Full circle: Disney's The Lion King remake swaps cartoonish expressions with photo realistic visuals and an all-star voice cast.

Disney’s uber-photorealistic remake of the classic The Lion King is a gorgeous display of technological wonder, but it lacks the sheer emotion of the original 1994 cartoon.

Nostalgia is a powerful feeling to harness, and by the looks of it, immensely profitable too. Case in point, Disney’s barrage of live action remakes of its classics is upon us yet again.

The latest release this year, however, is less live action and more photorealistic CGI.

Originally released in 1994 as a cartoon, The Lion King is currently the ninth highest-grossing animated film of all time, and the remake definitely aims to replicate that success.

The remake now features lifelike visuals and an all-star cast to get the nostalgia train going, with minimal changes to the storyline and musical numbers.

The plot follows the lion Simba (Donald Glover) and his destiny to inherit the kingdom of Pride Rock from his father Mufasa (James Earl Jones). However, Simba’s ever-scheming uncle Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is resentful of the fact that his claim to the throne has been given to Simba and plans to take the position through dastardly means.

Joining Simba in his adventure through the African plains is the lioness Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter) as well as the comic relief duo, warthog Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) and meerkat Timon (Billy Eichner). Together, they fight to reclaim Pride Rock from Scar’s grasp.

It’s quite clear from the opening shot that The Lion King has tried to stick to its roots, with the ever-iconic “Circle of Life” Zulu chant setting the tone to an absolutely stunning near shot-for-shot remake of the original opening sequence.

Rendered in photorealistic CGI, the rest of the movie is so lifelike it might as well be a Discovery Channel documentary given a storyline and voiceover.

The animation is smooth and crisp, from the individual fur strands to the picturesque backgrounds that look like they were taken straight out of a MacBook wallpaper.

Gorgeous as they may be, the push for realism means the characters aren’t as emotive as their cartoon counterparts. 

Still, the trade-off might not be to everyone’s taste, as the lack of emotion on the characters’ faces means that scenes are rather flat. A young Simba reacting in shocked horror produces the same kind of expression your kitten might generate when it bumps your mug off the coffee table, and that’s generally not something you want in a powerful and moving scene.

To make up for this, the remake has brought out the big guns when it comes to the audio department. 

Having Childish Gambino and Queen Bey as the lead voice actors means that musical numbers like “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” are extra powerful. Even Eichner and Rogen’s vocals complement Glover’s in songs like “Hakuna Matata” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.

Along with the original songs performed by the new cast, The Lion King also features new songs specific to the remake, such as “Spirit” sang by Beyoncé and “Never Too Late” by Elton John.

But compared to other Disney remakes, The Lion King feels a bit derivative. Take for example Dumbo, which expanded its original storyline with additional characters; Maleficent, which gives the viewers another side to the story of Sleeping Beauty; or the upcoming Mulan, which is billed as more faithful to the original legend of Hua Mulan.

Perhaps the answer lies within the story’s fabled circle of life. After 25 years of being a staple of children growing up, The Lion King has come full circle to create something that stays true to its source material for longtime fans, while also “maturing” in a way with a more star-studded production for everyone else.

It might not be to everyone’s liking, but life is rarely to anyone’s liking either.

As a standalone movie, The Lion King is a spectacular flick just for the technological feat and impressive vocal work alone, delivering a familiar storyline we all know and love with aplomb.

As a remake, hardcore fans might miss the original’s soul and emotion. However, the original is still there for you to see, and it’s only you who can decide whether the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia are a more interesting watch than lion-Beyoncé fighting a horde of hyenas while presumably struggling not to sing “Run the World”. (ste)

— Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

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The Lion King

(Walt Disney Pictures; 118 minutes)

Director: Jon Favreau

Writer: Jeff Nathanson

Cast: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, James Earl Jones

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