Post-Release Poll

[Azdgari]

[WildSimba]

Just saw it. It's pretty awful. Overly drawn out scenes for no reason other than to pad out the runtime, the important scenes were either rushed or sometimes cut entirely. The acting was flat and sometimes really awkward and bad. Beyonce's spirit completely ruins an important scene. Scar [censored] Mufasa off a cliff. The new soundtrack is awful (save for elton's new song and some of the score which is still great in areas). The story and style of TLK doesn't translate well into the realistic style they're going for, and some scenes, mainly IJCWTBK and be prepared are ruined as a result.

Timon and Pumbaa were the only real saving grace, I'll fully admit that I like how they worked off of eachother and they managed to get some unironic laughs out of me. I've been a TLK fan for a long time, I like all 3 of the animated films, I'm sorry people but this ain't it. I SERIOUSLY couldn't see anyone over the age of like 3 liking this to any serious capacity. The entire time I was sitting there thinking, wow, I could be watching the original film right now.

[Gemini]

[TheBlackCatCrossing]

Okay, I think enough time has passed for me to post my thoughts.

It was a shameless cash grab and I still fell for it. I didn't have a lot of expectations for this one. After Maleficent, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book, a 'live action' remake of this classic was inevitable. When I first heard the news I was intrigued but skeptical. This was just another way for Disney to gouge more money from us. To me, these remakes are a way to try to get us millennials who have kids to watch them with them. So anyway, I give it a 1/5. I will break it down between the parts that I liked and what I felt was lacking.

What I didn't like

It felt like a copy and past job from the 1994 movie. There were times when I felt like I mentally checking off what was similar and what was off which took away from the experience. I had to remind myself that this was not going to have the same impact that it had for me when the original came out. Still, the writing was so lazy. They could have done so much more. Out of all the Disney remakes they have done, I thought Cinderella was the best. It took enough from the original but it stood out on its own. The writers could have done so much more.

When they cast Beyonce as Nala, I wanted to abandon ship. When I saw that she cast as Nala, that is when I felt that Disney did not really believe in this project and they were using her as a selling point. To me, this casting was done intentionally. It was done to get more butts into seats because they want to appeal to a demographic than because of talent. It's like the WB casting Ruby Rose as Batwoman. Put me in the camp #notmynala.

What I liked

When Rafiki realized that Simba was alive, I felt that this remake did a better job of handling that part than in the animated film. In the original, it never made sense to me that Rafiki realized that Simba was alive because he sniffed some dust and leaves. For a long time I accepted that explanation under the pretense that Rafiki's sense of smell is very powerful because he is a shaman and a baboon and their sense of smell is stronger than hours. In this remake, I like the fact that Simba's hair was the evidence that he was still around. What made this part special to me was the fact that after I saw it with my cousin, she said 'I hope he washed his hands'.

Scar showing an interest in Sarabi was a surprise. This revisits the Hamlet influence by referencing Claudius and Gertrude. What I liked about this detail was that it added a layer to the Mufasa/Sarabi/Scar family dynamic. It didn't feel weird or creepy to me because this is what would naturally happen. I really loved the set up. I was expecting it to be a literal line by line when Scar yells 'Sarabi!'. Here, he invites her. I just wish it was Jeremy Irons who said 'Won't you join me?'

I give it a 1/5. No imagination, barely little if anything was added to the mythos.