The Lion King (2019)

Note: This is a bit late as the release date in the UK for this movie was on the first day of my 1 week vacation and I then watched this movie first day back.

The Lion King. One of Disney's biggest movies of all time and can be considered one of the best animated movies of all time. So it's definitely not surprising to see this come into a live movie adaptation however it's surprising that it came so late. This is going to be a bit of different style review as, well, this isn't a "new" story or movie, it's just a remake. So for this movie I'll be adding a section for how well it was adapted and changed into live action/cgi.

Plot

So, I hope I don't need to explain the plot as the plot and dialogue is almost identical from the original and I'm hoping everyone reading has seen it. But if you haven't,somehow, then let me explain. There's this lion, Mufasa, and his pride and land. He has a son, Simba, and Mufasa also has a brother, Scar, who wants to be the king and take it from his brother (going by what The Film Theory youtube channel said, I think he should of been first in line because of the hair on the back of one of his legs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMKTEFOjQoo). Scar teams up with the hyenas (who are abandoned from the pride land) to set up a scheme to kill the king and his son. Scar lures Simba into a gorge for him to practice his roar. The hyenas chase down a stampede to trample the cub in the gorge. Scar then races back to pride rock to tell the news to Mufasa, to try and get him killed aswell. Mufasa rescues Simba but then dies in the process by Scar. Simba, thinking it was his fault by manipulation by Scar, runs away, tries to find a new life. He then meets Pumbaa and Timon, a Warthog and Meerkat duo who are the comedians of the movie. This is where they tell Simba "hakuna matata" - where ..you know what, you know what it means (it means no worries). Simba grows up with them, becoming an insectivore, living in the forests and lakes instead of his pride lands, becoming independent and going by his rules, doing what he wants. Then comes along Nala; Simba's childhood friend and though to be queen. She comes looking for help, and food as Scar isn't treating the Pride lands correctly. After some sexual looks and play fighting, they both return to the pride lands, including Pumbaa and Timon. Some fighting takes place, Scar gets killed by the hyenas, Simba and Nala have a child and they all live happily ever after....apart from Mufasa. 

How well the movie was remade

My opinion is that the movie wasn't very good. The voices and dialogue was too cartoony for a cgi/realistic take on a movie. It didn't match the cgi at all and was a bit awkward at times. A positive thing is that it was really well done to be almost identical to the original. Now let's go back to the cons; what do I mean by "cartoony" and cringey? Well, the way the animals were animated and, of course, the structure of the animals faces aren't intended to talk, makes it so it doesn't look like they're actually talking at all. I, personally, don't get any sense that these animals are actually real (like the movie is intended to make you feel). Not only that, but the voices just didn't feel right. They didn't feel like they were voices of animals and therefore made me want to not watch the movie as the concept wasn't working. It did feel like someone was just voice acting over scene of animals in their natural habitat.

Casting
This is a sub-heading of the previous sub-heading: "How well the movie was remade" because a few of the casting choices made the film better or worst. Here are a few examples:
In this movie, we have the return of our beloved actor James Earl Jones, voice actor of Darth Vader in Star Wars and voice actor of Mufasa in The Lion King (1994) to return for his legacy as his voice is so distinctive and known by many that it had to be reused for this remake.
One sad news of the casting was that Rowan Atkinson, another very famous and well known actor with a distinctive voice, didn't take the role of Zazu, like so in the 1994 version. If Jones voice acted his character then Atkinson should of as well. It would bring so much nostalgia to adults and some kids alike.

Music

Just like the original edition, The Lion King owns some of the most memorable, classic and enjoyable music there is in the film industry. The music used in the classic is back plus more.

Starting it off, we have the circle of life. This is the introduction to the movie, one of the first things we hear and it's a beautiful piece, explaining the meaning of this movie and what it's about: The Circle of Life. Other brought back songs include: "I just can't wait to be king", "Be prepared" (one of my personal favourites), the classic "hakuna matata", the other Elton John song "Can you feel the love tonight".

Some newly introduced songs to this movie include: "Spirit" which is very matching to the movie, and Elton John returns with another song to the list: "Never too late", a very reggae style, very energetic piece.

Conclusion

Overall, sadly I'm just not too into this movie very much. Too all, I recommend it, still, as a reincarnation of one of History's most important movies but if you're expecting high expectations them, sorry to say, it's just not that great. Besides, there's an ever better version that was released 25 years ago!!