Movie Review: "The Lion King" Is a Copycat

Disney remakes The Lion King, completing their own version of the Circle of Life.

"What haunts me, is that in all the faces of all the bears… I discover no kinship, no understanding, no mercy. I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature… and this blank stare speaks only of a half-bored interest in food." That’s what Werner Herzog said in his documentary Grizzly Man, and if you replace 'bears' with 'lions', you could apply it to director Jon Favreau’s remake of The Lion King too.

It’s being called 'live action'. Really, it’s as animated as the 1994 original. Using the filmmaking techniques and wizardry Favreau helped pioneer in 2015’s The Jungle Book, he has basically delivered a photorealistic do-over. The exact same stuff happens as before. Now though, it looks like David Attenborough uncovered a secret species of singing lion and lent them to Disney for it.

Sound incredible? In the strictest definition of the word, it is. There’s no denying the craft, and there are moments in this CGI rendering that are indistinguishable from what you’d witness in Planet Earth. However, this new Lion King’s adherence to what 30 Rock’s Jenna Maroney would call "la réalité" means the lions don’t, umm, emote in a human fashion or curl their lips in time to the music, nor do they frolic in vibrant, impressionistic African landscapes like in the cartoon. Mostly, all they do is trot and mouth along to the equivalent of (very well performed) karaoke tracks. I don’t mean to dash expectations. This may be exactly what you want to see. All I’m saying is: be prepared.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, this Lion King, like the old Lion King (not to mention the Broadway musical), concerns Simba, a lion prince. He’s next in line to the throne, but flees when his father, Mufasa, is unseated violently by Simba’s jilted uncle, Scar. Simba instead befriends the nihilistic meerkat-warthog duo Timon and Pumbaa out in the wild, until the lioness Nala calls him back to fulfil his royal duty. So yes, it’s a slightly friendlier retelling of Hamlet. With lions. Somehow, it still works.

What’s different here? The colours are a little (okay, a lot) duller. The voice cast is definitely more diverse. Donald Glover, AKA Childish Gambino, has stepped in as adult Simba, replacing (*checks notes*) Matthew Broderick? Wow, we let a lot of stuff slide in the '90s, didn’t we? The regal Beyoncé is Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor is Scar, and James Earl Jones is Mufasa, because the only person capable of replacing James Earl Jones is James Earl Jones.

The hyenas serving as Scar’s hench-animals have a creepily demonic design, and a truly intimidating lead vocalist in Florence Kasumba (Keegan-Michael Key and Eric Andre are funny supporting hyenas). And it’s a legitimate delight to hear the perpetually put-upon Billy Eichner shout as Timon, or hear Seth Rogen’s warm belly laugh come from Pumbaa. Otherwise, besides a tacked-on Beyoncé song called "Spirit", and a mid-movie montage visually reflecting the circle of life (and the role poop plays in it), there’s not a whole lot to separate this new iteration from the pack.

It’s easy to call this a cash-grab, and no doubt cash will be grabbed, but I suppose there is honour in wanting to extend the legacy of The Lion King, a genuinely iconic cultural touchstone for multiple generations. I felt the love that went into making this 2019 version. I just couldn’t reciprocate it as fully as I did when I first saw the original. Will your spine still tingle when Favreau and screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (collecting the easiest paycheck of his life) re-enact the opening sequence, or when Mufasa meets his maker? I certainly heard the tears flowing in my preview screening, yet my tear ducts remained stubbornly dry. If only there was a traditional Swahili phrase to express indifference. "Hakuna matata" means "no worries". How do you say, "no biggie"?

3/5

The Lion King arrives in Australian cinemas 18 July. Rated PG for mild themes and violence.