THE LION KING by Urizen

I was roughly two and a half when The Lion King came out in 1994. I loved that movie. I still love that movie. I think it would be extremely difficult to find someone who didn’t. Even when people look at it and go “Oh it’s Hamlet” or “it is copying Kimba the White Lion,” not many people are able to say too much negative about such a classic movie. Now here we are in 2019 and a month ago I went and saw Toy Story 4, a few weeks ago saw a trailer for a live action Mulan, and now have just seen The Lion King. It is such a weird feeling.

   I hated when the trailers for Lion King came out. It looked cute and I liked the idea, but everyone was throwing around “it’s not live action”. I could be wrong. I have been plenty of times before, but I don’t believe Disney ever said it was live action. People jumped on that train because it wasn’t traditional animation, and then everyone ran with it. The backlash from that still annoys me even now.

   As critic reviews started rolling in, they ended up being mostly negative, calling it unnecessary and such. I’d argue that based on that, every movie is unnecessary, but what do I know. Between negative reviews and the nearly sold out theaters, I almost ended up not going for quite a while. Eventually I gave in and found a theater that wasn’t sold out and went. So let’s talk about The Lion King.

   I shouldn’t have to explain the plot, but for the sake of keeping up consistency I will anyways! The Lion King deals with lion cub Simba, son of the king Mufasa. Simba idolizes his father and looks to learn from him so he can one day follow in Mufasa's footsteps and be just like him. Mufasa’s brother, Scar, has other plans though. He was the former heir and sees himself as the one who should be king. What follows is an exciting story dealing with betrayal, tragedy, exile, friendship and accepting who you are and the responsibility you have. It is the basic plot of the original Lion King movie, and it doesn’t change here. So…now the real question, how is it?

   I really liked it. While it isn’t a perfect movie, and not one that I would rate higher than the original, it was a lot of fun and had me smiling from beginning to end. Jon Favreau really killed it with this movie. There is much I like, but let me start with the negatives as there are fewer.

   Voice performances from some of the characters were lacking a bit. That’s not to say they were bad, because I think they were all excellent, it’s just it really comes down to them needing just a little bit more of something. This is only because of the other problem I had with this movie though.

   There isn’t too much of a good way to put this. The movie looked too good. For the most part things looked real enough that I felt like I was watching a nature documentary at times. Normally this would be an excellent thing! The problem with it in regards to The Lion King is that it takes away the characters expressions and more exaggerated movements. To make up for this, you need a really good vocal performance to keep you captivated and in the movie.  This is where problem one comes in. Sometimes the actors do a perfect job, but other times,  it ends up with just a little bit missing. You have this sad scene with a character crying, but because you can't convey this while keeping a realistic look, you have the voice of someone crying, paired with a straight faced character. It takes away a bit of the soul of the movie at times I will admit, but it was never enough to ruin the movie for me. Maybe that's because I expected it from the get go.

   That's all for problems really, but while I’m talking about acting,  let's go to the great cast. As Simba, we have JD McCrary as the young version and Donald Glover as older Simba. These two did a great job and really at times made it feel like I was watching the original movie. It’s obvious that Donald Glover was going to be a good singer, and JD McCrary did amazing as well. For Nala, we had Shahadi Wright Joseph as the younger version and Beyoncé as the older version. Shahadi had previously been Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King while Beyoncé is…well…Beyoncé. Naturally she kills it. Having both her and Glover perform Can You Feel the Love Tonight was just amazing. James Earl Jones reprises his role as Mufasa. While it is excellent, and hearing him back in the role brought a smile to my face, there isn't much to say about it.  It's great. His queen, Sarabi, is played by Alfre Woodard. While it was a good performance, Sarabi has never gotten too much of a role in these except for standing up to Scar. It’s good, just again, not much you can say. 

   Finishing up the lions, we have our villain, Scar. Scar is voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor in this version. While I still prefer Jeremy Iron's performance, Ejiofor's was really well done. With his voice, he sounded a bit more threatening. While he didn't really do much singing,  the performance for Be Prepared, although different from the original,  was still excellent in a different way. I liked Scar a lot in this.

   Now let's move to the others,  with Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu, played by Bill Eichner, Seth Rogen, and ABC's John Oliver. These were the characters I was most worried about. Timon and Pumbaa are both arguably three most popular characters in the original, then Zazu was voiced by Rowan Atkinson, who I love. To say the least, I was nervous. To my surprise though, they all did great jobs. I’d even argue that at times they were even better in these roles than the original. Realistically though, that's because this one gives us some new material that really works well. It even plays off of some of the jokes from the original to give you some unexpected moments. Very few jokes didn’t work for me. With Zazu in this, performance wise it was great, but I think a lot had to do with his character just being a bit better here. Maybe that’s just me though as it has been a bit since I have seen the original.

   Three characters I have mixed feelings about are the hyenas. Instead of Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, we have Shenzi, Kanari, and Azizi. They are played by Florence Kasumba, Keegan-Michael Key, and Eric Andre. Gone are the always wise cracking, goofy, nazi hyenas from the original. I miss Ed being completely insane, but I am so happy to have the Hyenas we have in this. They actually seem to pose a threat and are menacing. My favorite performance of the three is probably Kasumba as Shemzi. She is the leader of the hyenas and it shows. The jokes are still there with Andre and Key, and while funny, they were just a bit off. I think that's because it just felt like them as hyenas instead of playing the role. Overall though, I really enjoyed them.

   One of the most important things in The Lion King is the music and while there were changes, cuts, and additions, I can't think of any songs I didn't like. Just like Aladdin, I feel they did a really good job at adapting the songs, adding twists to them but still keeping the core of the songs intact. One of my favorites is actually The Lion Sleeps Tonight. In the movie it is done in such a cute and fun way. Only one I don't have much of an opinion on is Beyonce’s Spirit. It doesn't seem bad, but it is new and I haven't heard it enough to form an opinion. With this, it’s a shame Mulan won't have it’s songs.

   The Lion King, while mostly just being the original movie, does have new scenes,  new takes on things,  and a few noticeable changes that I would talk about, but refrain from doing so for those who haven't seen it. If you learn every new part about a movie, no matter how minor,  when you already know the whole major plot, then what's the point. All I will say is, give it a shot. Is it unnecessary? Yes. Is it a cash grab? Oh most definitely, but that doesn't change the fact that it is good.  It does have its problems such as the almost too realistic look, but it will certainly bring a smile to your face…. Also might make you want a Rafiki movie,  because I have so many questions! Just remember, the other movie is in the past,  maybe it is time to move forward, accept the change, and give this a shot. Don’t worry about the original so much,  don't analyze every aspect of the movie. Go in, smile, have a good time and relax. Just remember, Hakuna Matata.