Release Date: Malaysia, 17 June 2019
Genre: Animation / Adventure
Running Length: 1:58
Cast (Voices): Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Beyoncé, James Earl Jones, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Oliver, Alfre Woodard
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenplay: Jeff Nathanson, based on a story by Brenda Chapman
Disclaimer: This review is based on these facts: (i) I've watched the original 1994 classic and (ii) I am not in favour of Disney re-doing its classics into live-action. If you've not seen the original, perhaps you would have a different experience altogether.
So, I decided to catch it anyway hoping that it would bring a new freshness. And here's the verdict:
I totally disliked it.
Before I tear this movie apart, let's start off with the positive aspects of the movie. The one thing that really stood out for me is the triumphant "animation". The movie's photorealistic jungles and animals of Africa can be easily mistaken with an episode of National Geographic or Planet Earth. In the opening act where we are introduced to little Simba, I literally exclaimed out loud "Eeee..SO CUTE!!!" Yes, it's that believable. The technical achievement here is ground breaking.
And that's about it of what I like about the movie. Now let's get to the dislikes.
Eventhough it's visually realistic and stunning, there are drawbacks. You see, I can accept it when the animals are singing and acting all human-like in the hand-drawn original but in a state of "reality" like this 2019 version, there is a disconnect when perfectly rendered animals start speaking and singing. I just find this very difficult to accept. As a result, it was distracting to me.
And speaking of speaking, there is something off with the voice talents here and I can't put my finger on what's wrong. James Earl Jones is back as the booming voice of Simba's I'm your father; Mufasa. But somehow, the majesty and glory of Mufasa is missing when he speaks in this version. The only voice talent that matches to the 'T' is Seth Rogen as the warthog Pumbaa. He was born to play Pumbaa.
As for the scenes, it's a shot-for-shot recreation of the original. WHY?!! Yes, I get it that some scenes are sacred and shouldn't be altered such as the signature opening "Circle of Life" sequence and one of the most disturbing and saddest scene ever committed to the history of Disney animation (it still is in this version), but they could have at least changed up some scenes to inject some freshness to it.
As for the classic score and songs, they did update it but this 2019 version is simply terrible. The only memorable ones are when Pumbaa and Timon sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and a laugh-inducing song referencing another Disney classic
All in all, I was bored throughout this 2019 Lion King. This is an obvious cash-grab from Disney. Unfortunately, audiences will still flock to the cinemas (it debuted and ruled at the North America Box Office at USD 185 million!) and will fill Disney's coffers to overflowing. This only means one thing: more classics being converted to live-action. You know what they say - new generation, new money.
RATING: 5/10
