Slimy, yet......unsatisfying.

Rating: 5/10 (25 July 2019)

'The Lion King' (2019) is yet another classic title in Disney's long list of live-action remakes. However, with acclaimed director Jon Favreau at the helm, will this film the mold to become something more than mediocre?
1. If you've seen the original 1994 animated film, there is nothing different in terms of scene, story and song in this remake. The goal was obviously to review the original and copy each scene with CGI effects. On a positive note, the CGI was breathtaking! From the vastness of the African plains to character designs themselves. If you thought Avatar (2009) was still groundbreaking with its CGI world, this film rivals that immensely. There was never a moment to which I though anything looked fake. The art department should be nominated for their work on this film cause this is as realistic as CGI effects will appear nowadays.
2. Overall, I had mixed feelings about the new voice-casting in this film. James Earl Jones' voice is obviously irreplaceable and I couldn't imagine anyone else as Mufasa. However, Jeremy Irons (original voice of Scar) also has an iconic voice and whilst Chiwetel Ejiofor does a good of a job as anyone can, Irons still seemed like the better fit. I was appalled to learn that Jeremy Irons himself approached Disney and was more than willing to reprise his role as Scar only to be rejected as the studio only wanted Black actors in the film's leading roles.
The only other voice actor I had a problem with was Beyonce as adult Nala. Obviously she's an amazing vocalist but her actual speaking voice is too deep to the point where it is more so deeper than co-star Donald Glover's(adult Simba).
3. Lastly, the music of the original film is iconic in its own right and very much timeless. Of course the newer voice actors do covers of the original songs but to no greater effect. It serves its purpose but there is nothing special about it overall. There are some new song written for the film but they are God-awful! Having Pharrell Williams on board as the music producer on this was a terrible choice. Hans Zimmer knew just how to represent Africa with his organized orchestra headed by African singer Lebo M. who brought traditional African instrumentals to the original film. Here, injecting a hip-hop and R&B over-tone to the score was utter garbage and a slap in the face to Hans Zimmer's Ocarina's-winning work.
'The Lion King' is just an okay film. There honestly was so much potential to recapture the magic of the original but seemed like the film-makers were trying way too hard to make this great that they completely missed their target.