I didn't think they could do this as "live action", but they did, somewhat.

Rating: 6/10 (14 October 2019)

A perfect remake? No way, by no stretch. But enjoyable and filled with heart? Yes. Despite the absence of three beautiful songs from the Broadway musical ("They Live in You", "Shadowland", "Endless Night"), this was a satisfactory update of the Disney film, a variation of several historical stories, including Jacob and Joseph from the bible and Shakespeare's "Hamlet". The legendary James Earl Jones is recognizable through his eloquent voice the moment he speaks as the Lion King Mufasa, only showing slight age in his rendition of the character 25 years after voicing the part in the original. JD McCrary (young Simba) and Donald Glover (older Simba) are great as the bereaved prince who believes wrongly that he was responsible for his father's sudden death, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is very subtle in his villainy as Scar, the usurper king.
How can you recapture the magic of the Broadway show, especially that moving, tear jerking opening of "The Circle of Life". The one difference is between the animated movie, this remake and the Broadway show is the ability to show all of the various animals throughout as opposed to the limited view of the elephants, zebras, giraffes and other exotic creatures in the Broadway show. "Circle of Life" shows every creature in nature coming to pay respect to Musafa's presentation of his new son, picked up and carried to the edge of the rock by the noble baboon Rafiki who has the magic ability to know royal blood when he feels the warmth of it on his fur and skin. Simba's friendship with Nala is explored, but their mistakes come back to haunt them, leading Simba on his own to make an even bigger mistake that gives the opportunistic Scar to take advantage of the situation. Beyonce, as Nala, seems underused, only really getting to sing briefly.
I never got the point of the songs "The Morning Report" or "Hakuna Matata" (which I have always referred to as "Potato/Potatoe"), and the inclusion of wart hog Pumbaa and meer cat Timba in "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" is a juvenile, intrusive way to start one of the most beautiful love songs ever written for a Disney musical. In the Broadway musical, they make me cringe a bit, and in this remake, with the live action (or computer animation), I felt that feeling once again. Still, the movie is beautiful to look at, and there are some definite tension filmed scenes that will keep you gripped. The large number of bad reviews is very surprising as compared to the passionate positive reviews, and while I think this could have been made with more care (another 10-15 minutes to include the cut songs would have been nice), it is a satisfactory, if not unflawed, movie musical.