The Lion King (2019)

Directed by: Jon Favreau | 118 minutes | animation, adventure | Original voice cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Oliver, James Earl Jones, Donald Glover, Beyoncé, John Kani, Alfre Woodard, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Penny Johnson Jerald, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric André, Florence Kasumba, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Amy Sedaris, Chance the Rapper, Phil LaMarr, J. Lee

Anyone growing up in the 1990s will remember the first images of Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ (1994): the warm red sunglow hanging over the savanna, wild animals flocking to the lion rock and iconic Zulu song ‘Nants Ingonyama Bagithi Baba’. The wise old mandrill Rafiki baptizes the lion cub, takes him to the edge of the rock to introduce him – their future king – to the animals. Then good old Elton John starts his mega-hit ‘The Circle of Life’, written especially for the film, and follows an epic and compelling adventure about a young lion who has to find his place in the circle of life. A simple yet memorable story with both Biblical (destiny) and Shakespearean (the fratricidal struggle between King Mufasa and his jealous and embittered brother Scar) references, in which universal themes of coming of age, guilt and penance, forgiveness and resurrection are presented in a way that is recognizable to all. cropped. The penetrating scenes, for example the one in which Mufasa tragically dies, the memorable music, the life lessons; it all contributed to the impact of ‘The Lion King’. No wonder this film made a big impression on many people – young and old. Also for Walt Disney Animation Studios, ‘The Lion King’ was an undisputed highlight, and not only because of the proceeds and the entire franchise including lucrative musicals that resulted. After the hard times of the 1980s, this film, along with ‘The Little Mermaid’ (1989), ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (1991) and ‘Aladdin’ (1992), marked the resurrection of Disney. After ‘The Lion King’ the decline would set in again. It’s no surprise that they also cherish this film deeply at Disney.

And as it is today, such a much-loved animation project needs a twenty-first century remake, a re-imagining of the classic using today’s technological possibilities. Disney has brought its most successful animated films back to the fore in this way in recent years, and that has benefited the studio. The question remains, of course, what is the need for a reissue of an already top-notch film; is it purely commercial? It’s a lot like that. For the live-action remake of ‘The Lion King’ (2019), Disney once again teamed up with director Jon Favreau, who successfully transformed ‘The Jungle Book’ into a lifelike CGI jungle in 2016. So expectations are high. Favreau and screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (known for, among other things, 2002’s ‘Catch Me If You Can’) chose to take the story almost one-on-one, making only marginal changes. The tone is, just like in ‘The Jungle Book’, a bit grimmer; for example, the hyenas, who provided a dose of comic relief in the original, are actually quite frightening here and Scar is no longer the angry dandy but an embittered manipulator. Fortunately, Timon and Pumbaa and the feathered control cousin Zazu are still there to keep things light from time to time. The adjustments are subtle; the humor has been adapted here and there to this time, the lionesses (in real life the boss in the group) have a little more to crumble and here and there we get a new look at the savanna and the animals that live there (the dung beetle!).

It is precisely this new look that Favreau casts on the world of Simba and his colleagues that distinguishes ‘The Lion King’ from its predecessor. Using CGI, he created a lifelike savanna that would not have looked out of place in a BBC wildlife documentary (only the legendary commentary by Sir David Attenborough is still missing!). Every hair, blade of grass, grain of sand and feather is extremely detailed, and everything comes from the computer. These lifelike images fascinate, but at the same time alienate. In any case, as soon as the animals open their mouths and start talking. Although this takes some time to get used to, it still remains a bit unnatural. And not every character manages to convince us equally easily. Mostly African-American actors were recruited for the voice cast. The only one of the original cast to reprise his role – that of Mufasa – is good old James Earl Jones. Nice that he is back with his characteristic dark brown voice! The roles of the old and young Simba are respectively voiced by Donald Glover and JD McCrary, with the latter especially impressing. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a true discovery as a voice actor; he knows exactly how to give Scar the right tone; sometimes aggrieved, sometimes menacing, but always intriguing and misleading. He even turns out to be a good singer, we hear in the unfortunately shortened ‘Be Prepared’. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter takes on the role of adult Nala and gets to sing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” with Glover. She will also perform a new song entitled ‘Spirit’. Her recognizable voice makes you constantly aware that you are listening to Beyoncé. Billy Eichner (Timon), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa) and John Oliver (Zazu) have no singing voices at all, but manage to hide that in their enthusiastic performance. Finally, the South African actor John Kani appears most authentic in the mysterious role of Rafiki.

The animated version of ‘The Lion King’ was actually already perfect, so there was no real need for this CGI version. Certainly not for a literal copy, because that’s what Disney delivers here: a duplicate of their own work. And no matter how skillfully it is all executed, and no matter how stunningly beautiful and lifelike the visual splendor, this version will always be inferior to the animated film. Where Favreau dared to give ‘The Jungle Book’ more of his own face, here he seems to be trapped in the strict armor that Disney imposed on him. Should we just ignore this version en masse? Certainly not! Because even though Disney sells us old wine in new bottles, the story of ‘The Lion King’ is still rock solid and is considered by many as genuine youth sentiment. For all those people it is actually not a problem that this new version is a direct copy of their beloved classic.