Since I wrote a review on the new live-action Aladdin I decided I wanted to continue writing reviews. I decided my next interview would be on The Lion King. I have a lot of mixed feelings about Disney remaking their classic movies. Honestly, for this movie, I was a bit more excited to see how they would bring this story to life. Like Aladdin, the live-action Lion King follows the main story but also has several major changes to the plot. If you have not seen the new Lion King (or even the original) stop reading now. This is my official spoiler warning. Now, let’s talk about the changes. The first major change is the animation. This movie is considered “live-action” but it is still digitally animated. The animation is visually stunning! The animals look realistic and if I did not see the animals talking to each other I would have believed they used actual animals. Another change is we get more background knowledge on Scar and the Hyenas. Let’s start with Scar. Scar is the main antagonist of the movie and if the original, he is a witty, sarcastic, and sometimes humorous villain. In the new live-action, Scar has a bit of a more serious tone to him. He does not use wit or humor in this remake. He is much darker and threatening. Not only is his personality darker but his appearance is as well. Scar compared to the other lions is thinner and balder. Overall, he is visually unappealing. We also learn a little bit more of his past. In the original, we just know he is Mufasa’s brother. In this movie, we learn that Scar fought Mufasa for Sarabi and clearly lost to his brother. We learn that Scar still loves Sarabi and when he takes over pride rock, he wants her to be his Queen. Next, let’s talk about the Hyenas. The Hyenas are completely different from their original counterparts. In the original, the Hyenas were dependent on Scar and for the lack of a better word goofy. They were far from threatening and if it had not been for Scar, they would have never resorted to much on their own. In this version, the Hyenas are more independent. They do not even know who Scar is until after he tricks Simba and Nala to go to the Elephant graveyard. Another change to the plot is that Shenzi is the only original Hyena. Ed and Banzai are not in this movie. They do, however, have a comedic duo of Hyenas that are named Kamari and Azizi. Maybe these two were meant to be Ed and Banzai but I honestly do not know. Shenzi is also the leader of the pack. Finally, just like Scar’s appearance being more threatening, so are the appearances of the Hyenas. I am not hating on the original (because it is amazing), but the Hyenas did not look threatening at all. In this version, I do not blame the lion cubs for being scared when running through the graveyard. Now, let’s talk about songs. All the songs are the same except “Be Prepared.” As I mentioned before, Scar and the Hyenas do not know each other until after the cubs are tricked into going to the elephant graveyard. So, “Be Prepared” had to be changed because they did not have that relationship established beforehand. The song is much shorter and honestly, I did not even realize Scar was singing until the song ended. It was more of a speech than a song to me. The last major change that I wanted to mention was the live bait scene. In the original, when Simba heads back to pride rock to reclaim his throne he needs to distract the Hyenas, so he suggests using live bait. Timon dresses up in drag and does the hula while Pumbaa is served on a plate with an apple in his mouth. Well, since this is a “live-action” this scene was changed to be more realistic (if you can even call it that.) instead of Timon dancing the hula and singing about Pumbaa he sings the beginning line of Beauty and the Beast’s “Be Our Guest” then they run off while the Hyenas follow giving Simba a chance to move. Along with the distraction to the Hyenas changing so does the scene shortly after. In the original, Timon runs into a cave and is cornered by the Hyenas when Pumbaa comes to the rescue. Confused, the Hyenas ask, “Who’s the pig?” which leads Pumbaa to say the iconic line of, “They call me Mr. Pig!” then attacks. In the “live-action” the Hyena’s fat-shame Pumbaa and then he gets upset and goes off on how he does not like bullies. Even though I wanted to see the Hula scene and Pumbaa get angry I did appreciate the changes. I loved the anti-bullying change because bullying is an issue that many people face, and I am glad it was addressed. So, with that transition, let’s talk about the changes I liked about the movie. The first thing was the opening of the movie was almost identical to the original. I loved the opening because it gave me a huge sense of nostalgia. The realistic view of the iconic opening was incredible to watch. I could not help but smile. I also liked Zazu. When I was a kid, Zazu was one of my least favorite characters because he was meant to be a nagging, kiss ass. It seemed everything that came out of his beak got on my nerves. In the remake, he is much more tolerable to watch. I found this version of Zazu more comical and easy going. No offense Rowan Atkinson, but I feel John Oliver delivered a phenomenal performance. Speaking of phenomenal performances, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner killed Timon and Pumbaa! This duo has always been a favorite of mine I loved Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella’s performances, but I feel Rogen and Eichner did them justice. The chemistry between them was spectacular. I also loved that a lot of their lines were improvised. It made their scenes feel more real. Lastly, I loved how realistic the animation looked. Digital animation has come a long way since 1994 so, great job Disney! Now, let’s talk about the things I did not care for in this movie. First and foremost, Rafiki! Oh, my goodness Rafiki is so useless in this movie if they had excluded him, I am sure nobody would have missed him. My first complaint about Rafiki is he does not stand when he presents Simba to the pride land. I can understand that this remake was supposed to be more realistic and maybe he could not stand up straight especially while holding up a lion cub, but it still bothered me. Second, when Rafiki finds out Simba is alive he takes Simba to see Mufasa, but he does not interact with Simba very much like in the original. It was a bit of a let down because in those few minutes Rafiki shows Simba that everyone has a past and he just needs to keep moving forward, and in this movie, he just takes him and Mufasa does all the work. Speaking of Mufasa, the animators seemed confused about how they wanted to present Mufasa’s spirit helping guide Simba. In the original, the clouds take the shape of a lion. In the live-action, it appeared that the animators wanted to pay homage to the original by faintly presenting the shape of a lion in the clouds when lightning struck. Unfortunately, it was a poor attempt. Anthony agreed that he did not know what the animators were going for. Another thing that I did not care for was “Can you feel the love tonight.” Donald Glover and Beyonce are amazing singers and I had high hopes for their duet, but I personally feel that Beyonce dominated the song. I had to listen to the song over and over just to confirm my initial thought, and each time I felt that Donald Glover was singing back up to Queen B. I feel as if I am going to get arrested for feeling this way, but it is how I feel. Disney hired Beyonce to do what she does best, and I think her singing was amazing, however, I wish the song sounded more like a duet than a solo song. Next, while watching the movie I felt the entire story was rushed through. I do not know how to exactly explain what I mean but I feel that the movie jumps from scene to scene without any transition. I feel the original had better transitions from scene to scene. Lastly, WHERE WAS RAFIKI’S STICK?!
My verdict for The Lion King is a 4 out of 5 stars. I really liked this movie. I think what really sold me was Timon and Pumbaa. If it had not been for them, I probably would have given the movie a lower rating. What did you think of the live-action Lion King? Let me know in the comments! Credit to Screen Rant and Super Carlin Brothers https://screenrant.com/lion-king-movie-2019-differences-changes-animation-comparison/ https://www.youtube.com/user/SuperCarlinBrothers
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DreaAlways remember to love yourself. Archives
November 2022
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