‘The Lion King’ Live Action Review
Deva Vu…Kind Of
Film Analysis
The live action version of The Lion King hit theaters on July 9, 2019; I experienced the film for myself on July 23, 2019. The moment the film began, I felt an instant wave of nostalgia. The classic, opening chant of the film reverted my mind back to childhood––I was six again, and it felt nice. Credit is due to the creators for making the new opening scenes such an accurate imitation of the original.
In addition to the nostalgia I felt, I was pleasantly surprised by how life-like the CGI animals are. The characters truly mirrored their real-life counterparts, and their mouths moved in a very believable way. Despite the similarities, I must say, the 1994 cartoon version of The Lion King will always be the best in my heart. Some of the most memorable scenes from my childhood were lost in the remake. It is understandable why these scenes were not included, as the cartoon characters were able to carry far more energy than the life-like CGI characters.
With that said, it was still one of the best remakes. Altogether, the film was well done, and the music was amazing. Since I had prior knowledge of musician, Beyoncé Knowles, playing the voice of adult Nala, I knew I would be pleased with the musical performances.
Comparisons Between the Past and the Present
The very first difference I noticed in the film was at Simba’s debut on “Pride Rock.” Rafiki (the monkey) did not carry a staff, the way he did in the original, cartoon film. This disappointed me because I believed it to be such an iconic staple to his character. In addition to his missing staff, the scene where Rafiki hits Simba on the head with it was cut. In the original, after Simba expresses to Nala that he is not returning to “Pride Rock” due to his sadness linked to Mufasa’s death, Rafiki finds him and attempts to teach Simba a lesson by smacking him on his head with his staff. Simba is, of course, hurt, but Rafiki then explains that it is in the past, and sometimes, the past can hurt. However what you do with that pain is up to you! You can either run from it, or learn from it. Rafiki then attempts to hit Simba again, but this time he flinches and dodges the staff. This confirms that his lesson was true.
The reason I was so disappointed that they decided to cut this scene is because, as an adult, I actually understood this scene to a greater extent. The many adults who went to see this film for their inner child would have appreciated its inclusion.
Another scene that was completely cut from the remake, is the iconic song performed to the hyenas by Timone and Pumba (where Timone dresses in hula attire and tries to convince the hyenas to feast on Pumba with song.) The remake did include a watered down version of this scene, but it certainly did not capture the personalities of Timone and Pumba as they were in the original.
The remake did include storylines and scenes that were not in the original. For example, the relationship between Mufasa and Scar was far more complex in the remake. In the cartoon, it is clear that Scar has a disliking towards Mufasa––but the reason for his disliking was simply jealousy over Mufasa’s title as King. In the live action remake, Scar explains that Mufasa’s brute strength won his title, and their battle for the throne resulted in a lasting scar on Scar’s eye. It is also later revealed that Scar also had made advancements towards Mufasa’s partner, but she chose his brother. I truly did appreciate this addition to the storyline, as it gave the audience clarity and provided depth to the complexity of their hatred for one another.
The most dramatic change in the remake is definitely the manner in which the animals behave. In the 1994 cartoon, the characters expressed far more human-like behavior and facial expressions. The creators of the 2019 remake envisioned for the animals to appear as natural and realistic as possible. So the human-like behavior was discarded and more animalistic behavior took its place.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the remake was well done. The goal that creators had to make the characters appear photorealistic did call for a lot of changes within the story. This left a lot of older audience members upset, feeling as if something was missing. However, we cannot expect a remake to mimic the original seamlessly, especially when the dynamic of its creation is so much different. It is hard to have an open mind when our expectations are set on a film that is dearly remembered from childhood, but it has to be done in order to fully appreciate the new version.
