The Lion King (2019)

Once again Disney has mined their catalogue to put out a remake of one of their classics which doesn't come close to the magic of the original. Like some of these films there are some adjustments which I appreciated but mostly I felt it was either copying the original and not quite being as great, or making changes that just didn't feel as magical as what came before. I truly wish they could put this energy into making something new but I know audiences like something safe and secure where they don't have to wonder if they are going to like it.

So first what's good? Like their remake of Aladdin, I was happy to see them remove the gay-coding of the villain. The new Scar isn't a simple usurper who clearly isn't as worthy due to his lack of masculinity as he was in the first film. He actually articulates a different vision for the Pride Lands and has an ideological basis for his coup. Basically he argues a need for greater exploitation of the resources. While Mufasa managed a system that took into consideration the needs of all the citizens and managed conservation of resources, Scar wants a trickle down system which benefits the top of the food chain as much as possible without regard for the depletion of resources or the consequences for those further down the line. He is backed by the greedy who stand to benefit from such a reign. Basically he's a conservative.

I also appreciated the way the film gave more agency to its female leads (also in a way similar to the Aladdin remake). Both Nala and Sarabi are given more power and more leadership. I liked the new song for Beyonce. This was a welcome addition.

Sure I love Timon and Pumba in the original and here they are another bright spot. Billy Eichner (Timon) talked about how much freedom he and Seth Rogan were given to ad lib and improvise. The most changes to the film come from their scenes. Their chemistry is wonderful and their characters remain some of the best in the film. While I laughed a much of their material, one of their scenes also highlighted the issues with this film. There is a joke midway though Hakuna Matata which plays on our knowledge of the original film and it's version of the song. The joke that got the loudest laugh was one that takes a joke from the first film and then plays it differently. In this case, if you hadn't seen the first film you wouldn't get it at all and the joke would fall flat. However if you have seen the first film it's the best joke in the movie. Basically summing up this film making approach which relies entirely on recycling old ideas and your audience's knowledge of a product they have already consumed.

Overall the film never gave me any of the feels of the original. I had a hard time mustering any excitement to see a story that I had seen before when I knew how it was all going to play out. Seeing photo-realistic CGI animals wasn't enough to outweigh the loss of the gorgeous animation of the original film. This was most striking in the I Just Can't Wait To Be King number. While the first turns beautifully stylized and gives the animators some amazing opportunities to show off the beauty of the medium, here it was just a bunch of realistic looking animals running around. It lost all it's magic. So much of the film felt this way but this scene encapsulated it the most.

I couldn't feel anything when Mufasa died or when Simba and Nala discovered the changing feelings of adolescence. The real looking animals just didn't emote in the same manner and didn't offer the same connections their 2D animated equivalents did.

I know these films are popular and I am in the minority for not getting into line. They just don't offer me much of what I want when I go to a movie.

The Lion King
Starring: Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogan, Billy Eichner, Alfre Woodard, John Kani, John Oliver, Beyonce Knowles, James Earl Jones
Director: John Favreau
Writer: Jeff Nathanson