Movie Review The Lion King

The Lion King (1994)

Directed by Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff

Written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton 

Starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons 

Release Date June 15th 1994

Published August 11th, 2003 

It is a quirk of timing that the same week our poll question asked whether traditional animation was dead, the animated classic The Lion King would open in the IMAX theater in my hometown of Davenport Iowa.

I am of the belief that traditional hand drawn animation is finished as far as its box office appeal. As an artform, however, it is as strong as ever. While my evidence for that is nearly 10 years old, it's not as if it's gotten worse since The Lion King debuted in the summer of 1994. Traditional animation was merely surpassed in both quality and entertainment value by computer animation that allows for more visual flourish, picture clarity and surprise.

It is an interesting question to ask, just how appealing would The Lion King be if it had competed against the likes of Shrek, Toy Story or Finding Nemo? Would it have become the highest grossing animated feature of all time? (A title that now belongs to Finding Nemo) Would opening after the computer animated films I named previously diminish Lion King's legacy as an animated classic?

That question can never be answered, and regardless of whether The Lion King is the all time animated box office champion, it's legacy is in place. The reformatting of the film for the IMAX screen is a reassurance of Lion King's classic status.

In the wilds of Africa, the king of the jungle is a Lion named Mufasa (the resonant voice of James Earl Jones) who has had a son. The heir to Mufasa's throne is Simba (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas), a playful adventurous kid eager to learn the family business. Standing in his way is his evil uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons) and his army of hyenas. The only way Scar can become the king is if both Mufasa and Simba are dead, so using his hyena army he orchestrates a stampede that forces Mufasa to trade his own life for Simba's. Scar then convinces Simba that it was his fault that his father died, leading Simba to flee the kingdom and allow Scar to become king.

Simba wanders off into the wild where he meets a strange tiny little animal, a meerkat named Timon and his buddy, a warthog named Pumba. Together Timon and Pumba help Simba grow into a man and soon Simba, with some inspiration by a lioness named Nala (Moira Kelly), is ready to reclaim his father’s throne.

The film’s story is about death, family, and facing your fears. It's about growing up and realizing who you are. All wonderful elements that are never overplayed. One of the marks of a good animated film or any film aimed at a younger audience is its ability to deliver a message without sacrificing entertainment value.

The animation in The Lion King was the height of Disney's animation renaissance of the late 80's- early 90's. Blown up to the IMAX six-story screen, it becomes even more impressive. The visuals in The Lion King are as impressive as anything made specifically for the IMAX. Though there is an odd shadow that pops up occasionally, it doesn't detract from the beauty of this animated classic.

When you combine the film’s visuals blown up to six stories with it's memorable soundtrack blasted through the mind-blowing IMAX sound system and you get a true masterpiece. Indeed traditional theater sound is very impressive, but it can't compare with the IMAX sound. The Lion King’s African drum score and it's numerous catchy pop tunes are absolutely mind-blowing in IMAX.

Whether traditional animation has a future is debatable but whether The Lion King on IMAX is a masterpiece is unquestionable. 

The Lion King (2019)

The Lion King (2019) 

Directed by Jon Favreau 

Written by Jeff Nathanson 

Starring Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner 

Release Date July 19th, 2019 

Published July 18th, 2019 

The Lion King 2019 is an incredibly emotional and moving film. Putting aside the comparisons to the animated original, this version of the story is exceptionally well told. Director Jon Favreau has brilliantly captured this Shakespearean tale for the whole family with epic music and resonant themes and given it a modern flavor via a remarkable voice cast who elevate the material with their inventive riffing and gorgeous singing. 

You likely already know this story, Mufasa (James Earl Jones) is the King of The Pridelands. He and his beloved Sarabi (Alfre Woodard) have just had a son who will one day himself become the King. Simba, voiced as a cub by J.D McCrary, is a curious young lion who easily finds trouble but with the wisdom of his father, he will one day make a fine King. Unfortunately, Simba’s uncle,  Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has other plans. 

Scar seeks the throne and will use any nefarious means necessary to get there. Scar’s first attempt to get rid of young Simba sends the young lion and his friend, Nala (Shahadi Wright Joseph), into an elephant graveyard where hyenas reign. Simba and Nala are rescued by Mufasa but Scar seizes the opportunity to convince the hyenas to become his very own army. It will be the hyenas who lead to the death of Mufasa while he tries to protect Simba. 

Mufasa dies and Scar runs off Simba by accusing him of causing his father’s death. Scar also sends hyenas to kill Simba but the young lion manages to escape into the desert. Here, Simba begins a new life. With the help of Timon (Billy Eicher) and Pumba (Seth Rogen), Simba is able to leave his grief and shame behind and grow into a mature lion without the strictures of royalty and duty while nursing the scars of his past. 

Nala voiced by Beyonce as a mature lioness, eventually finds Simba is still alive and you know where the story is headed from there. The key to this telling of the story of The Lion King is how we get to the ending and in getting there we have a remarkably rich and fulfilling journey. The story of The Lion King 2019 is told with music and the music of this version of The Lion King is superb. I won’t be hyperbolic and declare that the music here is superior to the original, I will only say that I preferred the ways in which Hans Zimmer and Beyonce, among others, have updated this score and the original songs. 

The changes are seemingly minimal but they make a huge difference in how you accept The Lion King 2019. For instance, the Can You Feel the Love Tonight segment. In the 1994 version of The Lion King the scene is suitably romantic and filled with heartfelt emotion though it is slightly shorter than the new version. The slightly longer version here takes full advantage of this new style of The Lion King with Caleb Deschanel's rich and glorious cinematography underlining the romance and deepening the impact of the moment. 

It also helps to have Beyonce and Donald Glover not just as the singing voices of Nala and Simba, but their speaking voices as well. The jarring shift from one vocal style to the other isn’t damning in the original, just notable. Here however, the seamless shift singing to speaking adds a little more verisimilitude. That and, of course, we are talking about Beyonce whose voice is transcendent. That’s not a dig at Sally Dworsky who is a Broadway veteran of immense talent, it’s merely that Beyonce is a global superstar whose voice connects to audiences in an epic fashion that fits the grandiosity of this CGI approximation of live action. 

Donald Glover is also incredible but in a unique and different way. Glover’s voice acting in the song is superior to the original because he is singing in character and accounting for the fear and angst of Simba in a way that perhaps Joseph Williams cannot because the character is not fully his. He’s more focused on singing the song,Glover is singing the character and I found the difference to be notable. 

Another notable improvement for me over the original was the performance of the song Hakuna Matata which benefits from the unique and recognizable voices and personas of Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen. Neither is well known for their singing but the way they perform this song feels as fresh and even more alive than the original. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella but they are notably stage-bound in their energy, limited by the animation style. 

Eichner and Rogen meanwhile had the advantage of working in the CG realm and director Jon Favreau’s ability to allow them to explore a little and riff within the music. Eichner and Rogen have talked in interviews about how they were allowed to improvise their dialogue and even improvise in their songs and that playfulness is part of what makes this take on The Lion King so lively as opposed to the original. 

The best change however, from the original movie is the song Be Prepared. Performed here by Chiwetel Ejiofor, the song is transformed from a pop ditty talk sung through a thick English accent by Jeremy Irons, to an operatic dirge that is shortened to more specifically state Scar’s nefariousness. Where the original overstayed its welcome and tried to fit the pop nature of the rest of the soundtrack, this version of Be Prepared better serves the character of Scar while also cutting to the chase on Scar’s story. 

Is there a calculated cynicism driving Disney to remake their animated catalog in live action and CGI? Yes, it's unquestionably a mercenary effort. That said, the artists who have contributed to this version of The Lion King have transcended how The Lion King 2019 came to exist by delivering a resonant and lovely take on this grand material. They have brought the music into a modern context and stayed true to the remarkable themes of the original story and delivered a compelling, humorous romantic and touching film.