The Lion King (2019)
- While it doesn’t quite measure up to the all-time classic original, Jon Favreau’s latest dive into live action Disney remakes is a visually spellbinding piece of filmmaking.
Full Disclosure: 1994’s The Lion King is my favorite film of all time. I don’t mean favorite Disney film, favorite animated film, or favorite adaptation of Hamlet starring cartoon lions. I mean it’s my absolute favorite movie ever made. That doesn’t mean I think it’s the best, per se. It’s probably not even in the top 100; but it’s my subjective, personal favorite. That said, there are a lot of personal feelings and biases that can’t be ignored when going into this review.
Review
I was so hyped going into the theater for this one. I felt like a giddy little kid. I can’t remember the last time I felt goosebumps in a theater before the opening shot came onscreen. It was sheer anticipation. I wasn’t the only one, either. It was a packed house, and the hushed, excited murmurs of full-grown adults filled the theater in this 10pm weeknight showing. It was a true testament to the power and reach Disney has had through generations of moviegoers. It was then, before the movie even began, that I realized something: This movie wasn’t made for kids. It was made for adults who want to feel like kids again, and that’s a powerful thing.
Don’t you wanna give him a nose boop?
While the contrarians and buzzkills of the world dismissed this film out of hand as a cheap nostalgia play and a tasteless money grab, I couldn’t disagree more. This wasn’t a remake. This was an homage to a story that touched so many people of my generation. 25 years after the release of the original, I still remember, quite vividly, seeing it at the old Edwards Cinema at Valencia Town Center in Santa Clarita, CA with my mom and dad. I was entranced. I’d never seen anything like it. The animation, the characters, the emotion, and the music all held me captive in a way I’d never felt before. The world is full of people with similar stories, which makes the original such a timeless classic. It takes cojones to tackle something like that, but director Jon Favreau was more than up to the task.
After the massive success of his 2016 remake of “The Jungle Book”, Jon Favreau seemed the only logical choice to helm “The Lion King”.
When the movie began and the sounds of the chitters of various African insects accompanied a darkened screen, everyone in the theater fell dead silent. When the sun rose and the iconic “NAAAAAAA” of “Circle of Life” broke the silence, the theater erupted with cheers and whoops usually reserved for concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. The palpable passion in the atmosphere was enough to turn even the most cold-hearted cynic into a believer in the magic Disney still has up its sleeve. When the opening number ended, a cacophony of thunderous applause shook the room. It was fucking awesome!
Oh yeah. Time to get hyped!
The rest of the film was more of the same. There wasn’t much here that was new, but it somehow still felt fresh. Favreau knew that his core audience didn’t want “new”. New would ruin it. We wanted the classic songs, the iconic shots, and the unforgettable characters that made the original so great. It was the same story, just wrapped in fancier packaging. Hans Zimmer and Lebo M return to score the film, adding some modern nuance to their old classics. Joining them is the incomparable Elton John to freshen up his seminal music numbers. Hell, they even brought back James Earl Jones because they knew there wasn’t another person on planet Earth who could bring that much power and gravitas to the voice of Mufasa!
Speaking of the late, great King of Pride Rock, as one might expect, there wasn’t a dry eye in the theater when the mighty Mufasa met his end. It was every bit as powerful as the 1994 version. Sobs and sniffles aplenty.
James Earl Jones reprises his role as Mufasa, who looks just as majestic as ever before.
While the naysayers will moan about the lack of originality here, I say fuck it! Sometimes we just want to sit back and feel comfort and familiarity with a story we’ve loved for a quarter century! You know coming in that it’s not going to break any new ground (other than the visuals, which were phenomenal), but that’s not the point. The film succeeded in what it was trying to accomplish. Did it hit that nostalgic note? Absolutely. Did Disney find a way to snatch another $22 from me at the box office? You’re damn right they did. I got what I came for, and left the theater fully satisfied with my moviegoing experience, humming those familiar songs to myself and reliving those legendary scenes in my head as I walked back to my car. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
5 Quick Hits
Donald Glover nailed it as adult Simba. He brought to life Simba’s evolution from carefree slacker to rightful King of Pride Rock in a way that Matthew Broderick didn’t in the original. The tone of his voice deepened as his character matured. Sadly, I read that during production of the film, Glover’s father passed away. While tragic, I’m sure it was therapeutic for him to go into the recording booth and channel that real, raw emotion into his characterization of Simba.
A few of the emotional beats didn’t land as hard as I would’ve like to have seen. In particular, the scene where Rafiki (John Kani) leads Simba to the reflection pool, where he encounters the shade of his late father, missed the mark. That is one of my favorite scenes in cinema history, and I felt like when so many scenes were done shot for shot with the original, this one should’ve been left intact. Also disappointing was the elephant graveyard sequence. It didn’t feel as foreboding and dangerous as the original.
Chiwetel Ejiofor is an incredible actor. He gives 100% of his heart and soul to every project he works on. That said, through no fault of his own, he fails to fill the shoes of Jeremy Irons as the greatest Disney villain of all time, Scar. Ejiofor doesn’t try to emulate Irons, which is a good thing. He brings his own performance to Scar; but Jeremy Irons just has one of those voices that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, and Ejiofor doesn’t.
Beyonce as adult Nala felt a bit off. I know she’s the Queen of the Beyhive and all that shit, but this casting choice felt like it was made just to put more asses in seats. She sounded as if she was just saying the lines in between recording sessions for her new album whenever she could spare a minute. Very little emotion. Her addition to the soundtrack, a song called “Spirit” also fell flat. Shahadi Wright Joseph, however, killed it as Young Nala.
A lot of the scenes added to this version involved Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen), which was great. They are two legendary Disney characters, yet when you go back and watch the original, they have relatively limited screen time. You can tell Eichner and Rogen had a blast recording their respective parts. They are both gifted improvisers and born comedians, and I’m all for giving them more time to shine.
