The Film Version of “The Lion King” - Was It Worth It?

Everyone remembers The Lion King, the great animated movie that was released by Disney in 1994. It features animals, from lions to meerkats and warthogs. It showed what “The Circle of Life” means and it rapidly gathered popularity among children and their parents. 

After 25 years, Disney decided to make a remake of the original animated movie and released the new animation in July. While the story is the same, the effects are impressive. But the reviews are both good and bad. So, was the film version of The Lion King worth it? 

The Circle of Life

Nothing has changed here. Both movies begin with “The Circle of Life” and the whole animal kingdom gathered to see the crowning of Simba. Simba is figuratively crowned by Rafiki while all animals in the savannah are watching. From elephants to giraffes, meerkats, and rhinos, all have gathered to see the heir of the kingdom. 

The song was written by Elton John and Tim Rice and is like the brand of The Lion King. Disney decided to keep this beginning and animate it. So, the images of sunsets and sunrises and all the animals gathered are just splendid. 

Although the song is sung by Lindiwe Mkhize, it still kept the original flair and just listening to it gives you goosebumps. Lindiwe performed as Rafiki for 13 years so he was a great choice for the new version of the song. 

Visuals

When talking about visuals, it is fair to say that The Lion King is maybe one of the most wonderful animated movies released this year. As John Sonic, blogger at best essay service and essay writing service said, The Lion King the movie is so realistic you will believe that there are real animals. 

And yes, it is true. You can easily mistake the animation for a documentary with animals. Maybe because they are so realistic, you do not expect to hear a lion singing with a Beyoncé voice. Which happens. 

There are amazing realistic scenes portrayed and they are so impressive. If you manage to not associate the voice with Beyoncé’s, the scenes are much more impressive. Beyoncé’s voice might act as a trigger and take you out of the movie atmosphere. 

Emotion

It is well-known that the 1994 version got two Golden Globes and two Oscars. It was appreciated by people from all over the world who rated it as their favorite Disney animated movie. A thing that the 2019 version of The Lion King loses is its capability of arousing emotions. Because animals are photorealistic made, they lose their ability to be expressive. 

Some of the original scenes were modified because of the nature of the movie. Michaela Master, contributor to resume writing service and essay service draws attention to one thing: the animals need to behave like real animals because they look like real ones. 

So, seeing Pumbaa, Timon and Simba diving in a pool while singing the iconic “Hakuna Matata” will not happen. Because of these little changes in animals’ behavior, the new movie might fail to arouse the same emotions as the original.

They might fail to recreate original emotional scenes, but they manage to create other emotional scenes. Being portrayed so realistic and nice makes you think that you are watching real animals. And so, those dramatic scenes make you more emotional and involved. 

So, while the producers failed to recreate some iconic moments from the original movie, they managed to arouse emotions with other scenes, much more realistic. 

Humor

Do you remember the scenes with Timon and Pumbaa? They always manage to make the audience laugh. If you were expecting to see more scenes full of humor, you will not find them. Of course, it is important to note that the main aim of the movie is not creating a comedy. 

But they sometimes fail to recreate the original scenes which are full of humor, although when Timon and Pumbaa appear you cannot stop laughing. 

The Movie as a Whole

As a whole, the movie is good. It is interesting to see how Disney plays with the new technological advancements and how it manages to create amazing movies. The big win of this movie is the visuals. The animals look so realistic that you sometimes might end up believing that you are watching a documentary. 

Although some of the expressive moments from the original are lost, as the animals are limited to behaving like real ones, Disney manages to arouse emotion with other scenes. And they do this because the visuals are so realistic. The voice acting is good, although some of the well-known voices, like Beyoncé’s, might distract you. 

The question is: was it worth it? The answer is yes. Although you lose some characteristics of the original movie when you are creating the animated film version, doing this comes with good points also. 

Of course, some of the expressive faces from the 1994 version could only be created by hand drawing, so it is understandable why you cannot find them in the 2019 version. 

Depending on your perspective on the movie, you might like it or not. Some of the critics argue that the new version of The Lion King is like a documentary about lions with syncing of the lips. 

Some applaud the new version as it manages to arouse more emotions and trick you into believing you are watching a real documentary movie. They have kept all the original songs like “The Circle of Life,” “Hakuna Matata,” or “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” They are sung by other artists, but they have been chosen right. 

Conclusion

Anytime someone wants to remake an original movie, details might get lost. Some of them are improved and the differences are observable. Even if there are both positive and negative reviews, you can form your own opinion if you manage to see both movies. 

You will find the new version of the movie charming and interesting. Or, you might like the old version more, as the animals are more expressive. Either way, each version has its own charm.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Justin Osborne is a writer at academized reviews and college paper help, he loves to share his thoughts and opinions about education, writing and blogging with other people on different blogs and forums. Currently, he is working as a content marketer at best paper writing service.