Film Review - The Lion King (PG)

Life's not fair - is it, my little friend?

Disney's computer-animated remake of The Lion King has been on release for six days, to polarised opinion. The more you love the original, it seems, the more likely you are to find fault with this new version. For all its technical marvels - and they're unarguably marvellous - it lacks sufficient originality to provide it with any genuine merit, so say the detractors. Me, I've only ever seen the 1994 classic on one occasion, so perhaps I'm viewing it through less jaded eyes. At any rate I found the experience of watching it delightful, if initially rather bizarre.

There are certainly no narrative surprises for anyone acquainted with adventurous cub Simba, his father the noble king Mufasa and his envious uncle Scar. The initial set-up is reminiscent of Hamlet as many have pointed out, but in truth it's not that Hamlet-y once you get past the initial murder and usurping of the leonine throne. Little Simba never goes mad, he gets along with the friends with whom he teams up on being banished from the kingdom (they teach him a 'problem-free philosophy' that might have served the Prince of Denmark well) and he takes a long time to discover that he's not personally responsible for his father's tragic demise. But all the original plot beats - Shakespearian or otherwise - are present and correct, with none of the elaborations that we got earlier this year in the new Dumbo and Aladdin. Pick any iconic moment from the traditionally animated version - like the presentation of Simba, the buffalo stampede or the Hakuna Matata moonlight strut - and it's reproduced in photo-realistic form.

What's the point, then? many have asked. Well, so that a new generation of children could discover a wonderful story with nothing essential having been altered, was the response of director Jon Favreau (whose 2016 live-action Jungle Book was such a hit). And there you have it - The Lion King 2019 is the straightest of retellings, and can be taken or rejected on those terms. It's beautiful enough to make audiences gasp, that's for sure. The African savanna is digitally recreated to awe-inspiring effect and the cast of creatures - mammal, bird and insect - are brought to life in detail so minute it's remarkable. The tiger ingeniously conjured up in 2012's Life of Pi, it transpires, was just the beginning of what computer animation could achieve when recreating the natural realm.

That level of achievement alone makes the film worth watching, but it also threatened to be my personal stumbling block. Simba and his fellow-creatures are such faithful representations of living creatures in both appearance and behaviour that it's frankly bizarre when they start to speak, let alone burst into song. All the usual anthropomorphic Disney quirks are replaced with sheer naturalism - refreshingly so - until, that is, these very real lions, warthogs and meerkats start cutting loose with Tim Rice lyrics. It's an imaginative leap you either make or you don't within the first twenty minutes. If you succeed, then everything becomes fun and pure visual rapture.

As for those responsible for all the vocal emoting and singing, they're a diverse bunch of actors whose quality serves as a unifying factor. No one is coasting here. It's a fine thing to hear James Earl Jones' resonant tones once more as Mufasa, while Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner bring zestful (and frequently very funny) improvisation to the Timon/Pumbaa double-act. And while there's richness and warmth in many of the lion performances, for me it was Chiwetel Ejiofor who stood out voice-wise as Scar - less openly villainous than was Jeremy Irons back in the day, but more nuanced in his portrayal of insidious evil. By the way if anyone tells you that the 'real' animals on screen can't emote enough to match the fear, loss or adoration of the vocal acting, then maybe they don't know real animals very well. It's all there if you look.

Of course having lavished all that praise, it's totally legitimate to ask whether Disney shouldn't be focusing on wholly new creations, rather than on rehashing their legacy highlights. And I understand why some critics are casting a skeptical eye over the enterprise, comparing it to Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot homage to the original Psycho and similarly asking 'Why???' In this case the answer is valid - to retell a great story in a dazzling new form, where the tech exists to forge a virtual African landscape and then to direct an entire movie within in. Taken on its own terms 2019's Lion King will thrill youngsters and provide grown-ups with a warm glow - but only if they're willing to ditch their cynicism going in. 

Nants igonyama bagithi Baba, everyone. It means 'A lion is coming, father'. I checked.

Gut Reaction: A bit of a raised eyebrow at the actual singing critters - until the sheer visual glory of it all swept me away and made me okay with it all. The Timon/Pumbaa bits made me laugh a lot too.

Memorable Moment: Hakuna Matata 2019 makes the whole thing worthwhile.

Ed's Verdict: 8/10. Not for originality, but for a lovely tale reproduced as sheer cinematic beauty. That said, time for Disney to find some new stories.