Hakuna matata IRL
“I’ll give everyone 100 euros if I don’t have to cry when Mufasa dies,” I posted on Instagram just before I went to watch the remake of The Lion King. It took me exactly 0,1 seconds as I was already crying during the first shot of the opening scene.
The Lion King is the 13th live-action remake from Disney, although it is an odd one out. Almost the entire film was made on computers because as the old saying goes, there are two things you don’t want on a movie set: children and animals.
The original 1994 cartoon was recreated almost scene by scene in CGI. This makes you immediately excited for what will come — The wildebeests in the valley! The Lion Sleeps Tonight! — and provokes tears with the sensitive souls from the moment the movie starts.
Sometimes this method causes conflicts. Some iconic scenes, for example, are less impressive in the new movie. Especially the scene in which Scar tells the hyenas that he will kill his brother Mufasa - although Disney probably thought pragmatically. In the original version, there’s a green light and marching hyena’s, which would have created a bizarre and tacky feeling in the remake.
The uncanny valley — the feeling that arises when technology becomes so realistic that it feels strange — is, fortunately, less present than I had previously thought. Disney takes a smart approach by not showing too many talking animals and on a large screen — I saw the movie on IMAX in the Kinepolis of Brussels — the experience is a little different than while watching a preview on your laptop. That’s why you shouldn’t watch a film that is technically so innovative at home but in the cinema.
In addition to three iconic scenes that stand out a little less in the remake, there are some moments I found a lot stronger now. For example, the final battle between Simba and Scar is a lot more intense than before. Spoiler: Simba wins.
The nature images and the scenes with Timon and Pumbaa — the real stars of the film — are maybe even better. The original can never be surpassed, but I fully follow everyone who would rate the film 3 stars. So enjoy and have no worries. Or, as Timon and Pumbaa say: hakuna matata.