Post by Rob W. Case on Nov 16, 2019 21:35:14 GMT -6
What is to say about this film that couldn’t be said about the 1994 animated classic? That is the question that we will examine in this review/analysis of the 2019 live action version of The Lion King.
The Story:
The story of the Lion King is about a young lion cub named Simba (JD McCrary), who is destined to be the future king of His father, Mufasa’s (James Earl Jones) Kingdom, the Pride Lands. Scar, Simba’s evil uncle (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is jealous of Simba because he is destined to become the next King and Scar isn’t. And so, Scar, thirsting for power, forms an alliance with a group of hyenas and arranges to have both Mufasa and Simba killed in an instigated wildebeest stampede. And so, Mufasa is killed and Simba barely makes it out alive. Confronting Simba, Scar lays a major guild trip on him, convincing him that Mufasa’s death is his fault, and that the only wise thing to do from here on is to run away from the Pride Lands and never return. Once Simba leaves, Scar orders the hyenas to kill him, but he escapes. Alone and depressed, Simba ends up in the desert, where he meets a warthog named Pumba (Seth Rogen) and a mere cat named Timon (Billy Eichner). The two teach Simba “hakuna matata” (which means no worries) and that he needs to put his past behind him.
Growing up and learning to live a sort of fun and care free life, the demands of Simba’s (Donald Glover) destiny catch up to him in ways he could not imagine. Scar’s leadership of the Pride Lands along with his alliance with the hyenas is causing the land to become barren and desolate, causing great risk and danger to all of the life within the kingdom. Nala, Simba’s childhood friend (Beyonce Carter-Knowles), sneaks out of the kingdom to search for food and in the process finds Simba. Simba tells Nala about his carefree lifestyle, and Nala informs Simba about the horrible condition that Scar has left the kingdom. But, “hakuna matata,” Simba doesn’t care, and it takes some searching from within, some guidance from Rafiki, and a strong reminder from the spirit of His father to gather up the will and the courage to confront his past, overcome his guilt, and take back the Pride Lands from the control of his uncle.
Distinctions from the 1994 Movie:
Overall this movie was a frame by frame recreation of the 1994 animated feature film. The only thing that links this version with the original is that King Mufasa is voiced in both versions by James Earl Jones. The differences between this movie and the original basically rests in minimal modifications in dialogue and scenes that they added or “stretched” out to make it longer. For example, in the original movie, Nala escapes the Pride Lands in search for food. In the newer version, there are challenges she encounters, what with the hyenas standing guard at all corners, in order to escape unnoticed (as if she were escaping a gulag or something). Another example, is Pumba’s gas problem, which adds more humor to the story, and they go into it a little bit more than they did in the original. So in other words, imagine Disney taking the deleted scenes from the original, and then incorporating them into the live action version. That’s what makes this version different, though very minimally. One thing I wondered when I first saw this movie in theaters, was how they were going to do the scene where the animals all “pile up” on each other during the song, “I Just Can’t Wait to be King.” In the live action version, they don’t. One thing though that I was disappointed in, was that I expected more from the scene where Mufasa’s spirit summons Simba and tells him that he is the one true king and that he must take his place in the circle of life. In the animated film, the scene was impactful and powerful, but in the live action movie, Mufasa’s imagine in the clouds is more like a silhouette that bears his image than anything, nothing significant. Another factor that made this movie distinct, was the way Scar looks in this version as opposed to the original. In the original, Scar has a villainous look to him, but he looks “clean”. In this version, he looks dingy, scraggly, and even has a piece of his ear missing. That said, it adds to the effect of both his background and the danger he poses in his dark character.
My Take Overall:
While I did like this version of The Lion King, I would have to say that I still like the 1994 version better. Even though CGI computer imaging has come a long way, there are more liberties and flexibilities that the art form of animation has with a story like this that cannot be portrayed as adequately with CGI. One of the reasons why, I believe, this movie was made (and was a smart move from a business standpoint) was to expand its clientele to people who are not crazy about “cartoons.” I’ve seen and encountered this dynamic personally when I would recommend a movie that is animated. The reaction would be “well, isn’t that a cartoon?” This portrayal alleviates that completely and accommodates those who do not take animated feature films seriously. But as to the story itself, I thought that the humor was good, the recreation of the original was impressive (again, other than the Mufasa’s spirit encounter with Simba), and where they did “stretch” a scene, it was done creatively and cleverly.
All in all, out of 4 stars, I give the “live-action” Lion King, 3.
The film is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 58 minutes.
To view a trailer for the movie, please click on the link below.
The Official Trailer:
The Teaser Trailer:
The Lion King is available in 4K-Ultra, Blu-Ray, DVD, and in multiple streaming services. The movie is also now available to rent at Redbox kiosk machines.
The Story:
The story of the Lion King is about a young lion cub named Simba (JD McCrary), who is destined to be the future king of His father, Mufasa’s (James Earl Jones) Kingdom, the Pride Lands. Scar, Simba’s evil uncle (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is jealous of Simba because he is destined to become the next King and Scar isn’t. And so, Scar, thirsting for power, forms an alliance with a group of hyenas and arranges to have both Mufasa and Simba killed in an instigated wildebeest stampede. And so, Mufasa is killed and Simba barely makes it out alive. Confronting Simba, Scar lays a major guild trip on him, convincing him that Mufasa’s death is his fault, and that the only wise thing to do from here on is to run away from the Pride Lands and never return. Once Simba leaves, Scar orders the hyenas to kill him, but he escapes. Alone and depressed, Simba ends up in the desert, where he meets a warthog named Pumba (Seth Rogen) and a mere cat named Timon (Billy Eichner). The two teach Simba “hakuna matata” (which means no worries) and that he needs to put his past behind him.
Growing up and learning to live a sort of fun and care free life, the demands of Simba’s (Donald Glover) destiny catch up to him in ways he could not imagine. Scar’s leadership of the Pride Lands along with his alliance with the hyenas is causing the land to become barren and desolate, causing great risk and danger to all of the life within the kingdom. Nala, Simba’s childhood friend (Beyonce Carter-Knowles), sneaks out of the kingdom to search for food and in the process finds Simba. Simba tells Nala about his carefree lifestyle, and Nala informs Simba about the horrible condition that Scar has left the kingdom. But, “hakuna matata,” Simba doesn’t care, and it takes some searching from within, some guidance from Rafiki, and a strong reminder from the spirit of His father to gather up the will and the courage to confront his past, overcome his guilt, and take back the Pride Lands from the control of his uncle.
Distinctions from the 1994 Movie:
Overall this movie was a frame by frame recreation of the 1994 animated feature film. The only thing that links this version with the original is that King Mufasa is voiced in both versions by James Earl Jones. The differences between this movie and the original basically rests in minimal modifications in dialogue and scenes that they added or “stretched” out to make it longer. For example, in the original movie, Nala escapes the Pride Lands in search for food. In the newer version, there are challenges she encounters, what with the hyenas standing guard at all corners, in order to escape unnoticed (as if she were escaping a gulag or something). Another example, is Pumba’s gas problem, which adds more humor to the story, and they go into it a little bit more than they did in the original. So in other words, imagine Disney taking the deleted scenes from the original, and then incorporating them into the live action version. That’s what makes this version different, though very minimally. One thing I wondered when I first saw this movie in theaters, was how they were going to do the scene where the animals all “pile up” on each other during the song, “I Just Can’t Wait to be King.” In the live action version, they don’t. One thing though that I was disappointed in, was that I expected more from the scene where Mufasa’s spirit summons Simba and tells him that he is the one true king and that he must take his place in the circle of life. In the animated film, the scene was impactful and powerful, but in the live action movie, Mufasa’s imagine in the clouds is more like a silhouette that bears his image than anything, nothing significant. Another factor that made this movie distinct, was the way Scar looks in this version as opposed to the original. In the original, Scar has a villainous look to him, but he looks “clean”. In this version, he looks dingy, scraggly, and even has a piece of his ear missing. That said, it adds to the effect of both his background and the danger he poses in his dark character.
My Take Overall:
While I did like this version of The Lion King, I would have to say that I still like the 1994 version better. Even though CGI computer imaging has come a long way, there are more liberties and flexibilities that the art form of animation has with a story like this that cannot be portrayed as adequately with CGI. One of the reasons why, I believe, this movie was made (and was a smart move from a business standpoint) was to expand its clientele to people who are not crazy about “cartoons.” I’ve seen and encountered this dynamic personally when I would recommend a movie that is animated. The reaction would be “well, isn’t that a cartoon?” This portrayal alleviates that completely and accommodates those who do not take animated feature films seriously. But as to the story itself, I thought that the humor was good, the recreation of the original was impressive (again, other than the Mufasa’s spirit encounter with Simba), and where they did “stretch” a scene, it was done creatively and cleverly.
All in all, out of 4 stars, I give the “live-action” Lion King, 3.
The film is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 58 minutes.
To view a trailer for the movie, please click on the link below.
The Official Trailer:
The Teaser Trailer:
The Lion King is available in 4K-Ultra, Blu-Ray, DVD, and in multiple streaming services. The movie is also now available to rent at Redbox kiosk machines.