in the original movie.  Sarabi was involved in a love triangle between Mufasa and Scar, choosing the latter over the former, and despite Mufasa’s death, stands by his beliefs and calls out Scar for his terrible leadership.  Nala, on the other hand, is shown being active in trying to overthrow Scar, to the point we actually see her leave to get help (which leads her to find Simba).  And, in the climax of the movie, we see her go one-on-one with Shenzi.  It makes you wonder why she wasn’t queen sooner.

Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumba (Seth Rogen): This classic comedic duo are a highlight in this remake.  Their humor is solid, and Seth Rogen’s approach to Pumba is so good that if you close your eyes, he sounds like the original voice actor Ernie Sabella.

The Songs: Most of the songs are sung pretty well.  That includes; “Circle of Life,” “Hakuna Matata,” and “Can you Feel the Love Tonight?”

THE CONS:

Lack of Emotion: While it is cool to see these animals in live-action (CGI), one of the things lost is the ability for them to express emotion in their faces.  A key example is Simba’s reaction to finding Mufasa’s corpse.  JD McCary does the best he can, but when you look at Simba, you don’t see the sadness of a boy losing his father.  Not only are the sad scenes affected, but the villainous ones as well.  Scar’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor) iconic line; “Long live the King” comes across more robotic than sinister.  Speaking of Scar……

The Portrayal of Scar: One of the appeals of Scar as a villain wasn’t just how cunning he was in getting the throne, but his sassy nature.  Yet most likely due to the success of The Jungle Book remake, and this remake trying to be more serious, the writers try making remake Scar more like Shere Kahn.  This leaves Scar lacking personality.  Also, because they use realistic animals, Scar doesn’t look as unique as he did in the original.  Instead, he looks rather sickly, which makes me question why the Hyenas would follow someone they could easily overpower.  Not to mention his song “Be Prepared” is reduced to only about a minute long and is barely a song.

Dead Air: One of the things very noticeable was dead air in this movie.  The remake’s runtime is thirty minutes longer than the original.  This results in certain scenes being dragged out a lot longer than they need to be.  One example is the first scene after the title card.  Instead of the rat that Scar tries to eat already in the cave, we spend a full minute following the rat heading towards the cave.  While that may not seem so bad, an even worse offense occurs when Rafiki discovers Simba is alive.  In the original, Rafiki just senses it in the air and knows instantly Simba is alive.  In the remake, some hair from Simba’s mane falls off, floats down a river, which picked up by different animals (it is eaten by a giraffe that poops it out and rolled down a hill by a beetle) until it leads to Rafiki at his tree who recognizes it as Simba. This takes a painfully long five minutes that feels like an eternity.  It’s moments like this that end up hurting the remake.

  

Can You Feel The Love Tonight?: No, I couldn’t feel the love, mostly because the song is sung in the middle of the day.  I know this seems minor in the grand scheme of things, but when I become more focus on the time of day than the actual song, you know there’s a problem.

Lack of Mysticism: Another element that was seriously lacking in the remake is little to no mysticism.  I noticed how little Rafiki does in this movie compared to the original.  In the opening song number, Rafiki doesn’t have his staff, which isn’t too bad at first, but then he doesn’t reveal the staff until the climax of the movie, and they try to make it seem like a big deal.  Had Rafiki done more in the remake this could have been a cool moment.  Even Simba’s vision of his deceased father is boring because it’s just a cloud that vaguely shapes Mufasa’s face with lightning in it.  It doesn’t feel as grand as it was in the original.

The Moral of the Story: And now we reach the movie’s biggest flaw and something I can’t forgive in any way.  One of the movie's best parts is when Rafiki and Simba are talking after he had his vision from Mufasa.  Simba admits to being scared to face his past, and then Rafiki says the following: “Yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it you can either run from it, or, learn from it.” This was not only a unique moral from a Disney movie at the time but one that anyone can relate to.  Let’s face it, we’ve all been or will be knocked down at some point by difficult hardships.  And at that time, we will have to choose whether to run away and live in fear or be brave and move forward.  How does the remake handle this moral?  It completely glosses over the moral.  It, instead, focuses more on Simba accepting his role as king of the Pride Lands than owning up to his mistakes.

There is a lot to unpack reviewing this blockbuster.  Emphasis on blockbuster, as despite the lackluster moments, the movie made one-billion dollars in only a couple weeks.  I guess heavy nostalgia of the original Lion King was strong enough to bring people to the theaters.  It also seems the live-action Disney remake train is showing no signs of slowing down between the box office success of Aladdin and The Lion King.  Disney is going to continue cranking out these remakes in the years to come.  Let’s just hope that they remember to keep the magic that made us love these classics.