Nothing could ever live up to the original animated film, but The Lion King does its best, providing some great aspects but overall is overshadowed by performances that can't be replicated.
“Disney and visionary director Jon Favreau invite you to experience a grand, epic adaptation of the award-winning, global phenomenon, The Lion King. Brought to life like never before with an all-star cast, “This Lion King rules. And roars.” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times.”
The 1994 The Lion King is one of my favorite Disney animated films. I haven’t been a fan of Disney’s decision to remake all of their classic animated features into either live action films or such as this, entirely CG made to look more realistic. Regardless, I went into this trying to keep an open mind about things, hoping that the nostalgia that Disney is absolutely trying to milk would make me enjoy the story once again.
As the film began, it’s evident that this film is an almost shot-by-shot replica of the animated feature. The opening sequence is basically verbatim what we’ve already seen. I was surprised at first, but eventually bought into the idea that they are trying to capture that same magic, and why deviate from something already so perfect? The next surprise was the fact that James Earl Jones once again lends his unmistakable voice to the role of Mufasa. His commanding presence throughout the film as a father teaching his son how to be a good King, even in his absence, is the emotional rock of the entire animated film and I was beyond thrilled to have that intact. The first half of this film, all the way up until the stampede sequence, I thoroughly enjoyed. It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I had a lot of fun revisiting the songs seeing them in a new way.
Then, the only tie to the animated film is no more. As I said, I went into The Lion King with an open mind of how things would be different, but the fact that the film is a shot-by-shot remake and they insist on having James Earl Jones reprise his role leads you to believe that Disney wants you to feel that connection with the animated version, gives you one of the best parts of it, and just utterly fails at every other attempt to bridge that connection with the other aspects of the film.
The major benefit of the animated film is being able to convey emotion on the animal’s faces through their eyes, smiles and body movement. All of that is gone here. So, when you see Zazu being chased by Hyenas, it just looks like a bird going crazy. When you hear Mufasa teaching his son a valuable lesson about being scared, you simply see a lion moving his mouth. In essence, the soul of the film is lost in this CG translation.
Things might not have been so bad if they were able to cast the right people for the roles. Donald Glover’s emotionless and at times monotone performance was one of the biggest disappointments of the entire film for me. You can’t hear any feeling in his voice, and since there is none expressed on the face of the lion he is voicing, I felt no connection with the character. The same goes for the majority of the voice acting, mostly making their debuts in the second half of the film. I disliked absolutely everything about Timon and Pumbaa. Billy Eichner has one range: angry, and him yelling his dialogue made Timon come off as a jerk who I wished Simba would have just eaten to take him out of the film. Seth Rogen also has one range: himself, and although he came much closer to embodying Pumbaa’s character, mostly by happenstance, it’s still unmistakably Seth Rogen making jokes and laughing. But, perhaps the worst casting of all was of Scar. Chiwetel Ejiofor, whom I normally think gives stellar performances on screen, is an emotionless dud. Jeremy Irons was the perfect villain voice with a gravitas equal to that of James Earl Jones, an important trait in voice acting. Ejiofor whispers almost all of his lines in a way that makes him seem bored to even be there. This is not the Scar we deserved. One that had to have one of the most memorable villain songs basically taken out of the film due to Ejiofor not being able to sing. The one shining light in the heart of darkness is John Oliver’s voice acting portraying Zazu. The line delivery, the humor, all were perfectly suited for the role.
The Lion King, pure and simple, is a money grab trying to capitalize on nostalgia instead of trying something creative and new. It may have worked much better trying something completely new with the story, the characters, making a new adventure more forgiving than the sub-par copy of the original we’re given, but it didn’t. Instead of provoking those same emotions as the original, it made me want to immediately put that one in, and that’s exactly what I did after the credits rolled.
Video
The Lion King is presented in 4k 2160p Ultra High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1 featuring HDR10. This 4k version of the film is the definitely the best aspect of the disc, as there are some breathtaking sequences that look so real, you’d swear they were. Color balance is incredible, with the HDR providing those brilliant brights, deep darks and deep, life-like colors. With the incredible array of colors from all the animals and landscape, 4k really is the way to see this.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby Atmos, another highlight of the disc. Hearing the songs echo through the surround system is quite enjoyable, as is the other aspects of the track, including a great balanced mix that gives your surrounds a nice workout. Not all of the songs reach the same enjoyment level as the animated film, but the ones that do will really tug on those nostalgia strings.
Special Features
The extras are located on the Blu-Ray disc and include:
- The Journey to The Lion King Documentary
- More to be Scene
- “Spirit” Beyoncé Music Video
- Song Selection
- Audio Commentary with Director Jon Favreau
- Protect the Pride
The Lion King, try as it might, simply cannot hold a candle to the original animated film. There are some good aspects to it, and the ones that really resonate with you do so in a way that makes you cherish the story and what it means to you. Although I do think people have impossible expectations these days, for The Lion King, I think it shows the love of the original and how much it means to them. As always, check it out for yourself.
