Underwhelming, with bits of nostalgia.

Rating: 4/10 (18 July 2019)

Let me start by saying that I've grown up watching the original Lion King. I think it's a movie I've watched at least 50 times, and also, my all-time favorite movie.
Unlike many of the reviewers, I didn't mind a 1:1 remake. I wanted to see how it would look with amazing new tech we have available, and I wasn't disappointed. The visuals where phenomenal!
Music - Iconic and epic. Like it was supposed to be. "Reflections of Mufasa" (the previous soundtrack had it named as "This Land") sounds even more powerful and emotional.
Timon and Pumba - Brilliant. A highlight character-wise. Think all of them spot on nailed it, Seth Rogen especially. Zazu was awesome as well.

Now, let me cycle back to the negative stuff, that all in all contributed to the fact I ended up being "meh" instead of a full-on crybaby.

1. Scar - Underwhelming, flat, and confusing. I don't like the fact he looks like a hobo with serious drug addiction. I also didn't like the "Be Prepared" rendition.

2. General acting & lack of animal emotions - Flat, literally no emotions... Feels like a narrated documentary. I know that Jon Favreau wanted a photorealistic setup, but it fell short in conveying the emotions Lion King is known for. You can't have a scene where Mufasa dies, little Simba screaming, and a rendered lion that stares blank into nothing.
3. Simba & Nala reunion - Instead of initial confusion by Nala (like it was shown in the Original) we now have a scene that's like "Nala?; Simba is that you?; Yeah! ; Cool!"... I don't know, it felt like they haven't seen each other in like two weeks, and weren't close, to begin with. Kinda like me seeing my elementary school bud I never really hang up with. "Hey man, u good? Yeah man, u? Good. Good! cya."
4. Can You Feel The Love Tonight - why, god why in broad daylight? It made no sense.
5. Rafiki discovering Simba is alive - This one pissed me off. In the original, he had to think hard trying to remember what the smell reminds him of. Now, he literally picked up the piece of mane, look at it and immediately said "Simba."...
6. Simba's roar on the finale - Music was awfully timed. In the original, we had a music build-up, Mufasa's "remember", music exploding - roar. Now it was music, roar, remember, roar, music... Really underwhelming.
7. Mufasa's Ghost - I've left the worst for the end... Because this scene really, and I mean really, pissed me off. What once was the most beautiful scene, most emotional and gorgeous piece of art, completely and utterly ruined. There was no emotion in Simba, no original and iconic quotes like "You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life." "How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be." "Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true King. Remember who you are.". Seriously? The most iconic conversation in all of the Disney history, tarnished like this? I can go over a fact that there was no Mufasa in clouds, there was no lion shape or anything, just a few flashes of lightning reminiscing the shape of Mufasa's eyes... But to kill the quote and emotions this father-son reunion brought us? No.. Just... No!