The Lion King

Disney has been in a frenzy remaking live-action versions of their old animated classics of late. The Lion King is the third remake so far this year, right behind the recently released Aladdin, and Dumbo that only came out a few months ago. What’s fascinating about these remakes is that every single one of them has a high-profile Hollywood director attached. Tim Burton directed Dumbo, Guy Richie did Aladdin, and now Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Iron Man 2) with this new live-action The Lion King. Favreau “got it”/”nailed it” when he directed The Jungle Book and he brings that same spirit and enthusiasm with him to this project. Lots of CGI, but everything looks visually spectacular, almost too good, to the point where it’s actually a little headache-inducing, but it’s beautiful nonetheless. A star-studded cast of voices (Donald Glover, Beyonce, James Earl Jones, John Oliver, Seth Rogan, Keegan-Michael Key, Amy Sedaris, and Eric Andre) are present, but in spite of all the big names, that part, at least to me, is all a little underwhelming. The voice that steals the show, though, is that of Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar – he’s very intense! But it doesn’t really matter what I think or what anyone else thinks for that matter, ’cause this is sure to be the crowd-pleaser/blockbuster of Summer 2019 regardless.

[PG]