IS THE LION KING A WORTHY CONTENDER OR LACKLUSTER REMAKE 2019 Christian Movie Review

Before writing this review, I rewatched The Lion King (1994). I compared song clips from both movies. Additionally, I carefully considered the live-action movie as a stand-alone movie apart from the original. Would I prefer the original version over the current movie? This 2019 Lion King Christian Movie Review is based on the following guidelines. I am a Christian so all my reviews have that worldview. Furthermore, I believe that movies impact children far more than we realize. I encourage you to find someone who has similar viewpoints as you do who reviews movies before taking your child to see most films. If you believe that is me, sign up for my newsletter to get the latest reviews.

Synopsis of The Lion King 2019

The Lion King Live-Action movie almost completely follows scene-by-scene the animated version. There are slight differences, but it is essentially the same movie. At this point, you may be asking yourself why we need a live-action version. And that is an excellent question. So is The Lion King remake the worst Disney remake? I will break this down for you!

THE GOOD

CGI: Worthy Contender

Some of the scenes are very impressive because of the current CGI technology. It is hard to imagine CGI becoming any better than it currently is, but I know the good folks at Disney will continually improve their technology. This is one of the things that Disney knows how to do. Since the early days of Walt Disney Studios, they have always been cutting edge. This is one area that I will give them 2 thumbs up. Personally, I particularly enjoyed the opening scene, and it was almost exactly shot by shot identical to the animated version.

Furthermore, this movie follows the original storyline pretty closely. If you enjoyed the animated version, you most likely know what will happen in this version, and you will not be surprised by anything.

James Earl Jones: Worthy Contender

James Earl Jones once again reprises his role as Mufasa. Everything about Mufasa was spot-on. Jone’s voice is an impressive King of the Pridelands voice. His timing is perfect, but then he knows this role inside and out.

Beyonce and Donald Glover: Worthy Contender

Beyonce as Nala did a very good job, as did Donald Glover as Simba. Beyonce’s song “Spirit” was beautiful also.

THE BAD

The Timing: Lackluster

Timon and Pumbaa had wonderful comedic timing in the original 1994 movie. However, in this version, the timing is just off. Almost everything with Timon and Pumbaa falls flat. Their voices, the songs, and the jokes are lackluster.

The Songs: Lackluster

I love everything about the original musical soundtrack. The songs in this movie are off. Be Prepared by Scar is horrible. Be Prepared in this version is cut down to about one verse and not even sung, but performed as a talkish-singing event.

My very favorite song in the 1994 version is “I Can’t Wait to Be King.” The animated visuals during this song are just fantastic, but in the 2019 version, it is not a worthy competitor.

CGI Close-Ups: Lackluster

Some of the CGI is awful. When the animals are talking, their mouths just seem bizarre. The movie cannot compare to the hand-drawn animation seen in the original version.

What Parents May Want to Know:

Violence:

The violence is far more realistic in this film. When Scar and Mufasa fight, it is as if you are watching two lions actually fight. When Mufasa falls to his death, it is far too real looking. When the hyena circle, they are much more menacing than in the original version.

Language:

While there was no foul language, there was one line that could have been left out. “Two giraffes were necking” was said. Also, there was other “potty humor” and talks about farting that was totally unnecessary. While there were some implications in the original movie, Timon did make the comment, “Not in front of the children.” Timon and Pumbaa lack the restraint in the 2019 version. They really don’t care about the children.

Spiritual Elements:

A new addition to the musical line up is “Spirit” performed by Beyonce. This song has a line, “And be one with the Great I Am.” Beyonce has gone on record about this song, and her thoughts are great.

Additionally, there are the same elements as the original movie such as:

Rafiki is a tribal shaman who interprets bugs, draws pictures, uses dyes, and reads signs.

Mufasa tells Simba that the stars are the great kings of the past. Furthermore, he tells Simba that he will always be with him. All Simba has to do is look up to the stars and see his ancestors.

Timon and Pumbaa talk about how this is all there is to life. Life isn’t a circle, but a straight line and when you come to the end, it is over. Later they recant this.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

Jack-Jack is my 14-year-old autistic son. He has watched the animated Lion King many times. But while watching this in the movie theater he cried. When I say that he cried, I mean he sobbed. There were 2 moments that he was so incredibly sad. The first was when Mufasa died, and the second was when Nala and Simba went off during the song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”

He could articulate that when Mufasa died it reminded him of a relative’s father dying in 2018. But in the scene with Nala and Simba, he could not tell me why he was sad. I do believe it may be that he understands that relationships change when people get married, and he has had older brothers leave our household to start families of their own. There is a sadness associated with these types of leaving for him.

My 2019 Lion King Christian Movie Review Recommendation:

The Lion King (1994) has a current Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93%. This was a wonderful movie that is deserving of a high rating. Why would you mess with a movie that is a classic? Considering that the 2019 version is not really a remake, but a CGI disaster that doesn’t add any value to Disney’s outstanding movie line-up. This is just another remake that will be forgotten and thrown by the wayside. It cannot even begin to compete with all the wonderful Disney classics.

I usually recommend when Disney or another studio makes any movie rated G or PG with the absence of any real objectionable content that it should be seen in the movie theater. We like to “vote with our dollars” and let Hollywood know what types of movies we would like more of, but considering this movie is blight on the Disney landscape, I think it is time to start sending Disney a very clear message that just because they have the name doesn’t mean we will continue to support such awful movies from them. I do expect better from the movie studio that brought us classics like The Lion King (1994), Mary Poppins (1964), Beauty and the Beast (both versions), and Cinderella (both versions).

So is this the worst Disney remake? No, it is not the worst movie, and there are certainly fans out there that would argue with me about this movie, but I do have higher standards from Disney. The bottom line is: If you want to see stunning visuals, by all means, go and see this movie at the movie theater because on the big screen it will be more impressive than on your television at home. However, if you are going to let your child see this movie, be warned that the violent scenes may be scary for your child. My recommendation is ages 6-8 and up.

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