Live+action+Lion+King

Disney Studios

Live action ‘Lion King’

Everyone’s familiar with Disney’s timeless classic, “The Lion King”. Many of us watched the film as kids, sang along to the soundtrack, and sat wide-eyed as the African savannah came to life through Disney’s beautiful, fluid, hand-drawn animation — but that was ages ago. In August of 2019, Disney released its live-action remake of the movie, with A-list celebrities like Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa. Although the CGI and the new soundtrack were stunning, they don’t save “The Lion King” from being a miss.

The decision to bring this beautiful story back as a live-action film resulted in a movie that feels hollow, and lacks Disney magic. Although the cast is diverse and features talented celebrities, there’s a lingering feeling that they were chosen in order to make an unappealing remake seem more exciting. Hand-drawn animation was the only medium that could make a lion’s usually rigid features express actual emotions – without it, Simba is just a lion singing a song. “Be Prepared” was an iconic villain song for years, and its scene in the movie was turned into a dimly lit, unexciting speech. “Hakuna Matata” was turned into a tune sang while the animals on screen get from one side of the jungle to another. They were exciting and full of life, but having CGI lion cubs mumble along with the iconic “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” made them lose their splendor. In the words of IndieWire’s David Ehrlich, “all these hyper-realistic animals can do is walk around their drab environments and fall over each other.”

If you’re looking to have a fun time, you’d be better off watching the original “Lion King” than this letdown of a remake.

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