Every Modern Disney Live Action Remake (So Far) Ranked

9. The Lion King (2019)

The Lion King Simba
Disney

A lot of the hype surrounding this film focused on how real its CGI lions looked, but to have a far superior 2D film and Broadway Musical - both of which are juggernauts in their own fields - to compare to, it felt unnecessary in comparison. On its own, the Lion King films have nothing new to offer beyond its visuals.

Overall, the film is visually stunning and fun, with a star-studded cast that performed their voices well. It just couldn't find more charm than what it copied shot for shot from its predecessor, however, so judging it on its own merit would ignore how it does nothing different from the original, but adds just enough to pad time to make the difference between a 2D animated film and a "live action" (photorealistic) blockbuster.

It's... fine. The visuals are high quality, and indeed a masterclass in CGI realism. It unfortunately not only has to contend with comparisons to the original and the Broadway run, however; it also has to compare to Favreau's other CGI animal film - The Jungle Book - whose photorealistic animals still emoted better.

Contributor
Contributor

Writer, artist, professional animator. Indie comics and Hi Nay podcast creator. Queer Filipino storyteller || @MotzieD on Twitter || Originally from Quezon City, The Philippines. Currently based in Toronto, Canada || motziedapul.com