I don't think the Lion King brought anything new to the table.

Rating: 7/10 (21 July 2019)

It was a great film; the CGI was very realistic. Yes, people criticized it for being too real and that no one can read their emotions. As an animal lover and owner of 3 cats and a dog, I could tell how they were feeling. The way Simba would lower his ears or cower. I could see the fear in Mufasa's eyes and the anger in Scar's. I did cry. It was just as emotional as the original. When Simba mourned for his father, he curled up against his dead father's body. It was too much.
But that doesn't mean it's better.
Thing is, it was the same story. The lines were pretty much the same, and the scenes were all the same. There were some new lines, but they were only embellishments that didn't really add anything new. Scar said something along the lines of Mufasa interacting with the commoners (referring to himself). You'd think they would go into depth about that? Why does Scar look so sickly? Does he feel like the king and the royal family don't care about the commoners and that there is an issue of classism and hunger among the low class and that is why the Hyenas live on the low end? No, they don't. They had an opportunity to maybe give Scar a reason as to why he is the way he is, but they don't. He even had a monologue while he was hunting a mouse and said things about how he and the mouse are no different. But that's it.
And you'd think they would go into depth about the drought and the eco-system. Yeah, the lionesses told Scar that he was hunting too much and that's why they were suffering, but we already KNEW that. Could they have talked a bit more about how Simba was traumatized and somewhat emotionally abused by Scar by making him believe he killed his own father all these years? No. The ending was the same. Scar was pretty much the same. It all ends the same.
Don't get me wrong, I love that Disney has been remaking the classics, but at least they have been giving us something fresh. Either a twist to the story or social commentary on current issues. For example, in Aladdin 2019, instead of addressing the issue about ONE rule that could be changed, they addressed the issue of equality and asked WHY can't a woman be leader so she can change the rules how she wants? And that's why I love the Aladdin remake so much.
Lion King didn't do that this time. It did stay true to the original, and that's it. That's all did. It was just a visually enhanced version. I give it 7/10 because it was still entertaining, but it really didn't bring anything exciting or new.