Hello everyone! Today I am back with another film review ( I know I have been so bad at updating this blog recently and I promise I will get back to doing park posts soon!). I was a little late seeing The Lion King, for some reason our trip kept getting delayed, but I finally got there and today I will tell you exactly what I thought about it.
I was SUPER excited for this film – like almost as excited as I am for Frozen 2 but not quite lol – and was so ready to watch one of the nation’s favourite stories come alive again. I mean as soon as the circle of life soundtrack started I had tears in my eyes, it was inevitable that I was going to enjoy the film. However, I’m not going to lie, I found the animation slightly odd. In fact, I almost found it less realistic than the cartoon one. It is just difficult to believe that real animals actually talk! Once I got over it though, I really liked the movie.
As for characterisation, Mufasa was excellent, Simba had the energy and emotion that he needed and Nala was played beautifully by Beyonce with a perfect balance of ferociousness and warmth. I felt that Scar was possibly even more evil than last time but I will always prefer the original I think due to his hilarious sarcasm. Timon and Pumbaa were also great and one of my favourite scenes in the film was of course their edition of Be Our Guest – a very nice touch there Disney! I didn’t appreciate them slightly changing the words in “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love” though. They are songs I have sung along to since I could talk and it felt a little bit weird hearing in a different version.
There is no doubt that the Lion King is a beautiful story. The film makers definitely did it justice and the pictures throughout the film were stunning. I just love that scene where Rafiki realises Simba is alive, it is so heartwarming and hopeful. Of course, nothing will ever beat the opening scene which is so iconic in the history of film. And as for Beyonces song “Spirit”, I loved it! It fitted into the plot perfectly, almost the film version of ‘He Lives in You’ from the musical ( another great song by the way).
Overall, I would rate the Lion King 8.5. It is never going to get 10, as any live action will never be as good as the original, but I do believe they did a great job in remaking such a fantastic film that is known and loved by billions of people around the world.
What were your thoughts? As always, I would love to know.
Becca
My Disney Adventures 