An Amazing Remake of A Classic Original

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2019)

Sorry for the long review, but I believe in an honest review analyzing lots of details and points.
It seems too many people keep thinking this movie was to be more of a carbon copy of the original. It's not. A remake omits and adds certain details to set it apart from an original work. While the General story and plot is supposed to follow the same path, it is how you get from start to finish that really makes a movie what it is. This movie is a remake of the original. With this in mind, I have a few complaints, and lots of praise.
Let's start with the praises.
My main love for this movie was the opening. The opening scene with the songs Nans' Ingonyama and The Circle of Life is a really powerful scene. It is done just like the opening of the original. It is that similarity that I like so much. It keeps the emotion and feeling of a new dawn of a new era, and the celebration of a new heir to the throne. All the animals coming together from far and wide to celebrate the birth of their king-to-be is a stunningly beautiful scene.
Another thing I liked was how this movie expanded on several scenes throughout the movie. One in particular was the time Nala ran away from the Pride Lands to find help. The original never actually shows her leaving, nor the progression of death and destruction under Scar's rule. Favreau takes some time to show Nala had to sneak past Scar and the hyenas in order to escape. In addition, he shows Sarabi was repeatedly given the opportunity to be Scar's queen.
Another praise I have for this movie is the way Rafiki finds out how Simba is still alive. Everyone knows the wind carries all kinds of things. But in addition to the wind, animals and creatures also move things around. I like how Favreau used the wind, dung beetle, and ants to get the ball of mane hair to Rafiki. It is a great example of a few steps in the circle of life.
A third praise has to do with Timon and Pumbaa. Those two characters had a great relationship in the original feature film. In my opinion, I think their relationship, in particular theirs with the other animals, was even better in this movie. We see how they are good friends with the other creatures of the forest where they live. There were a couple differences between the Timon and Pumbaa of this movie compared to the original. One was the more detailed back story on Pumbaa as a young warthog. The scene was cute, and honestly had some good humor.
One of my biggest likes for this movie was the reprisal of James Earl Jones as the voice of Mufasa. His voice, as described by Jon Favraeu in an interview, was one that "...sounds like a king who has ruled for a long time." My favourite scene of his is when Simba is reflecting on remembering who he is with Rafiki. Jones's voice in that scene really grabs at you and makes you listen.
Another thing I liked was the nod to Beauty and the Beast and Frozen. With this movie being released right before Frozen II, it didn't surprise me that there was a reference to it. After Simba tells Timon that the giant boring rock is his home, Timon says, "Well it's a bit of a fixer-upper." The Beauty and the Beast reference comes when Timone and Pumbaa distract the hyenas so Simba and Nala can join the other lionesses. Instead of doing the hula like the original film, Timone uses the opening lines of Be Our Guest for his line.
I also loved how Timon finally got his backup to The Lion Sleeps Tonight. The song in the original was loved by fans, but was often said to be fairly short. However, this time the song endured several minutes and includes some humor with Simba at the end. In addition, other animals came out and joined in to give Timon his backup. I loved it so much, I found myself singing along!
There were just a few complaints I have about this movie when compared to the original. While many of the complaints are small and relatively no big deal, a couple I feel are important to point out.
The biggest grudge I have is that Rafiki's stick makes it's appearance very near the end of the movie. In the original, his stick played an important part in getting Simba to learn from his past and move on. In the original, Rafiki whacks Simba over the head with the stick to demonstrate the past hurts. Simba doges the second attempt a moment later. In this remake, it is solely Mufasa's appearance that changes Simba.
Another thing I didn't like was the lack of emotion in the eyes of the lions. While their faces changed based on emotion and feelings, their eyes never really matched. They just looked like glass balls in sockets. The pupils never really changed size either to match the change in lighting.
A few minor complaints I have are based on comparing this movie with the original. The omission of a couple funny lines and small details is all. One is from the original where Scar keeps Zazu in a cage of bones and makes him sing some tunes. In the remake, Zazu never gets captured, and like Nala leaves the area.
There were a few other complaints I have, but I don't want to concentrate on complaining about an overall amazing movie. The cinematography is amazing and the attention to detail is very precise. The actors fulfilled their roles perfectly, and some even recorded their lines together to give a more real feeling to the conversation.