The Lion King review – This Disney remake is moving, funny & terrifying – and as close to faultless as you’ll get
REBOOTING one of their most valuable assets was a risky decision, but this CGI update of The Lion King is as close to faultless as you’ll get.
I have zero nostalgic attachment to the 1994 original. I was too old, my kid’s were too young so it completely passed me by.
Sure, I knew the songs (Elton John and Tim Rice’s ubiquitous soundtrack helping the subsequent musical to become the most profitable of all time) and knew my Simba from my Scar, but in terms of legacy - I could take it or leave it and sat down for this update completely ambivalent but ready to be entertained. Geez Louise, I was NOT prepared.
Whether you’re a cynic and think Disney’s seemingly frantic undertaking to remake every single one of their soon-to-be-out-of-copyright movies is a simple cash grab or merely a cleverly orchestrated campaign to modernise classic tales is largely irrelevant, as most have worked.
The Jungle Book was excellent, Beauty and the Beast and Pete’s Dragon great, Aladdin so-so with only Dumbo really missing the mark.
It’s usually tampering withe the story that spoils them - and you do wonder what the point of that is.
Problematic ideology aside, the glorified bedtime stories are terrific - all you need is to update the
technology and give social media savvy kids a few of their idols to cling to and away you go.
Jon Favreau did this for Jungle Book and wisely continues the path here. 2019 sees an almost facsimile of it’s predecessor, with a mere smattering of changes and only a couple of new songs.
The story has more balance (you don’t get Beyonce on board for her to play second fiddle to a man after all) but is mercifully free of hand-wringing mollycoddling.
It is still a story predominately about death, destiny and the circle of life and still goes a long
way to helping it’s young audience begin to factor in somewhat dark elements of the human psyche.
You know the drill. Simba is born as heir to King Mufasfa, which displeases his Uncle Scar who was in line for the top job until the cub arrived.
After a tragic event, Simba exiles himself from the pride and takes shelter with friends Timon and Pumbaa, whilst Scar creates his own version of communism.
Destiny tells Simba he must stand up for himself and his legacy.
So whilst on the face of it nothing has changed, it only takes a couple of seconds for you to realise that visually, you’ve seen nothing like this before. It reminded me of the first time I clapped eyes on Gollum, or when I finally got round to new lenses for my specs.
The realism in the animals and landscape is simply mind-blowing. Whether it’s wet fur, the shimmering heat rising off the sandy floor or even just s simple blooming rock, the level of detail is nuts. All before a single character has spoken.
The casting is properly on point. Donald Glover as adult Simba and Beyonce as Nala do the business well enough, but it’s the supporting voices that steal every scene.
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) is utterly hideous as Scar (who’s scenes are so unpleasantly sinister, you’d be wise to check on younger viewers whenever he appears) and John Oliver as Zazu brings a bit of stoic brit humour to proceedings.
However, the top of the podium is reserved for Seth Rogen as Pumbaa and movie newcomer Billy Eichner as Timon (If you’ve never seen Billy on the Streets, google it now and thank me later).
Their anxiety riddled, clap-backing double act is nothing short of genius and makes an already enjoyable film a laugh out loud future classic.
My only reservation was keeping James Earl Jones and Mufasa. I get the sentiment, but felt his voice jarred with the rest of the cast.
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The old songs, given a sympathetically updated production sound as good as ever, with the added bonus of a couple of new tracks from Beyonce and Elton.
I can’t think of a second of the nearly two-hours that was lacking. It was moving, funny, terrifying and foot-tapping. The quintessential Disney movie presented to you in industry defining clarity. A game-changer.