Lights...Camera...Reaction: The Lion King

Disney's back at it with their next cartoon to live-action adaptation and arguably one of, if not, the greatest animated movies of all time "The Lion King" and it's still great! Director Jon Favreau brings to 'life' the animated classic after tackling 2016's "The Jungle Book" adaptation that brought these virtual productions to the forefront. If you're looking for new additions to "The Lion King" story or more fleshed out characters, then you're in for a disappointment, as that is what many critics were clearly looking for. For 90's kids and many more, like us, we knew what we were in for and what we wanted - an updated version of the original. That is exactly what Disney and Favreau give us and that is definitely the low risk, high reward scenario they chose. Queue the Circle of Life!

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First off, I will protect baby Simba with my life!!! Jump in front of a train for him? Yup. Get eaten by a pack of hyena's? You bet ya. Little Simba and Nala are so precious in this version and the best parts of the movie, kudos to JD McCray (Simba) and Shahadi Wright Joseph (Nala). Just take another look at them! 

*adopts cat*

Other standouts include my favorite John Oliver as Zazu, who adds a number of jokes to the role and even drops a "Last Week Tonight" Easter egg or two for massive fans like yours truly. Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner kill it as Timon and Pumba, arguably stealing the whole movie. Eichner as the more flamboyant Timon really fit and big Disney fans will get a kick out of his shout out to another Disney classic. Keegan Michael-Key, Eric Andre, and Florence Kasumba bring new life to the three main hyena's, plus the smart move of taking out Ed in today's climate. Chiwetel Ejiofor, one of the most underrated actors working today, plays an excellent Scar that is on the level of the Jeremy Irons version. Last, but most definitely not least, James Earl Jones continues greatness reprising his role as Mufasa, can't say enough about him. 

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Onto the two 'main' stars of the show, Donald Glover and Beyonce as grown Simba and Nala. Here's is where the negatives start to kick in. These are two of the most talented people on the face of the Earth and they don't get enough time. In a live-action adaptation you have the luxury of extending the run time with extra story - as Disney has done with almost every other adaptation - but they don't in this film. This could be because it's so damn expensive and they didn't have the budget, but I'm judging what we got. The second-half of the movie had the opportunity to flesh-out the love story between the two and put some more weight behind reclaiming Pride Rock. Instead we get a pretty carbon-copy version of falling in love during a single scene then Simba comes to the realization that he should overthrow Scar. There should've been more characterization here. But most importantly, adult Simba and Nala were the only two characters who seemingly didn't match the voice acting to the animation.

A common critique you will see from critics is they couldn't feel the emotion since real animals can't emote like the animation. This is true and our two main characters are the ones who really suffer from it. That being said their rendition of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is arguably the best part of the movie. I could've done without Beyonce's new song "Sprit" as it didn't do anything for the movie, but it didn't detract either. It'll be a #1 hit for her so there's that. 

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Summing it up, this is basically a shot-for-shot remake of the original animated classic - which I fully expected - and I can't help but feel they missed out on some opportunity here. But I still loved it and is undeniably a great story (I just noticed the Shakesperian elements too). I'd be dammed if I forgot to mention my boy Hans Zimmer (!!!) returning to re-up his original score, it is still one of the best of all time! Great characters and great relationship between Mufasa and Simba. I won't include the gif of the stampede scene because it hurts, it still hurts as much as it did in 1994. Little Simba really needed a hug and maybe in the 2044 remake I can actually give him that hug. 

The animation is spectacular!!! You'll forget that it is just that, an animation. Hollywood is calling it a virtual production, which will be a lively debate for awards season. Can't help but think Disney is fighting themselves with Avengers in the Best Special Effects category. There are some shots that are very National Geographic but they get a pass. Overall if you love the original, I believe you'll still enjoy this version and it will make all the monies still. Unless you're a Johnathan Taylor Thomas fan, then I'm sorry he didn't show up as the only human.

- Ryan, TGYK