The Lion King (2019)
★★ — The Lion King (2019)
There is a particular kind of cultural weight that comes with the Disney canon, and few titles carry it quite as heavily as The Lion King. The 1994 animated film, loosely drawing on Shakespearean themes of betrayal and succession, became one of the defining cinematic experiences of its generation. By the time its 2019 reimagining arrived, Disney had already established a well-worn template of revisiting its back catalogue with live-action or, in this case, photorealistic CGI production, following a string of similar projects throughout the 2010s. The premise remains the same: a young lion cub named Simba, heir to the Pride Lands, finds his world shattered by the treachery of his uncle Scar and must eventually confront both his past and his destiny. It is a story audiences already know by heart, which made the question hanging over this version all the more pointed before a single frame had been seen: why?
Behind the camera is Jon Favreau, a director whose career has taken him from the scrappy charm of early Marvel work, including Iron Man and Iron Man 2, through to an earlier Disney collaboration, The Jungle Book in 2016, which used comparable photorealistic CGI techniques to considerable box office and critical success. That film gave Disney and Favreau both the confidence and the commercial blueprint to attempt something far more ambitious, or at least far more expensive. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Fairview Entertainment, the 2019 film runs at 118 minutes and represented one of the most technically demanding animation projects of its era, with teams of artists building entire virtual environments from the ground up rather than filming anything in a physical location. Whether that technical achievement translates into cinema is, of course, the whole argument.
The voice cast is substantial. James Earl Jones returns to the role of Mufasa, the only principal performer carried over from the original, lending an obvious sense of continuity and gravitas. Donald Glover voices the adult Simba, Chiwetel Ejiofor takes on the role of Scar (and if you want a sense of what Ejiofor can do when given material that genuinely demands something of him, his work in Children of Men is a useful reference point), and John Oliver voices Zazu. John Kani, a South African theatre and screen veteran, voices the mandrill Rafiki. The ensemble also includes Beyoncé as Nala, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa, and Alfre Woodard as Sarabi. On paper it is a polished but unremarkable assembly of recognisable names, the sort of casting that generates press releases rather than creative sparks.
This isn’t a remake, it’s a near-shot-for-shot digital replica of the 1994 classic, rendered in hyper-realistic CGI that’s technically impressive but emotionally dead. Every blade of grass, every ripple in the water, every animal’s fur is rendered with jaw-dropping detail. And yet, for all its visual polish, the film feels utterly soulless. The magic of animation (the expressiveness, the exaggeration, the heart) has been replaced by a slick, lifeless photorealism that drains the life out of everything. The story is unchanged, the script almost identical, the songs still the same beloved tracks. But without the hand-drawn emotion, the musical numbers fall flat. “Circle of Life” lacks awe. “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” has no bounce. “Hakuna Matata” feels like a chore. The animals don’t emote like characters, they look like animals, which sounds right but kills the storytelling. How do you convey Simba’s guilt, Scar’s venom, or Timon and Pumba’s goofiness when faces can’t smile or frown the way they need to? The voice cast (Donald Glover, Beyoncé, James Earl Jones returning) do what they can, but they’re working against a wall of uncanny visuals and a complete lack of spontaneity. There’s no joy, no warmth, no risk. It’s all so safe, so calculated, so empty. It doesn’t add anything new, doesn’t reinterpret, doesn’t even try to be different. It exists because it can, not because it should. It’s not offensive. It’s not badly made. But it’s a hollow echo of a masterpiece, a technical exercise with no heart. The original was about life, legacy, and feeling. This one is just pixels. Soulless. Unnecessary. A 2-hour-and-a-half screensaver with a soundtrack.
What stays with me, if I'm being honest, is how little I felt watching it. I kept waiting for a moment to grab me, some flash of genuine feeling, and it never came. The whole thing plays like a very expensive proof of concept rather than a film anyone was burning to make. I've sat through remakes that changed too much and remakes that added nothing, but this one managed the rare trick of feeling both over-engineered and completely pointless at the same time. If you want The Lion King, just watch The Lion King. The pixels will keep.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 2019 | Watched: 2025-07-31
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for The Lion King (2019) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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More from Jon Favreau: The Jungle Book (2016) · Iron Man 2 (2010) · Iron Man (2008)
More with Chiwetel Ejiofor: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) · Children of Men (2006)
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