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The Lion King movie review: Did Disney strike the right chord with reboot version?

Simba, the cub, 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. Has the reboot version been released for the better or for the worse? Watch the movie review to find out

The Lion King movie review: Did Disney strike the right cord with reboot version?
Author
Bengaluru, First Published Jul 19, 2019, 6:22 PM IST

Bengaluru: The much-awaited Disney’s remake of the 1994 film The Lion King hit theatres today. All the 90s kids know how the king tackled the hyenas back then. But 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 despite photorealistic computer animation the remake is not even close to the original movie.

For starters, the movie is fast paced and hence misses the depth and detail of each scene unlike the 1994 film. The slow pace of the original movie, though animated using the traditional animation techniques, 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. Do not be surprised if you don’t cry when Mufasa dies a tragic death. But towards the end you would still wish that Simba, the new king, kills Scar -- the evil brother of Mufasa.

The Lion King movie review: Did Disney strike the right cord with reboot version?

While The Lion King reboot is not a shot-to-shot copy of the original, it has captured the most important scenes and those that give a feeling of continuity on the whole.

Though the movie could be the best with respect to technology used, 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 3-D effect has taken the movie a notch higher but lost it when it came to capturing the essence of the original.

I was a kid when I watched the original and probably the excitement was due to that. The age could be a factor to how I feel about the movie as well. While I found the movie a little too fast, I felt that the filmmakers have captured details accurately with respect to the original.

The remake project has a stellar voice cast. While American actor James Earl Jones, who was the voice of Mufasa in the original movie continues to be in the reboot version, Donald Glover has voiced Simba in the movie. American actor and singer Matthew Broderick had voiced Simba in the 1994 original movie.

The Lion King movie review: Did Disney strike the right cord with reboot version?

Beyonce did not stop with her brilliant music of the ‘Spirit’ but was also the voice of Nala, Simba’s love. Her song released ahead of the movie.

With Timon and Pumbaa -- the meerkat and warthog -- still in the forefront, the humour level has been maintained and you might burst into laughter during certain conversations. The slight change in conversation contexts between characters have accommodated new age thoughts and hence, might seem more relatable.

The Lion King movie review: Did Disney strike the right cord with reboot version?

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. You can watch the movie in 2D or 3D format in theatres.

 

    

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