A Visually-Breathtaking Retelling of The Iconic Tale

Rating: 8/10 (19 July 2019)

Visually breathtaking in groundbreaking mocap/animative stylism with a stirring Zimmer score, strong voicework by its superstar cast, and preservation of the original's Victorian/life-cyclical thematics. 8/10.
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Review: The Lion King. Aladdin. Jungle Book. The Little Mermaid. Dumbo. Cinderella. Mulan. One might be forgiven for starting to get weary of Disney's veritable rapid-fire of live-action remakes flooding cinemas near you. Most have been decent, some great, but we were all on the edge of our seats when the first trailer released and once-in-a-lifetime cast announced (in addition to possibly the biggest resources the studio has ever pledged to one project) for the remake of one of the most iconic animated films ever: The Lion King. Visually breathtaking in groundbreaking mocap/animative stylism with a stirring Zimmer score, strong voicework by its superstar cast ensemble, and preservation of the original's Victorian and life-cyclical thematics, 2019's The Lion King is the spectacular vision of the story we deserve.
The visuals. I cannot even put into words how visually breathtaking The Lion King is. Innovatively combining mocap wizardry with the animation resources of the world's biggest animation studio, the beloved creatures of Simba's famous story are magnificently brought to life in realism-centric but equally-escapist fashion. The cinematography is absolutely JAW-DROPPING with some of the most spectacular shots of primal Africa ever put to film with varied topography and locational settings ranging from lush ultra-green rainforests to skyscraper-tall waterfalls to warm melting orange-hued sunsets to foggy ominous elephant graveyards in the badlands to night skies so starry and crisp you can't believe your eyes - the film truly paints the majesty of Africa and nature/biological life in a way it's impossible not to be wowed with and you can easily tell it's one of the most expensive films ever made simply from its photoimagery alone easily worth the price of admission.
The score and voicework. Paralleling its visual magnificence is a sublime score by mastermind composer Hans Zimmer of Man of Steel/The Dark Knight/Wonder Woman/Inception/Blade Runner 2049 fame. From xylophone scales to dark ominous chanting to stirring orchestral themes and booming Greek tragedy/operatic overtures playing up and highlighting the story's Victorian bases, the score is absolutely unbelievable and together with the visuals make for a sensory-overloading experience of a package that will near move you to tears artistically. The film's ultra star-powered, once-in-a-lifetime cast complete with everyone from Donald Glover to Beyoncé Knowles-Carter to James Earl Jones to Seth Rogan (MVP comedically) to JD McCrary (biggest surprise but a spot-on innocent young Simba) is *perfect* and each play their part well in effectively retelling the iconic story on the big screen.
Preservation of the original's best arcs and Victorian/life-cyclical themes with a few fleshed out additions too. What's best about this version of The Lion King is that they stay authentic to the original's spirit - despite what foolish trolls and "critics" might say. I cannot imagine what could possible be going through their minds when downgrading a film for simply following the story of the original film OF WHICH IT SHARES THE EXACT SAME NAME. What did they expect them to do: rewrite a legendary film completely; maybe give it a shock ending where Scar comes back a zombie?; maybe have Nara become leader? Maybe have them all give a final dance sequence to end it (seems to be what most of these people think is "cinematic excellence" being an exact imbecilic plot point from Guardians of the Galaxy *sips tea*)? It is simply imbecilic to expect Disney to change up an already near-perfect story passed down for generations and across cultures just for kicks (and a horrible fake criticism; Disney has definite flaws as a studio, but not here) when it was never marketed as anything different than being The Lion King. In does, in fact, make a few small (smart) changes like fleshing out Simba and Mufasa's father-son sentimental familial bond, more relevance for Nara, and a funnier Pumba by the inimitable Seth Rogan - while still feeling wholly like the classic TLK through and through both in heart and ambiance.
REAL flaws in 2019's The Lion King are a bizarre misdirection of the film's most powerful scene, and some admittedly-juvenile Disney-isms added to clearly target child audiences at the expense of its artistic premise. Mufasa's fall - the most POWERFUL and emotionally-resonant point in the film and Disney's entire filmography - is weirdly.. light in tone in this version, with an inexplicably light Major-keyed buoyant (almost sadistically-happy) score in what should have been an absolutely *devastating* tearjerker orchestral accompaniment. The original's version made me cry every time I watched it as a kid as an inarguably pitch-black-dark fall of a parent, but in this one - I felt nothing and that lost a bit of the steam and power of the film/experience in surprising "what?" fashion. Also, the comedy gets a bit silly/stupid in parts like Pumba's - constant - farting (because funny noises are funny) I cringed at in classical pandering to immature audience members when the rest of the film feels more like an elegant adult retelling of the tale.
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Overall, 2019's The Lion King is a majestic retelling of the iconic original with the type of visual splendor and sensory power only mountains of money can buy. Visually breathtaking in groundbreaking mocap/animative stylism with a stirring Zimmer score, strong voicework by its superstar cast, and preservation of the original's Victorian and life-cyclical thematics, Disney's The Lion King (2019) is easily worth the price of admission as the definitive version of the generational tale we all deserved.
Overall Score: 8/10