By Joseph Naguski
Here shown is a young Simba being held up by Rafiki in one of the most iconic shots from both the remake and original films
In an era of what seems like an endless barrage of “real life” remakes to Disney’s classic animated films, this past summer’s main attraction was The Lion King. It is filled with a star-studded cast including Beyoncé (Nala), Donald Glover (Simba), and Seth Rogen (Pumbaa) among others. Along with this superstar cast is the return of the iconic voice actor for Mufasa, James Earl Jones. This is an unquestionably strong lineup that helped gain traction to this film (as if it really needed any more). Other than a change in some voice actors, the reason to view this film is its deviation from the original hand drawn animation to use of CGI to bring the animated characters from the classic to life.
The main reason to view this film is Disney’s integration of hyper-realistic CGI to one of its most popular narratives. Every shot in the film except for the very first shot is the product of a computer’s creation. The filmmakers used Virtual Reality headsets to let themselves experience the world which the film would take place in. Along with this, artificial intelligence was incorporated into the virtual characters so that they would be taught to perform realistic actions. “For example, the filmmakers could create a 3D model of a lion, and then teach the AI so that the lion can act hungry, or cold, or as if it’s looking for food: “We start telling the computer things like that and then it starts to associate behaviors with motivations and intents.” (Ha) This use of technology brings an extraordinary innovation of realism to the world of animation.
Donald Glover is the voice actor for Adult Simba, shown here facing his character
warning: the section below contains spoilers
Besides the obvious change in the medium which it is portrayed in, The Lion King brings some other new elements to the table. Most popularly noted is a new track “Spirit” sung by Beyoncé playing while Simba and Nala journey back to pride rock to battle Scar. As for the plot itself, a major change from the original is the fleshing out of Mufasa and Scar’s problematic past. In the original film we know of the sibling rivalry is very evident but there is nothing clearly eluded to as a reason for this feud between brothers. In the new film it is revealed through Scar that his disfigurement was the result of a battle between him and Mufasa for the throne. It is also apparent that Sarabi had chosen Mufasa over Scar as a partner, furthering the hostility between the brothers. Female empowerment and matriarchy within the film is also much more evident, with Nala’s daring escape from Scar and involvement in his dethronement. These changes for me were well thought out executions that improved the overall storyline of the classic tale. Overall these changes are effective in fleshing out the narrative and give viewers of the original Lion King some curveballs to keep them entertained while still retaining the factor of nostalgia for them.
Besides the obvious change in the medium which it is portrayed in, The Lion King brings some other new elements to the table. Most popularly noted is a new track “Spirit” sung by Beyoncé playing while Simba and Nala journey back to pride rock to battle Scar. As for the plot itself, a major change from the original is the fleshing out of Mufasa and Scar’s problematic past. In the original film we know of the sibling rivalry is very evident but there is nothing clearly eluded to as a reason for this feud between brothers. In the new film it is revealed through Scar that his disfigurement was the result of a battle between him and Mufasa for the throne. It is also apparent that Sarabi had chosen Mufasa over Scar as a partner, furthering the hostility between the brothers. Female empowerment and matriarchy within the film is also much more evident, with Nala’s daring escape from Scar and involvement in his dethronement. These changes for me were well thought out executions that improved the overall storyline of the classic tale. Overall these changes are effective in fleshing out the narrative and give viewers of the original Lion King some curveballs to keep them entertained while still retaining the factor of nostalgia for them.
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Just like the classic hand drawn film did in its heyday, the new The Lion King (2019) has become the highest grossing animated film at $1,600,490,982, beating Frozen by over $300,000. Fans of the original or those who never it will both be captivated while viewing the new version of The Lion King. Viewing the classic story from a new medium of animation certainly makes it an intriguing experience to watch. For me the realistic portrayal of the characters and the environment they find themselves in is nice to look at, but it doesn’t quite match up to the extraordinary vibrancy of the original. The colors pop much more in the original and some of the uniqueness of the characters is removed in the remake. It seems that a certain amount of imagination is lost in the photorealism, but that loss does come with some new perks. This takes the retelling of The Lion King’s tale into a new creation to be enjoyed within a medium which brings these animated characters into a new reality.
Works Cited
Ha, Anthony. “How the New 'Lion King' Came to Life .” TechCrunch , 30 July 2019, techcrunch.com/2019/07/30/lion-king-behind-the-scenes/.
Ha, Anthony. “How the New 'Lion King' Came to Life .” TechCrunch , 30 July 2019, techcrunch.com/2019/07/30/lion-king-behind-the-scenes/.
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