Simba, the baby lion, is made to feel guilty about his father, Mufasa’s death, and goes into exile. He later returns home to reclaim the throne from his uncle, who is the real cause of Mufasa’s death. But does Disney’s remake of the 1994 film The Lion King match the original in every way, if not more? Watch the movie review to find out.
Bengaluru: Disney’s remake of the 1994 film The Lion King hit the theatres today. While all the 90s kids know how the king tackled the hyenas back then, watching the remake could be a chance to experience it all over again. For those who haven’t watched the movie ever, be warned that the remake is not even close to the original movie, despite the photorealistic computer animation.
For starters, the movie is fast paced. While it hits certain points that were showcased in the original movie, it misses the depth and detail of each scene. The original movie, though animated using the traditional animation techniques was slow. The slow pace gave the audience time to associate with the characters even more. This is explicit in the scene where Mufasa, the king, father of Simba, struggles for his life. If you cried during this scene while watching the original movie, be ready to just watch it and probably feel nothing this time. But towards the end you would still wish that Simba, the new king, to kill Scar -- the evil brother of Mufasa.
While the movie is not a shot-to-shot copy of the original, it has captured the most important scenes and those that gives a feeling of continuity on the whole. But it still lacks the depth and it is possible to find a few loose ends here and there.
It has been said that technologically, The Lion King is one the best after the movie Avatar. While it might be true, this is also an example of how technical advancement could be a curse -- the characters (animals) in the movie look too real to be talking. The advancement in the animation segment has taken the movie a notch higher with respect to 3-D effect but lost it when it came to capturing the essence of the original.
It might be due to the age as well. I was a kid when I watched the original and probably the excitement was due to that. While I found the movie a little too fast, the filmmakers have captured details accurately when compared to the original.
But one thing that needs to be appreciated in the entire project is the voice cast. American actor James Earl Jones, who was the voice of Mufasa in the original movie continues to be in the reboot version as well and Donald Glover has voiced Simba. Beyonce did not stop with her brilliant music of the ‘Spirit’ but was also the voice of Nala, Simba’s love.
With Timon and Pumbaa -- the meerkat and warthog -- still in the forefront, the humour level has not reduced by a bit. The slight change in conversations between characters have accommodated new age thoughts and hence, might seem more relatable.
Taking everything into consideration, the lion still roars and the kingdom still stays intact. I give the movie 2.5 stars out of 5 purely for giving the opportunity to relive the Lion King experience. However, a remake is always a remake. Now the movie is all yours to watch.
Also watch: Disney’s The Lion King movie review: Simba roars, but fades to whimper at the end
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