A Different Look for a New Generation

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2019)

*Spoilers* tag, because you never know.
This was admittedly a bizarre experience because the movie really is a shot-for-shot, almost word-for-word remake of the 1994 animated film. It's very similar to the Beauty and the Beast remake, except for some pretty significant differences: Whereas Beauty and the Beast didn't work because the style was gaudy and the story changes were confusing and convoluted, The Lion King's style is gorgeous and natural, and all the story changes only work to make it stronger (for the most part).
With the goal of The Lion King being to remake the original story for a new audience with a new look, it succeeds on just about every level. It beautifully captures the emotion and the heart of the original story, and you can tell everyone working on it had great respect for the source material. It feels like watching a stage show you know by heart, just with a different cast and set than you've seen before.
The animation is next-level in a way that was unthinkable 25 years ago. It really is like watching some kind of modern Homeward Bound or Babe, only here they were able to avoid stubborn animal acting by just animating the entire animal. While they had to abandon the flexibility of old-fashioned elaborated animated facial expressions, they did an excellent job getting the emotion across in the way the animals actually would in real life. The way they hold themselves is so natural and normal that it really does feel like you're watching some kind of strange nature documentary where the animals can talk and sing.
The weakest part of the film is how they incorporated some of the music from the original. Most of the songs work, and I really like how they adapted "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", considering just how much they needed to change. But "Be Prepared" really felt shoehorned in due to fan backlash at its omittance, and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" was just poorly handled all around. The scene comes out of nowhere with no build-up, and the entire thing takes place *during the day*. I was thinking maybe they just didn't know how to make it look good in a pitch-black jungle, until they actually did a night scene and it looked great. No idea what they were thinking.
But as a whole, the movie works. There's going to be a whole new generation of kids experiencing this beautiful, important story in a way that we could never have imagined at their age. I'm very happy this movie exists, and I'm happy that it was handled so well. And if this just isn't your thing, then the original still exists and is readily available.