Speedpaint: youtu.be/ohxIr7Exks8
Redbubble link: www.redbubble.com/i/photograph…
2019 Shenzi! She's by far my favorite aspect of the movie! There's not enough fanart of the 2019 movie, I enjoy it immensely. I know a ton of people hate it but I most certainly do not.
[ID: A digital bust drawing of a dark brown spotted hyena with brown eyes and small notched ears. She has a serious expression and is looking forward. Her upper fangs poke out from below her lips. The background is a barren desert land at daytime. End ID.]
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended on July 14th the European Premiere of Disney's The Lion King at the Odeon Theatre. The Duke and Duchess met the cast and creative team behind the film, as well as supporters of African Parks, of which The Duke is President.
Can someone please explain to me the purpose of The Lion King (2019)?
SPOILERS AHEAD! also, ranting.
Like, other than some good voice-acting - including Beyonce, which I absolutely stan - there is literally nothing remarkable about this movie. It is the exact same, regurgitated plot of the original animation - with the exception of the hyena leader Shenzi, which yeah, accurate, but she didn’t do anything special so ????? Wasted opportunity much???
If anything, Disney’s attempt to add this timeless classic to their growing collection of ‘’live action’’ remakes was not only vastly disappointing, but in the process it lost that spark, that charm that made the ‘94 version one of the most critically-acclaimed and universally popular movies ever. The CGI and the overzealousness in trying to make the characters as realistic as possible the lack of facial expressions and a decrease in body language diversity, which are two of the most important traits that make the Disney classics so impactful. No amount of emotional singing and ominous original soundtrack and colourful sunsets is going to make up for that. Watching Mufasa and Scar talk felt like watching a wildlife documentary - and those can sometimes make you cry better than this movie does.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about the remake fever. I’m not totally opposed to it, because if done well, you can bring to life stories that have shaped millions of people’s childhoods and make them more appealing to later generations. Not everyone likes animations, and there are some people who don’t like watching old movies. Those are just facts. Beauty and the Beast was pretty well done, and of course, Maleficent (and now the sequel, but I’m seeing that one next week) is an absolute jewel. Aladdin was alright too; not out of this world, but good. *
On the other hand, the truth is that trying to remake a movie without it losing some of its charm is exceptionally hard and wildly unsuccessful. Something that was good once is not guaranteed to be the same quality the second time around. Most of the people who watch these remakes have all seen the original versions and when you’re comparing a remake with a movie that you love and know, well, the standards are pretty high. Let us not dwell on Cinderella.*
All in all, I think that although Disney went with the adage ‘Don’t fix what isn’t broken’ when making The Lion King (2019), perhaps it might’ve been better advised not go through with it at all, in this case.
* IMPORTANT: This has been an extremely subjective text. Maleficent being good and Cinderella being bad is, in this case, just my personal opinion. I have used only word-of-mouth information (a.k.a. the water-dispenser variety of gossip heard from friends and classmates) as well as my knowledge of the general public’s reactions to Disney (or other productions) remakes along the years.
P.S. I haven’t seen The Jungle Book (2016), so I can’t really make the comparison, but I’ve seen Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, a Warner Bros production,and I can honestly say I’m a fan. I don’t know if it’s such a good movie from a professional critic’s point of view, but I think it was an interesting take. Also, modeling the characters’ CGI animal faces to resemble their voice-actors’ features was a pretty inspired idea.
