Writer: Jeff Nathanson (Screenplay) Brenda Chapman (Story)
Starring: (Voice Talents) Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Earl Jones, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Donald Glover, Beyonce
Plot: After the murder of his father, a young lion prince flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery.
Tagline – Be Prepared.
Runtime: 1 Hour 58 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Animation is Fantastic, the Rest is Terrible
Story: The Lion King starts as a young lion cub Simba learns about the kingdom his father Mufasa rules, he learns his place in the pride and just what he will need to do to be prepared to take over one day. As Simba continues to want to learn about his place, he only gets himself into more trouble, forcing him to leave.
As Simba grows up under the guidance of Timon and Pumbaa, he learns to take life more laidback until Nala finds him, getting Simba to return to end Scar’s reign of terror on the kingdom.
Thoughts on The Lion King
Characters – Simba is the young king to be, he is starts as a cub that is exploring his future kingdom, already wanting to break the rules, as a cub he attitude towards Scar doesn’t make their bond get any better. After he is forced to run and hide after his father’s death, he sees a new lifestyle, until he learns that he must learn his rightful place in pride rock. Scar is the brother to Mufasa, he was next in line to be king before Simba and he wants his chance of being king of the pride, he has always been planning his own ideas to take over, breaking the rules, close to be exiled. Mufasa is the king of pride rock, every animal looks up to him and he protects the land fairly. Zazu is very annoying, it sad that they decide to make more bout the voice actors stand up than an actual character. Timon and Pumbaa are the unlikely partnership of a warthog and a meerkat that helps Simba see life in a different way and want to use him as protection for their own life, they do have excellent chemistry though.
Story – The story here follows a young lion cub that sees his father killed and must learn his place in the world to reclaim his rightful place as king. This is a remake of the 1994 version of the film, with the story offering little to nothing new to what we saw back then in storytelling, it does seem to make more out of the villainous ways of Scar, with him always holding a grudge against Mufasa, knowing he could never replace him. Simba however is made to feel a lot more annoying as the cub, he is an entitled character who only seems to care about himself. If you want to see the same story, it is a lot easier and more reward to watch the 1994 version.
Adventure/Musical – The adventure is showing how Simba must learn about his future even after running from his past., the musical side of the film, well we are going to go through the songs comparing them to the originals,
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The Circle of Life – Weak
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I Just Can’t Wait to be King – Lacks the Sparkle
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Be Prepared – Serious what was this?
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Hakuna Matata – Passable, the best of the songs so far, but still not on the level of magic as the original.
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The Lion Sleeps Tonight – Cut too short.
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Can You Feel the Love Tonight – Oh, Boy this was bad.
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Spirit is a new song and is the only one that seems to fit this film.
Settings – The film does recreate the original settings, well but this is more about just how good the animation really is.
Animation – However much we can talk about the weaknesses in this film, the one true standout part of the film is the animation which looks beautiful and the team involved should get all the praise in the world.
Scene of the Movie – Timon and Pumbaa’s entrance.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Simba is more annoying this time around.
Final Thoughts – This is such a pointless remake that only gets the praise for the pure quality of the animation being used, otherwise it just does nothing.
Overall: Just Terribly weak outside of the Animation team.