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My Thoughts on “The Lion King” Remake



With Disney remaking all its classic animated movies into live-action, come critics and praises from the fans of the original movies, and I am one of those people. I breathe Disney classic. Okay, that’s a bit exaggerating, but I grew up watching the originals and my 25 year old self still watch them before I go to sleep, sing the songs and pretty much still possess the same passion and love as when I was a little girl.

So obviously when in 2019 Disney released the remake of the 1994 The Lion King, I was more than excited to see it. I have seen some disappointed Disney remakes before, but I did have a high hope for this one because the original Lion King was and still is one of the best animated movies ever created on planet earth and I was curious how will the filmmaker translate it into a live-action movie.


So I went to the cinema to see the remake of the 1994 The Lion King. While enjoying my popcorn, I sat and watched the whole movie. I enjoyed it. It was okay. It was nice. Then the realisation hit me. This wasn’t the feeling my 5-year-old self experienced seeing the original. I remembered crying when Mufasa died, falling in love with the lions and dancing along when characters sang. In order to prepare myself before seeing the remake, I even watched the original just few months before the 2019 The Lion King released, and I still felt the same exact emotion I had when I was little. Obviously, I didn’t dance in my living room, but I was overjoyed when Pumba and Timon sang, I was devastated when Scar killed Mufasa and I felt butterflies in my stomach when Simba and Nala sang the iconic “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”.

This 2019 remake felt…. empty. Don’t get me wrong. Visually, it was amazing. The detail of every animal looked ridiculously real to the point where it would trick you into thinking that it was shot in real savanna in Africa. But I guess that is exactly the point why it wasn’t as powerful as the original. I felt like I was watching National Geographic with singing animals in it.

All the characters are rendered with such realism and it robbed off the human emotion in it. The original movie is able to convey the emotions through the characters’ weird movements, silly facial expression and even the background scenery brought the movie to life. The remake on the other hand, has to stay as accurate as possible with real life. When the characters sing and dance, it looks emotionless. As a fan of Disney animated movies, it is such a disappointment that I was not able to connect emotionally with the characters.

Not to mention how they butchered the songs in the movie. “Be Prepared” is arguably the best villain song in animated movies history, yet the new rendition was performed only half the time in the movie with very little excitement in it. To say it was a disappointment is an understatement. And of course, with all the money, Disney had to hire Beyonce to sing the classic “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and no matter how amazing Beyonce is, this song isn’t for her. This song is supposed to make you feel like you were in the clouds hugging with a fluffy teddy bear, ready to fall asleep with angels surrounding you. It was supposed to be calm and solemn. With Beyonce’s strong, powerful and complex voice characteristics, it totally takes away all the peaceful aspects from the song.

 Overall, the remake of the movie The Lion King is good. And if the purpose is to reach new audience which are the kids of this generation, then it is totally okay. But as someone who grew up with the original Lion King, this movie doesn’t even come close to the awesomeness of the classic one, and I am sure, the parents who bring their kids to the cinema to see the new The Lion King will agree with me.


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