The fears of millions of 20 and 30-year-old’s everywhere this summer is that Disney would be ruining some of the most essential parts of their childhoods. From another (now unquestionably necessary) Toy Story sequel to the live action remake of Aladdin, the Mouse Overlord of the World has reached into its vaults to bring of some of our favorite characters to new generations. But The Lion King is THE hallowed ground. Messing that up threatens riots in the streets (not to mention the wrath of the Beyhive). While previous remakes like Aladdin, Beauty and The Beast, and The Jungle Book were familiar yet refreshing retreads of these classics, The Lion King is almost a shot-for-shot remake that Director Jon Favreau seemed too scared to take any risk of changing in any way.
With a star-studded cast including Donald Glover and JD McCrary (Simba), Beyonce and Shahadi Wright Joseph (Nala), John Oliver (Zazu), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar), Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen (Timon and Puumba), Alfre Woodard (Sarabi), John Kani (Rafiki), Keegan Michael-key, Eric Andre, and Florence Kasumba (the hyenas Kamari, Azizi, and Shenzi) and James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa, The Lion King retells Simba’s story as he fights his uncle Scar to reclaim his rightful place as king of the Pride Lands after the untimely death of his father.
From the first visually stunning shot of the African plains with the soulful sounds of “The Circle of Life” behind it, the movie is everything you remember from the 1994 cartoon. Fans who can recite the original word for word may surprisingly be able to lip-sync along with these photorealistic versions. There are whole scenes that exact photocopies of the cartoon, including Mufasa retelling the same lessons to a young Simba after the elephant graveyard. While audiences may be happy to follow along with the story as (or even before) the plot rolls along, there is an unknown something missing that doesn’t quite touch the soul as it did 20 years ago. Whether it is the lack of facial expressions that the “live-action” animals can’t reproduce or voice acting performances that don’t quite fit with the characters you remember, the first and third acts have trouble capturing the wide-eyes and hearts of those looking for a trip down memory lane.
The musical numbers are uplifted by the magnificent visuals that make you forget these animals are computer generated. “The Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata” are crowd pleasers that will have you merrily singing along. Beyonce and Glover do what they can for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, but this classic also seems to be missing the impact audiences are looking for (maybe because they don’t sing the song AT NIGHT). The scene that is as successful in capturing both the exact emotion and script of its predecessor is the one everyone had to prepare to live through again (poor James Earl Jones having to act through THAT scene again).
From there, and through the second act of the film, The Lion King does best in creating wonder and spirit because it takes the risk of veering away from the shadow of its predecessor. Ejiofor is a different kind of menacing than Jeremy Irons was as Scar, but with no less impact. Their shortened version of “Be Prepared” may anger some movie-goers, but the dread he inputs into the words are more than enough to make this new version a stand out. Eichner and Rogen are wondrously hilarious, making the second act and the entire movie worth seeing for their portrayals alone. They make their characters their own while still honoring Lane and Sabella’s performances. Whether they improved lines or changed up memorable scenes (the live bait scene is different and just as funny as the cartoon), Timon and Puumba carry the film to the heights you hoped to see.
Even with the movie feeling like a second-tier copy of the original, it will have you smiling, laughing, and singing along in your chair to your childhood favorites. With so many expectations to live up to, it is almost impossible to capture the same feeling they did in 1994. Hopefully, this generation’s children will go into the movie without those memories and become just as enamored as we did. I am giving The Lion King (2019) 7.5/10 “asante sana squash bananas” (y’all could have had Rafiki be a little more silly, like for real…).