Unnecessary Remake

Rating: 5/10 (6 August 2019)

The Lion King (2019) Review:
The Lion King is a remake of the loved classic Disney film but now "live action". It really is just all computer animated but everyone is calling it the live action version. As most everybody knows, the movie follows the life of a lion named Simba as he rubs away living a new life after the death of his father. Basically it's Hamlet but more kid friendly and with lions. This is the third Disney remake of the year. Earlier we had Dumbo, which I thought was just ok, and Aladdin, which I did not like. All of these remakes weren't necessary. The one I think was acceptable was Dumbo because they at least tried a different plot and something new. With The Lion King you don't watch it for the plot, characters, and something special. You watch it for the stunning animation. I don't really know anyone who said they were excited specifically for the plot and stuff. Everyone really has just been talking about how it's "live action" followed by someone arguing that it's not live action or jokes about how it's incredible that Disney can make the lions act. I think the animation was truly amazing. What they did had come a long way. The Oscar winning visuals from The Jungle Book a few years ago we're really good and still continue to be. They got even better somehow this year in The Lion King. So far there's no doubt that they will win the Oscar in February. It all looked so realistic. They made the animals more realistic by making them act more like how they would in their natural habitat. This brings me to a major problem I had in the movie. Because they made them act realistic, there was no emotion on their faces. It was kind of boring to watch them sometimes. Almost two hours of detached animals with no emotion got a little boring at some parts. The movie didn't need to be that long either. Yes, they added a few things and dragged some stuff longer, but other than that it was the exact same movie. It was literally a shot-to-shot remake of the original. The Circle of Life sequence was exactly the same. People were saying the same, which I absolutely believed, but it was after that where I started to feel kind of annoyed because I at least expected some differences. I liked what Jon Favreau did with The Jungle Book, having differences in the plot and making it a fun time, but that vision wasn't really brought over to this. I don't know if it was his idea or he was told to do that since we all know this was a cash grab. I would have to look into that but I have other things I'd rather do. But honestly it lacked imagination. My mother even mentioned how the colors in the original were more vibrant and it was just visually pleasing. Everything seemed dull. I mean I guess that makes sense for it being realistic but even though the animation looked beautiful, it seemed off. The characters felt kind of off. It didn't feel like the animals were saying the words but it felt separated and you could tell it was actors voicing over most of the time. Sometimes it even sounded like it with the audio. It was a little weird. Could've just been the theater possibly. The voice acting was fine. There were only a few minor people that bothered me but it was fine. It was just a little hard to appreciate them with no emotion showing. The two that bugged me the most were Rafiki and Scar. Rafiki wasn't really that crazy in this one. He was so fun in the original but he seemed more normal in this. We didn't even get the part where he hits Simba on the head with his staff. It's stupid but it's hilarious. Also with Scar he didn't feel that evil. Be Prepared was so disappointing. It really wasn't a song. Chiwetel Ejiofor just chanted it and it was boring. That is one of the best Disney villain songs and it probably could've just been cut since it was strange chanting. The reds of the songs were fine though. Hans Zimmer's score was good just again. It makes me mad that he only has the one Oscar but it is a great score. There's not much to say about this remake. It's exactly the same. It may sound like I'm bashing it but it wasn't absolutely horrible. The plot was still entertaining to watch and with visuals that amazing it's hard not to watch. It's not a must watch. I probably won't watch it in the future again if I had the choice. It's more of something to put on in the background. I totally understand if people enjoy this. It's not bad but just entertaining.
My Grade: C