Couldn't finish it

Rating: 3/10 (24 February 2020)

I am very late to the party, but decided to wait until this movie was released to Disney+ to check it out. Hearing mixed reviews, I wanted to give it a chance myself.
I can understand the frustration of those who grew up on 80s and 90s Disney, like myself. While remakes are not intended to be carbon copies of their originals, the story should not drastically change from one version to the other.
Many of the scenes were changed to the point of annoyance. The elephant graveyard scene, undoubtedly a classic and one of Disney's best (with the mix of dialogue, camera work and visuals) was completely changed. Additional characters are added for...? It's not entirely clear. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed make this scene. While CGI lions will not showcase the emotion we see on Simba and Nala's face, the dialogue can easily supplement that. Instead, we are presented with what is almost a complete change in character in Simba. Zazu's role in the scene is drastically reduced, cutting out some of his best work. Shenzi is instead presented as some evil mastermind, speaking in hyperboles and metaphors.
Each scene felt like it was rushed to get to the next, only to rush that, too. The opening scene is one that many 90s Disney's kids can relate to. I still get chills during the opening. The sunrise over the Savanna, mixed with the opening line is some of Disney's best work to date. Again, instead, we are given lackluster vocals and a scene that relies heavily on its visual representation instead of the formula that was proven both successful and alluring.
The dialogue loses its richness with the voice acting, which is lackluster at best.
The camera work moves quickly. There is a lot of beauty to be found in this film, if one slows down the scene to a half-speed. One benefit that a live-action film has in this setting is capturing the environment in which we see the characters. We are given flashes of the scenery, followed by dialogue that does not supplement, followed by a quickened plot.
The film falls incredibly short overall. I am disappointed.