The Lion King is Disney’s photorealistic CGI remake of the beloved, hand-drawn 1994 original that, for many children, offered a first introduction to the idea of patriarchal monarchy. (Relax. I’m not going down that road today. Just not in the mood.) And already it’s been trampled underfoot by many critics. It ‘monetises nostalgia’. It is ‘unnecessary’. It’s a ‘glorified tech demo’ from ‘a greedy conglomerate’. It is all those things, maybe, but I was mostly entranced anyhow. Also, I don’t understand why the two films can’t happily co-exist. Why have one film about patriarchal monarchy when… no, still not in the mood. Sorry. But I expect I’ll be business as usual next week.
Directed by Jon Favreau, this slavishly follows the original, pretty much. So it opens with the ‘Circle of Life’ and all the animals gathering to rejoice in the birth of Simba, held aloft by Rafiki, the baboon shaman. It is incredible, and you will marvel. It’s breathtakingly detailed. You can see every hair on every beast, every feather on every bird, every whisker on every mouse. I was completely and utterly and entirely blown away. I got goose bumps. As for little Simba, you will want to reach into the screen, pluck him out and take him on to your lap for a cuddle. He’s that real and cute, even if he is a bit of a dick. But then he always was a bit of a dick, frankly. (The original was played over and over in our house when my son was growing up, and as Simba crowed about being king one day I always thought: mate, show some humility and stop being such a dick. And also: can’t we watch The Jungle Book now?)
I’m assuming you’re already familiar with the plot, which some say Disney stole from a Japanese manga series but Disney says was conceived from scratch as a cross between Bambi and Hamlet.
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