Echoing other reviews.. so empty.

Rating: 1/10 (7 November 2019)

This one just hurt. I did go into it with an open mind and trying not to compare with the original, but as it is a direct remake of the original how can one NOT compare??
First thing that bugged me was the audio mixing.. it seemed really off and hollow. Instrumentals were REALLY out of place and ruined the pacing.. when Mufasa is warned early on that hyenas are on pride land the music just stays boring and slightly cheery.. no sense of danger or even worry. That same tone (or lack of) was the same throughout the rest.
Next was the casting.. mainly Scar and Rafiki. These are critical characters and I think just horribly miscast and scripted.. Rafiki is supposed to be quirky and the soul of the story but instead just falls completely flat and emotionless. I felt nothing towards the character other than indifference. John Oliver as Zazu was a miss.. he normally is great but they needed to let him off the chain. It sounded like he was reading off a script with a gun to his head. Timon and Pumba were okay.. but just so much was missing. Donald Glover and James Earl Jones were glimmers of light.
The hyenas were so horribly disappointing.. all humor was removed except for 2 individuals who just came across as awkward. The rest if the hyenas were essentially faceless 'monsters'.
Overall it definitely missed some key critical points and all the voice actors (yes, all) sound completely hollow and bored.. it is almost a perfect storm of missed opportunities that culminated in a snore fest that will haunt my dreams for years to come.