Phenomenal animation!

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2019)

I was stunned when I saw how realistic the animation is in this film, it's undoubtedly the first of its kind. There were times when I could swear that some of the animals were real. They really went all out with studying the animals and their movements and mannerisms. This film is truly a work of art. Some are complaining about lack of emotion or facial expressions, but I like that they took a more realistic route in this recreation. It pays an amazing tribute to the natural beauty of Africa and its wildlife as opposed to dumbing it down with cartoonish details.
That being said, the best scenes were 1) The opening scene, 2) the stampede, and 3) the lion and hyena battle. I almost immediately noticed that they recreated the opening scene from the original film exactly, frame by frame. This was a genius move that I hope everyone noticed, as it paid homage to the most iconic scene in the original, and the result was stunning. Both the stampede and the final battle were intense and kept you on the edge of your seat. The camera angles, the sound effects, and of course the animation were all superb. It's something that you just have to see for yourself. It can't accurately be described.
As for the negatives, there are few. Some seem to be upset about cutting "Be Prepared" from the film, but they had their reasons. For one, it was the least memorable song from the original. Obviously since Scar is the villain that was the whole point, but in this day and age when everyone is offended by everything, can't blame them for their decision. The voice actor for scar reportedly also didn't have the vocal ability to recreate the song, which brings up another point. Sometimes the dialogue fell a little flat in some scenes. Partly due to the script, but also due to inexperienced voice actors. In certain scenes such as Scar warning Mufasa about the stampede, or Simba and Nala meeting again as adults, I thought there could have been a lot more emotion.
All in all, it was a great film. I recommend it to everyone!