Watch the original

Rating: 5/10 (4 October 2019)

Yes, the CGI is beautiful and impressive. Everything else just falls flat. At times, you would hear the voice over but there was no movement from the CGI animal's mouth. Yes, it's not the same as the animated film, but come on, the comparisons are inevitable when you make an attempt like this.
The song Beyonce did (Spirit, I think it's called) added nothing to the story line or to the film itself... and hey, while we're at it, why was Beyonce's involvement so hyped up??? Nala isn't the main character, and adult Nala has even fewer lines than the young Nala. I've always found Beyonce to be overrated as an actress, and here she sounds like she was reciting the words for the first time.
Rafiki had a somewhat reduced role in the film, which was disappointing given how he's the one who truly convinces Simba to return by knocking him on the head with a stick. It seemed like that was done to better showcase Beyonce's role as Nala.
My favorite song "Be Prepared" was completely butchered. It's such a great, powerful song by a truly contemptible Disney villain willing to do anything to get ahead. However, it was spoken instead of sung, and was terrible. Scar didn't seem vindictive here, or even evil- just permanently cranky. I like the actor doing Scar's voice (I never spell his name correctly though so I won't attempt it now), but this was completely wrong for him. The role needs an actor like Jeremy Irons, whose powerful voice conveyed so much emotion and delivery of his lines made Scar come to life. Irons was a match for the power of James Earl Jones' commanding voice- this actor, sadly, is not.
The only saving graces, for me, were James Earl Jones as Mufasa again, and surprisingly Seth Rogen as Pumba who added the necessary comedy to the role.
In a film where the animals are supposed to be so life like, this film seemed incredibly lifeless. Save your money, and watch the original.