The Lion King

Rating: 5/10 (28 July 2019)

The original Disney animated movie is a crowd-pleasing favourite and was a big box office hit, spawning a successful stage musical, so following on from Cinderella, Pete's Dragon, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo and others, the 1994 cartoon got the "live action" treatment 25 years later, well that's what the makers call it anyway, directed by John Favreau (Elf, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Iron Man, The Jungle Book). Basically, in the Pride Lands of Africa, at Pride Rock, the lions rule over the animal kingdom. There King Mufasa (James Earl Jones, voiced Mufasa in the original) and Queen Sarabi (Star Trek: First Contact's Alfre Woodard), with Rafiki the mandrill (John Kani), the kingdom's shaman and advisor, are presenting Simba, their new-born son, to the large gathering of animals. Mufasa shows young Simba (JD McCrary) the Pride Lands, explaining his responsibilities as king, and the "circle of life", which connects all living things. Mufasa's younger brother Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) plots to eliminate Mufasa and Simba to become king himself. He tricks Simba and his best friend Nala (Shahadi Wright Joseph), who are betrothed, into exploring a forbidden elephant graveyard. The lion cubs are attacked by spotted hyenas, led by Shenzi (Florence Kasumba), Kamari (Keegan-Michael Key), and Azizi (Eric André), who are in league with Scar. Mufasa is alerted about the incident by his majordomo, the hornbill Zazu (John Oliver), and rescues the cubs. Mufasa is upset with Simba, but forgives him, he tells him the great kings of the past are in the night sky, they will always be there to guide him, as he will be one day. Meanwhile, Scar visits the hyenas and manages to convince them to help him overthrow Mufusa in exchange for hunting rights in the Pride Lands. Scar sets a trap for his brother and nephew, luring Simba into a gorge, telling him it is the place where lions practise their roar. While stampede of wildebeest is driven by the hyenas to trample him, Scar informs Mufasa his son is in danger. Mufasa saves Simba but hangs perilously trying to climb out of the gorge. Scar refuses to save him and causes him to fall onto the stampeding herd. Simba finds Mufasa dead, Simba is convinced by Scar that his roar caused this tragedy and tells him to run away and never return. Scar orders the hyenas to kill the cub, they are convinced that Simba falls to death from the edge of a cliff, but he survives the fall and escapes. Scar tells the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed in the stampede and steps forward as the new king, allowing the entire hyena pack to live in the Pride Lands. Simba has collapsed in the desert, he is rescued by friends and outcasts Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa the warthog (Seth Rogen). Simba (Donald Glover) grows up in a jungle paradise with his two new friends and other animals, living a carefree life under the motto "Hakuna Matata", meaning "no worries". Back in Pride Rock, the kingdom been reduced to a wasteland under Scar's rule, adult Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter) manages to sneak past the hyenas and goes to find help. Timon and Pumbaa and other animals are walking through the jungle singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", when Nala tries to attack them. She and Simba reunite and fall in love, and she urges him to return home, explaining what has happened to the land. Feeling guilty over his father's death, Simba refuses and storms off. He then encounters Rafiki, who discovered he was still alive, he tells him that Mufasa's spirit lives on in Simba. Simba is visited by the ghost of Mufasa in the night sky, following this he decides to return home. Aided by Timon and Pumbaa, Simba sneaks past the hyenas and confronts Scar. Scar taunts Simba over his role in Mufasa's death and backs him to the edge of the rock, where he reveals to him that he murdered Mufasa. Enraged, Simba reveals the truth to the rest of the pride. Scar attempts to defend himself, but his knowledge of Mufasa's last moment, having previously claimed that he arrived too late at the gorge, exposes his role in Mufasa's death. Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Zazu, and the lionesses fend off the hyenas while Simba confronts Scar trying to escape. He spares his uncle's life but orders him to leave and never return. Scar attacks his nephew, but Simba manages to throw him from the top of the rock. Scar survives the fall, but is attacked and killed by the hyenas, who overheard his attempt to betray them. Afterwards, during a rainfall, Simba takes over the kingship and makes Nala his queen. Later, with Pride Rock restored to its usual state, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to the gathered animals, continuing the circle of life. Also starring Penny Johnson Jerald as Sarafina, Amy Sedaris as Guinea Fowl, Chance the Rapper as Bush Baby, and Phil LaMarr as Impala. The voice cast are all fine, especially Ejiofor as the villain, the return of Jones is welcome as the father, but he speaks pretty much exactly the same dialogue, and the "photorealistic" CGI animation is absolutely astonishing, you cannot believe the animals are not real, until of course they open their mouths and speak. The story remains unchanged, with biblical and Shakespearian themes, and the memorable songs composed by Sir Elton John and written by Sir Tim Rice you can still enjoy. Unfortunately, it is let down by the fact that almost all the dialogue is the same, as is the story, it doesn't have much emotional impact, and only subtle changes are made, including the song "Spirit" by Beyoncé (nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Song) from the stage musical, but that's it, you may as well be watching the original 1994 movie, it is definitely opting for style over substance, nevertheless a reasonable animated musical drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, it was nominated the BAFTA for Best Special Visual Effects, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Animated. Worth watching!