The Lion King
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Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.
What critics thought
Critics were split almost evenly, with the photorealistic animation drawing genuine awe while simultaneously becoming the film's central problem — animals built to look real cannot emote, and many reviewers felt the remake's slavish fidelity to the original only underscored how much vitality had been drained from the story. Audiences responded far more warmly than press, a gap that tells its own story about nostalgia's pull.
“Unfolding like the world's longest and least convincing deepfake, Jon Favreau's (almost) photorealistic remake of The Lion King is meant to represent the next step in Disney's circle of life. Instead, this soulless chimera of a film comes off as little more than a glorified tech demo from a greedy conglomerate — a well-rendered but creatively bankrupt self-portrait of a movie studio eating its own tail.”
David Ehrlich·IndieWire
“The film's aesthetic caution and predictability begin to wear down on the entire enterprise in the second half.”
Todd McCarthy·The Hollywood Reporter
“Ultimately, only Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, as slacker sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa, make much of an impression; their funny, possibly ad-libbed banter feels both fresh and true to the spirit of the characters — the perfect remake recipe.”
A. A. Dowd·The A.V. Club
“The worst thing you can say about this movie, and perhaps the highest compliment you can pay it, is to say it would be even more dazzling if it told a different story with different animals and the same technology and style — and maybe without songs, because you don't necessarily need them when you have images that sing.”
Matt Zoller Seitz·RogerEbert.com
“trading feeling for realism means that we lose something of the original film's excellence.”
Helen O'Hara·Empire
Accolades
Genres
Adventure, Animation, Drama
Cast & Crew
Jon FavreauDirector
Chiwetel EjioforScar (voice)
John OliverZazu (voice)
Donald GloverSimba (voice)
James Earl JonesMufasa (voice)
John KaniRafiki (voice)
Alfre WoodardSarabi (voice)
BeyoncéNala (voice)
JD McCraryYoung Simba (voice)
Shahadi Wright JosephYoung Nala (voice)
Penny Johnson JeraldSarafina (voice)
Keegan-Michael KeyKamari (voice)
Eric AndréAzizi (voice)
Hans ZimmerComposer
Jeff NathansonWriter
Caleb DeschanelCinematographyThe Lion King
Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.
What critics thought
Critics were split almost evenly, with the photorealistic animation drawing genuine awe while simultaneously becoming the film's central problem — animals built to look real cannot emote, and many reviewers felt the remake's slavish fidelity to the original only underscored how much vitality had been drained from the story. Audiences responded far more warmly than press, a gap that tells its own story about nostalgia's pull.
“Unfolding like the world's longest and least convincing deepfake, Jon Favreau's (almost) photorealistic remake of The Lion King is meant to represent the next step in Disney's circle of life. Instead, this soulless chimera of a film comes off as little more than a glorified tech demo from a greedy conglomerate — a well-rendered but creatively bankrupt self-portrait of a movie studio eating its own tail.”
David Ehrlich·IndieWire
“The film's aesthetic caution and predictability begin to wear down on the entire enterprise in the second half.”
Todd McCarthy·The Hollywood Reporter
“Ultimately, only Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, as slacker sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa, make much of an impression; their funny, possibly ad-libbed banter feels both fresh and true to the spirit of the characters — the perfect remake recipe.”
A. A. Dowd·The A.V. Club
“The worst thing you can say about this movie, and perhaps the highest compliment you can pay it, is to say it would be even more dazzling if it told a different story with different animals and the same technology and style — and maybe without songs, because you don't necessarily need them when you have images that sing.”
Matt Zoller Seitz·RogerEbert.com
“trading feeling for realism means that we lose something of the original film's excellence.”
Helen O'Hara·Empire
Accolades
Genres
Adventure, Animation, Drama
Cast & Crew
Jon FavreauDirectorChiwetel EjioforScar (voice)John OliverZazu (voice)Donald GloverSimba (voice)James Earl JonesMufasa (voice)John KaniRafiki (voice)Alfre WoodardSarabi (voice)BeyoncéNala (voice)JD McCraryYoung Simba (voice)Shahadi Wright JosephYoung Nala (voice)Penny Johnson JeraldSarafina (voice)Keegan-Michael KeyKamari (voice)Eric AndréAzizi (voice)Hans ZimmerComposerJeff NathansonWriterCaleb DeschanelCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy