Enjoyable, but the bar is just too high

Rating: 7/10 (7 January 2020)

Let's start off by saying how great of a movie the original film is, deservedly deemed as one of the greatest Disney films ever and a classic that everyone should at least watch once in their life.
That being said, I watched this remake film trying not to have really high expectations and a mood to nit-pick every little detail. As is natural, when you try to remake a movie that is already well-established and barely-flawed, your task is very difficult, if not impossible, and the balance between a good and a disastrous outcome very fragile.
With this in mind, I think the director did a fairly good job, producing a movie that is overall enjoyable and definitely taking advantage of the nostalgia factor (very cleverly so). It was nice to watch a different version of the well-loved story. The brilliantly-executed CGI provides a realistic perspective, which is in my opinion the selling point of this film. Also, the experienced cast manages to give life and character to the story's protagonists. The iconic music of the original film is pristinely featured, with a few additions as a breath of fresh air.
The main problem with this film, however, is that the realistic approach to the cinematography unavoidably strips the characters of their emotions, which is one of the reasons why the original film was so loved, and that naturally seems very foreign and unwelcome. That also adds to the fact that, in my opinion, this remake film strayed away from being a kids' movie. With the realistic CGI and the noticeable lack of humour, a lot of scenes end up being too graphic and violent for the young audience, which should have been the target group for the film to be more successful. What I also noticed is that the music mixing had a few problems blending in with certain scenes and that kind of takes away some of its magic. Some scenes (e.g. the iconic opening scene and the Simba and Nala reunion) felt a bit rushed, too.
Overall, it was enjoyable to watch the film, but I think that it goes without saying that, when you think of "The Lion King", what comes to mind is the original film, and this new remake, no matter how well-executed it was, will probably not stick around as a classic.