Suberb CGI, slight changes in story detail, same story.

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2019)

OBS, marked for spoilers for the people who hasn't seen the original version.
First of all this movie is enjoyable not because it brings something new to the table but for the classic story told in amazing photo-realistic visuals. The CGI animals could easily be mistaken for real ones. If it weren't for the animals having the ability to speak you probably would be thinking that the filmmakers filmed real lions. However the realistic look also comes with a cost, which is that the charcters, due to being animals have it difficult conveying the emotions fitting with the tone of their voice and the scene they are in. This issue is not the actors fault because the voice acting is fine, but it is understable difficult convey the facial expressions connected with human emotions onto an animal with completely different facial features. Because of this issue the 2019 Lion King doesn't have the same emotional impact as the original 1994 release.
Other than the visuals there are also slight changes in some characters personality and motivations, resulting in varying significance. The most prominent example is the hyenas toned down comic-releif which makes them feel more of a threat to the lions at pride rock. Without going into to much detail, is the lack of comic releif, beneficial for the hyena chracters, which makes them more of scavenging predators desperate for food rather than fools loosing a prey due to joking around instead of making an effort to kill their prey, resulting in more threatening ally to Scar.
To conlcude this review I would say that this version of the Lion king is worth watching if you would like to see the majestic beauty of the savannah and realistic looking animals in a familiar story, but when remembering the story the original 1994 version will leave a more lasting impact.