The Lion King Review: Stuns With Visuals, Lacks With Originality
- naterichard98
- Jul 23, 2019
- 2 min read
DIRECTED BY: JON FAVREAU STARRING: DONALD GLOVER, BEYONCÉ KNOWLES-CARTER, & SETH ROGEN
RATED PG FOR SEQUENCES OF VIOLENCE AND PERIL, AND SOME THEMATIC ELEMENTS
LENGTH: 118 MINUTES
Disney has found great success in doing live-action remakes of their classic and beloved animated films. While some have enjoyed massive financial earnings, most of them have paled in comparison compared to their animated counterparts. It wasn't until Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella and Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book, that the critics really started to respond to the films. Disney has now moved from remaking their classic from the days of Walt to remaking some of the films from their 90s renaissance, with Bill Condon's Beauty & the Beast, Guy Ritchie's Aladdin, and soon Rob Marshall's The Little Mermaid and Niki Caro's Mulan. With Jon Favreau's The Lion King, the mouse house has found themselves remaking what is arguably the most beloved movie of this time in their first non-live-action "live-action" remake.
Each of the Disney live-action remakes actually brought at least a little something new to the table, regardless of their quality. The problem with The Lion King however is that it was already known to be more deep and emotional than most animated movies, simply put the movie was ahead of its time. Favreau's interpretation of The Lion King is beat for beat the exact same movie, nothing new is added, and some of that magic from the original is lost in translation. All in all, it is a bit underwhelming.
The film is certainly still enjoyable. The visual effects work is easily some of the best that has ever graced the big screen, at times it almost feels like you're watching a National Geographic nature documentary. The voice-cast is mostly solid here as well, but it's Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen who really steal the entire film as Timon and Pumba, who are still able to bring some slivers of their sense of humor into a kids movie. John Oliver is another standout as the royal messenger bird Zazu, who gets a couple good comedic moments.
While the film is extremely entertaining to watch, especially on an IMAX screen, the musical numbers do feel a bit lackluster. It is clear that the film wants to feel more grounded than the original, but the vibrant and colorful musical numbers of the 1994 classic are part of its personality. Instead songs like I Just Can't Wait To Be King and Can You Feel The Love Tonight are resorted to shots of the characters trotting through the jungle. Though it's undeniable that the opening Circle Of Life number is absolutely breathtaking.
The Lion King is not a bad movie in any sense of the word, it's extremely well-made and a technical achievement. Ultimately though, the film is very 'been there-done that', where it shines visually it struggles to provide anything new. It's worth a matinee or even the IMAX ticket just for the animation, but pushing that aside, this just felt underwhelming.
Comments