The Lion King is a film that needs no introduction. The Disney animated movie from 1994 was a worldwide phenomenon, grossing nearly a billion dollars at the global box office, spawning a highly successful broadway musical, and setting up a merchandising powerhouse for decades to come. Now in 2019 Disney has released a remake that it defines as neither animated nor live action but as “photo realistic.”

The tale of a young lion prince growing up among the animals of the African savanna is brought to life with similar technology to that was used in director Jon Favreau’s previous remake of The Jungle Book. Both films are something of a technical marvel, creating realistic looking animals that talk and display emotions. Whereas Jungle Book had a human protagonist, however, Lion King goes the next step and creates an immersive world with no human characters whatsoever.

As someone who was not a particular fan of the original animated film, I did find the new photo real approach to add some value. By making the characters more life-like and less cartoony I found some of the scenes to have an added level of dramatic weight. In particular I found the first half of the film, focusing on Prince Simba’s relationship with his father and discussions about the circle of life, to be more affecting and engaging than I remember from the animated original. The villains certainly seem more menacing and the fight scenes, while identical to those in the first movie, are far more frightening when using the photo real approach.

However, this new Lion King comes with a notable weakness. I originally came to The Jungle Book remake with trepidation, fearing it would simply be a live-action rehash of Disney’s animated classic. Instead, Jungle Book incorporated many elements from Kipling’s story as well as successfully inventing new elements that enhanced the viewing experience. The Lion King remake, by contrast, really is largely a frame by frame and line by line replica of the first movie.

While I personally found the new technological approach more engaging, those who are fans of the original will find absolutely nothing new here. Furthermore, as a non-fan of the first movie I ultimately found myself rewatching a movie that I only found to be OK the first time around. There were no new or interesting twists to really win me over.

Overall, if you love The Lion King and would like to see it readapted using new state of the art technology then this is the movie for you. If, like me, you found the first film overly cartoony and lacking emotional punch you may find this more realistic approach brings out some aspects that didn’t come through in the original. On the whole, though, this version is the veritable definition of a money-grab as it directly rehashes the cartoon with little in the way of anything new or innovative. It’s not painful to sit through and is a technical marvel to behold but it is, otherwise, entirely missable.

3 out of 5 stars

Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub’s arrival. Scar, Mufasa’s brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba’s exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

Cast: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Florence Kasumba, Eric André, Keegan-Michael Key, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and James Earl Jones.
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Screenplay by: Jeff Nathanson