Lion King "Live Action" Review

Lion King "Live Action" Review

Can We Really Call This Live Action:

Live Action is defined as a movie involving real humans or animals.

CGI is defined as computer generated imagery.

Lion King (2019) doesn't have live animals or people.  It was all pretty much made with a computer.   I know that they all look very life like but if you look really close the animals are all just made up and not real! 

So can we really call this Live Action?  I don't think so.
Thanks to my dad for help on this section!

Storyline:

Just like for the Remake of Aladdin I will go about telling the storyline of this movie by talking about the different characters and what was different about them and what wasn't.  What I liked and what I didn't.  

Also let me start by saying I did like the movie!  Was it as good as the original?  I don't think so, but then again who could ever even hope to be as good as the original Lion King it was an automatic success. 

Mufasa:

Pretty sure we all remember the first time that we saw Mufasa get trampled by wildebeests.  That was a scaring moment in all of our childhoods and even if we weren't children we were still scared.   To see a father taken away from the world like that and in front of his son is just heart breaking.  

Mufasa was just as amazing as always.  His story stayed about the same the only thing that changed was some of his lines.  For the most part I was okay with the changes in his lines.  The one thing that bugged me the most was they didn't put in the line "You have forgotten who you are and thus forgotten me."  I mean that line is just so deep!   

Scar:

The first time that we came upon Scar in this movie at first I wasn't sure if I liked his voice.  He just didn't sound scary.  But the more and more that he talked the more and more that I liked him.  He just has this genuine disinterest.  He hates that he is second in line now and I like that he kind of voiced that more.  He talks about how he was next in line until Simba was born.
The one thing I didn't like about Scar that they changed was the Be Prepared number.  I mean it was barely even a song!  We went from having like the best song in the movie to just a little speech about how the hyenas need to be prepared.
Also Scar not the smartest villain.  He's getting ready to kill Simba and he says that he remembers seeing the look in Mufasa eyes right before he died.  We, the audience, almost believe that only Simba can hear but then Sarabi mentions it and that's how the rest of the pride are made aware that Scar is the murder. 

Hyenas:

Remember our favorite hyenas from the original movie?  Well we don't get a lot of them being annoying and funny like we did it that one.  First of all Shenzi, the girl hyena, is suddenly now the leader of the hyenas.  I mean she is until Scar decides that he has a plan for the hyenas.  But because she is the leader she barely has any given in take with the other two hyenas who seem to be the main two.  

We do get a little comedic relief from the hyenas through the two who I'm assuming are Banzai and Ed.  Ed refuses to give Banzai space and we have a couple of different scenes where Banzai is yelling at him for it.  Also it is pretty hilarious how when they were supposed to run after and kill Simba they both agree to just tell Scar that he's dead and that they killed him and ate him all. 

Timon and Pumbaa:

Before I went and saw this movie everybody was telling me about how Timon and Pumbaa stole the show.  I was kind of confused because didn't they steal the show back in the original too?  But they were totally right!  Oh my gosh!  I don't even know where to begin!!! 

"We're going to call him Fred!"  

or Timon singing Be Our Guest.  

or "Everytime that I farted, are you going to stop me?" 

"You disgust me!"  

The fact that yes there is no worries but maybe it's not just a line afterall but it really is the Circle of Life. 

I could probably go on and on about these two!!!  They are my favorites!

Nala:

I remember when I first heard that Beyonce was going to be playing Nala it totally blew my mind.  I've only ever known her for her singing and I wasn't sure if I was going to like her as Nala.  She actually did a really great job!  I do have to say that I liked Baby Nala a lot better, but she just had more spunk.  

The thing that I liked that they did different with her story was how they showed that she openly wanted to oppose Scar.  She tried to talk Sarabi into defying him.  When nobody would stand up to him she finally decided to sneak out of the Pride Lands in the middle of the night to go find help.  She didn't figure on finding Simba that was kind of just a happy accident. 

Simba:

Simba's story is pretty much the same.  He was born and was automatically the next in line for the throne.  He wanted to make his father proud so he would do the scariest things that he could think of.  That's how he came to be in the Elephant Graveyard and all of the story that follows is because of the Elephant Graveyard.  He felt bad for disappointing his dad and Scar used that to his advantage leading him down into the gorge to find his roar.  

Mufasa was killed and Simba didn't even think about the fact that Scar was the reason he was down in the gorge in the first place.  He just believed Scar when he said that it was all his fault.  Simba was raised by Timon and Pumbaa to put the past behind you and to not worry about it anymore... to not worry about anything really.  

Eventually thanks to Nala and Rafiki he is convinced to come back to the Pride Lands and contest Scar.  He refuses to be a murder and is going to let Scar go, but Scar tries again to attack him and Scar ends up falling off the mountain and the rest is history.  

My Opinion:

Let me first admit that it has been a long time since I have seen the original Lion King.  I honestly could tell you the story line, but going into any detail would be hard.  That being said I'm pretty sure that I liked the original better than the remake.  I just felt like the remake was rushed.  I also feel like they were trying to fix somethings that didn't really need to be fixed.  

That also being said.  I did really like it!  It was funny and I did like some of the changes.  I guess the best way to tell if I really like a movie is by would I go see it in theaters again?  And the answer is YES!  

Let me know what you think!  And as always have a magical day!!!