Fantastic Remake, In Depth Interpretation with Minor Spoilers

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2019)

I'll start of by saying that the original Lion King is my favorite Disney money of all time. I also spent 12 years of my life as conversation and wildlife educator. I love animals, but I'm a stickler for adequate interpretation of wild animals. Obviously any movie with talking animals pushes that, but I want you to have my full scope when I give my review. I am absolutely taking all aspects into consideration.
The remake is beyond gorgeous in terms of visuals, and for that that alone I think it's worth seeing on the big screen. In terms of the story, sure they made some changes to keep in line with a more realistic approach, but this is the most faithful remake I have ever seen.
The plot follows the original with incredible accuracy, though they have added some additional flair and backstory where needed. There are new moments of comic relief without being slapstick and hula (as much as I love the original scene, it did not belong here). While the hyenas are still the bad guys, they removed the constant insults of calling them unintelligent, as real hyenas are quite smart, and I love that they cast them as their own (matriarchal) pack before joining Scar's master plan.
As for the people who are claiming there isn't enough emotion in the animals' faces... I have so much to say about that. First, and most lightheartedly, if you want to see humanoid cats, wait for the Cats remake... then I'll wait to hear back from you on how much you hate that too. But on a more serious note, as an educator and just general empathetic human on this planet, it's terrifying to me that there are so many people who don't think watching realistic animal go through this heart wrenching story is emotive enough. Real animals. A lion being trampled to death. Mixed with real animal behavior. Layered with the voice actors wonderful talent. I kindly ask that you look internally and reevaluate what it takes for you to be be touched by other living creatures an expand your reach beond eyebrows. I have cried every single time I have watched this film since I was a child, but I cried more and harder in this version as a woman in my 30s.
Back to the voice actors, sure I miss some of the wonderful talent of the original film, but that doesn't take anything away from the actors who were in this version. And at least we got James Earl Jones, so let's all thank our stars for that. I'll also add that I felt Scar as a character was absolutely menacing in this remake with his internet SO much more clear, deliberate, and evil than what is conveyed in the original, and it makes the movie more believable.
This movie is a visual masterpiece, true to the original content while still being updated, and is at times painfully more heartwrenching that the cartoon. If you want to watch the original, just watch the dang original, but this remake was fantastic and faithful in a new style. I loved it.