THE LION KING
***
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenwriter: Jeff Nathanson, from a story by Brenda Chapman with characters developed by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton.
Principal cast:
James Earl Jones
Donald Glover
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Seth Rogen
Billy Eichner
John Oliver
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 118 mins.
Australian release date: 18 July 2019
Previewed at: Hoyts Entertainment Quarter, Sydney, on 16 July 2019.
Jon Favreau’s The Lion King launched in Sydney on Tuesday night and it was quite a celebration. The foyer of the cinema was transformed into savannah territory, replete with sand-coloured floor coverings, rocky outcrops and an abundance of potted plants and grasses. It was pretty impressive and a fitting opening for this photo-realistic portrayal of the much-loved Disney musical. It’s been 25 years since the original Walt Disney Studios’ 2D animated film was released and became a global success, spawning a live-action version that travelled the world and added another dimension to the franchise. Was this new rendition worth waiting for? Well, yes and no.
For anyone who has not experienced the 1994 film or the subsequent stage production (is there anyone?), the storyline is one of murder and mayhem, guilt and redemption, and how, in the end, good outweighs evil. Its simple but important messages are clear for young and old alike. In the new Lion King, the story sticks closely to the original but this time the studio has created a visual treat that is entirely computer-generated and it looks absolutely stunning - it is hard to believe that the animals on screen are not real, especially the ones with fur. It doesn’t have the same authenticity for all species though; the elephants and hippopotamuses, for example, are not rendered quite so convincingly.
To re-cap the plot: disgruntled brother Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) kills his sibling, Mufasa (James Earl Jones), the King of the Pride Lands, when he refuses to help the King clamber to safety on a cliff face. Mufasa had been attempting to rescue his young cub, Simba (JD McCrary), from a wildebeest stampede started by Scar’s partners-in-crime, a pack of hyenas. Feeling responsible for his father’s death, Simba leaves home and disappears. Cut to some years later and Simba (now voiced by Donald Glover) is following the philosophy of ‘hakuna matata’ (roughly translated as ‘no problems’), taught to him by Pumbaa, a wise-cracking warthog (Seth Rogen) and his mate Timon, a meerkat (Billy Eichner). When his childhood sweetheart Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter) tracks him down to tell him that Scar has reduced his home to a waste land, he refuses to return. It’s only when Rafiki (John Kani), a wise mandrill who is adviser to the Kings of the Pride Lands, shows Simba that his father’s spirit lives within him, that he finds the will to avenge Musafa’s death and take his rightful place as King.
The Lion King is a movie that will be enjoyed by the entire family. There are some scary moments, particularly the murder of Mufasa, but they stop short of giving the young ones nightmares… hopefully. If you are interested in seeing just how far animation has evolved, then this film is not to be missed; it sometimes feels like you’re watching a David Attenborough natural history doco. Make the most of the occasional moments when it soars (musical numbers Hakuna Matata and The Lion Sleeps Tonight), however, as there are some fairly lame scenes in between. Having said that, the movie will no doubt do phenomenal business at the box office and, in the end, that’s what the producers are aiming for. No worries (hakuna matata) about that.
Screenwriter: Jeff Nathanson, from a story by Brenda Chapman with characters developed by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton.
Principal cast:
James Earl Jones
Donald Glover
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Seth Rogen
Billy Eichner
John Oliver
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 118 mins.
Australian release date: 18 July 2019
Previewed at: Hoyts Entertainment Quarter, Sydney, on 16 July 2019.
Jon Favreau’s The Lion King launched in Sydney on Tuesday night and it was quite a celebration. The foyer of the cinema was transformed into savannah territory, replete with sand-coloured floor coverings, rocky outcrops and an abundance of potted plants and grasses. It was pretty impressive and a fitting opening for this photo-realistic portrayal of the much-loved Disney musical. It’s been 25 years since the original Walt Disney Studios’ 2D animated film was released and became a global success, spawning a live-action version that travelled the world and added another dimension to the franchise. Was this new rendition worth waiting for? Well, yes and no.
For anyone who has not experienced the 1994 film or the subsequent stage production (is there anyone?), the storyline is one of murder and mayhem, guilt and redemption, and how, in the end, good outweighs evil. Its simple but important messages are clear for young and old alike. In the new Lion King, the story sticks closely to the original but this time the studio has created a visual treat that is entirely computer-generated and it looks absolutely stunning - it is hard to believe that the animals on screen are not real, especially the ones with fur. It doesn’t have the same authenticity for all species though; the elephants and hippopotamuses, for example, are not rendered quite so convincingly.
To re-cap the plot: disgruntled brother Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) kills his sibling, Mufasa (James Earl Jones), the King of the Pride Lands, when he refuses to help the King clamber to safety on a cliff face. Mufasa had been attempting to rescue his young cub, Simba (JD McCrary), from a wildebeest stampede started by Scar’s partners-in-crime, a pack of hyenas. Feeling responsible for his father’s death, Simba leaves home and disappears. Cut to some years later and Simba (now voiced by Donald Glover) is following the philosophy of ‘hakuna matata’ (roughly translated as ‘no problems’), taught to him by Pumbaa, a wise-cracking warthog (Seth Rogen) and his mate Timon, a meerkat (Billy Eichner). When his childhood sweetheart Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter) tracks him down to tell him that Scar has reduced his home to a waste land, he refuses to return. It’s only when Rafiki (John Kani), a wise mandrill who is adviser to the Kings of the Pride Lands, shows Simba that his father’s spirit lives within him, that he finds the will to avenge Musafa’s death and take his rightful place as King.
The Lion King is a movie that will be enjoyed by the entire family. There are some scary moments, particularly the murder of Mufasa, but they stop short of giving the young ones nightmares… hopefully. If you are interested in seeing just how far animation has evolved, then this film is not to be missed; it sometimes feels like you’re watching a David Attenborough natural history doco. Make the most of the occasional moments when it soars (musical numbers Hakuna Matata and The Lion Sleeps Tonight), however, as there are some fairly lame scenes in between. Having said that, the movie will no doubt do phenomenal business at the box office and, in the end, that’s what the producers are aiming for. No worries (hakuna matata) about that.
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