A Pale, Lifeless, & Unnecessary Remake

Rating: 5/10 (31 July 2019)

I don't know if it's because my fondness for the original Disney animated movies colors my perception of the live action remakes, but I've been severely disappointed with every one of them except for Cinderella. The animals looked absolutely fantastic - if this were a nature show. But, as far as emoting and engaging the audience in the story, it just fails completely. I think it's just a limitation of transitioning from an animated medium to a live action one where anthropomorphizing the animals to express emotions would probably just look weird.
Many of the voice actors I also felt were flat. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover, & Beyoncé's performances were just lifeless. Not to mention I could barely hear/make out the majority of John Oliver's dialogue. James Earl Jones was perfect and spot on as usual. The songs were good, not as good as the original imo, but still they weren't too bad. I missed the original "Be Prepared" and that Beyoncé song seemed so out of place. I would have liked to of had "He Lives In You" by Lebo M. actually in the movie instead of relegated to the credits, it's a great song.