' The Lion King' 2019 Film Review

This film was awesome! Oh, my days my expectations were set way lower than what this film deserved. I have a lot to say on the Jon Favreau remake of the classic film.

My main concern going into this film was the live action animation portion of this film. I thought that it was going to be very hard to see any emotion because well have you ever really seen a wart hog smile? Yeah, me neither. However, the animators did an excellent job portraying that without making the characters too cartoonish.

The animation also brought a new level of realism and really enhanced certain scenes. For example, one scene which really surprised me was the elephant graveyard. I remember it being so literal in the film and being almost comical with that huge elephant skull in the background. With the live action however, you got an impression of a barren wasteland which has been stripped due to the hyenas over hunting of animals which affected the eco system making it uninhabitable.

I did however find myself missing the huge over the top song sequences. Whilst I found their version of the classic song, I found myself really missing the obnoxious animal tower and the interaction that Zazu had with the monkeys. I also thought a lot of us were a tad disappointed the lack on Timon in a grass skirt however Pumba as a platter was equally hysterical.

On the topic of Pumba and Timon, I really enjoyed what the creators did with their home. As much as I would’ve loved to see more interaction between Pumba and Timon I liked how we saw Simba grow due to those around him. For example, one part which I found pivotal in the plot was his encounter with the gazelle in the jungle. In this seen we see some of Simba’s naivety fade as he realises, he is part of something much bigger. Yes, Simba doesn’t want to hurt the gazelle but his king has evolved to be their natural predator whereas the gazelle was raised to fear lions. Its an important lesson in how evolution plays a key role in (cue the music) THE CIIRRRCCLLLEEE OF LIFFFEEE.

The end fight scene was epic but so was the twist. I was honestly very surprised they would give scar such a gruesome demise by being eaten by the hyenas who he had both provided for and stabbed in the back. It really gave Scar his own meaning of the circle of life as he suffered the fate of other animals which he discarded in his mission to be on top. There was also a certain irony that he let the hyenas eat before the lionesses because in the end it wasn’t the lions who finished him off but the Hyenas.

In the end I found the true villains of the movie to be the hyenas. With their lack of morals and them representing greed and just being all round vicious it was hard not to see it that way.

Overall this film was beautifully done but it could never replace the original.

See ya around