The Lion King Parent Guide

It was 1994 and I went to the theater to see The Lion King for no other reason than I was pregnant and desperately wanted two hours of air conditioned comfort. As the gloriously colored Serengeti burst onto the screen and the music for The Circle of Life filled the theater, I felt chills go up my spine. Now it’s 2019 and The Lion King is back in theaters. But the Circle of Life has been replaced by the Circle of the Disney Vault: classic animated features go into the vault only to emerge several years later as live action films. Sadly, this new circle doesn’t inspire creativity or originality (but it definitely boosts corporate profits). Ah, well…hakuna matata. No point worrying about what we can’t change…

It’s not that the new Lion King is a bad movie. In fact, it’s an astounding technical achievement - a photorealistic computer animated production so stunning it will be the frontrunner for this year’s Oscar. To watch the movie is to marvel at the skill of the animators and the power of their computers. From the sweeping vistas of the African savanna to the details of the lions’ manes and fur; from the wrinkles of the elephants’ hides to the veins under Mufasa’s skin; from the jeweled wings of the tiny insects to the dust motes in the air, Disney’s animators have painstakingly perfected every little detail and have cemented the Mouse House’s position atop the field of computer animation.

The brilliance of the computer animation does have one big downside: the lions have been meticulously crafted, with accurate facial musculature, making it impossible for them to display human emotions. While animators can anthropomorphize hand-drawn lions to express feelings, a realistic lion doesn’t look envious, sad, joyful, or any of the other emotions integral to this film’s plot. The stiff looking animal faces in this movie make the human touch particularly critical and that’s where the movie’s stellar voice cast comes to the fore. John Oliver, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner bring comic brilliance to their roles as Zazu the bird, Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the farting warthog. James Earl Jones reprises his role as Mufasa with his usual gravitas. But the real star here is Chiwetel Ejiofor whose villainous Scar drips with envy, hatred, and barely contained menace. He jacks up the fear factor in a movie that will easily frighten small children with its multiple scenes of animals attacking one another with tooth and claw. Parents of sensitive children should note that there are multiple violent episodes in this movie, including one murder and one attempted murder and these scenes, although bloodless, are much more frightening in this CGI format than in the hand-drawn animated version.

The Lion King also comes with other negatives. The plot remains Hamlet-with-a-mane: a young prince is exiled when his scheming uncle murders the king and usurps the throne; the prince has to work through his own issues and fight for justice. But the 1994 film had charm and originality. This remake obviously can’t aim for originality – it’s a do over, after all. As for charm…I didn’t feel it. And I can’t precisely put my finger on the reason for its absence. Maybe it was those unexpressive animal faces. Or the warmed over plot. Perhaps I was so busy marveling at the technical marvels on the screen that I missed the charm. Somehow, I just couldn’t “feel the love tonight”. And that’s too bad.