The Lion King
3 stars
Director: Jon Favreau
Voices of: Donald Glover, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Oliver, Alfre Woodard 
Duration: 118 mins
Class: PG
KRS Releasing Ltd

In June 1994, Disney’s animated musical film The Lion King was released to great critical and commercial acclaim. It was the latest in a series of hugely successful blockbusters in the period known as the ‘Disney Renaissance’  when the studio reclaimed its dominance over the world of animation.

It was a film that captured audiences’ hearts and imagination, and went on to spawn several direct-to-video sequels and spin-offs and a hugely successful Broadway adaptation which is still going strong. Now, just over 25 years since its original release, it is the latest feature from the studio in this period known as the Disney Live Action Remake era.

Everyone knows the story. It starts with the iconic image of Rafiki (voiced by John Kani), a wise mandrill, holding up lion cub Simba (JD McCrary) for all the animals of Pride Rock to see, as they celebrate the arrival of the future king watched by his parents Mufasa (voiced as with the 1994 version, by the unmatched mellifluous tones of James Earl Jones) and Sarabi (the regal Alfre Woodard).

Yet not everyone in the kingdom celebrates Simba’s arrival. Scar, Mufasa’s jealous brother (Chiwetel Ejiofor – dark and menacing), lurks in the shadows and plots successfully to remove Mufasa for good and send the young immature cub into exile. Growing up away from the pride in the carefree company of new friends Pumbaa and Timon (Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner), there comes the time when Simba (now voiced by Danny Glover) will have to return home, face his past and look to the future.

It’s as beautiful as the best National Geographic documentaries

There is no doubt that this is a visually stunning movie, the photo-realism absolutely startling in its accuracy. It’s as beautiful as the best National Geographic documentaries in its depiction of the African Savanna and the menagerie of animals, birds and diverse landscapes that inhabit it. It is a colourful hybrid of awe-inspiring sunrises, lush greens and warm yellows, contrasted with the stark granite greys of the infamous Elephant’s Graveyard where the young Simba gets his first taste of adventure – and danger.

The animals, from the regal majesty of Mufasa via the antelopes, zebras, warthogs, meercats and down to the myriad creepy-crawly slugs and beetles that appear are so real you feel you want to touch them (not necessarily the creepy-crawlies). It’s such a feast for the eyes that that alone is almost worth the ticket price. The only flaw in the otherwise excellent visuals comes at a crucial moment in the story – the buffalo stampede – while impressive to look at, is curiously flat and devoid of the drama it deserves.

The Hamlet-esque story at its heart remains intact – children carrying the real or perceived burden of not living up to their parents’ expectations, finding their place in the world, growing up and taking on their responsibilities. While all this remains present in the script by Jeff Nathanson, the heart of it lags behind, and this rendition is never as moving, as funny or as exciting as its 2D predecessor or even the stage version, whose elaborate costumes and intricate puppets were integral in telling the story.

Here, director Jon Favreau gives the story much less attention to detail and nuance than he gives the visuals, and so allows little time for the viewer to engage on a visceral level.

This is odd since the similarly CG-created remake of The Jungle Book (2016), also directed by Favreau, was made with such joie de vivre that it effortless allowed you to suspend disbelief and go along with the notion of real, talking animals. Here, the picture-perfect realism somehow jars... adding an unwelcome veil of artificiality, even more so when the animals suddenly burst into song.

The familiarity of the musical numbers, written by Elton John and Tim Rice, is comforting but none of the numbers ever really soar – not even the now-classic Hakuna Matata got me tapping my toes. The new ones, including Spirit written with John and Rice by Beyoncé, who of course performs it, didn’t quite do it for me.

Also showing

The Dead Don’t Die: The peaceful town of Centerville finds itself battling a zombie horde as the dead start rising from their graves. The film, directed by Jim Jarmusch, stars Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Tom Wait.