Disney and Jon Favreau Joining Forces on “The Lion King”

Jedijax719

Well-Known Member
Saw the movie today and enjoyed the heck out of it. Sure, there were glitches and a couple of things missing (that may have looked really odd with what they were trying to achieve). But the lip movements were not bad in context and while the emotions were somewhat off, it worked, again, in context.

$23 million in previews and based on comparable films it will very likely reach $200 million for the opening weekend.
 

Darkprime

Well-Known Member
Very happy to hear 200M opening weekend is back on the table. Was certain the mixed to negative reviews hurt the film. A little early to say but I think we have another Aladdin on our hands expect this films to have great legs.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
Very happy to hear 200M opening weekend is back on the table. Was certain the mixed to negative reviews hurt the film. A little early to say but I think we have another Aladdin on our hands expect this films to have great legs.

General audience reviews on rt climbing again. TLK will have great holds.
 

Fox&Hound

Well-Known Member
Just saw it....Hmmm.....My wife and I liked it, but it just didn't wow us. That is to say- the visuals are AMAZING. I mean, it really needs to be recognized at the Oscars for its technical achievements, but my biggest problem- it is shot for shot, almost line by line, the same as the original. They made very little changes and took very little risk. Now, I can appreciate that they did not change the whole thing and ruin a classic (cough...Maleficent...) but there were so many times when I found myself....bored, and kinda wishing I was watching the original. The Broadway Lion King show took a classic and allowed it to soar in new ways. This was a just a redo of a movie that never needed to be redone.

Wish I could have walked away with more positive thoughts. I much preferred Aladdin and the changes they made to enhance that story.
 

Mike S

Well-Known Member
we just came from watching it & i’ll admit i liked it. thought it was a lot better than aladdin. only thing i didn’t like was the “be prepared” segment was very short. otherwise, it was fun.
I don’t know what it is with Disney and either ruining the villains, their songs, or even both in these remakes. Shere Khan was the only all out improvement. Outside of Be Prepared’s outright neutering Scar was fine though at least. Much more than we can say about Jafar.
Just saw it....Hmmm.....My wife and I liked it, but it just didn't wow us. That is to say- the visuals are AMAZING. I mean, it really needs to be recognized at the Oscars for its technical achievements, but my biggest problem- it is shot for shot, almost line by line, the same as the original. They made very little changes and took very little risk. Now, I can appreciate that they did not change the whole thing and ruin a classic (cough...Maleficent...) but there were so many times when I found myself....bored, and kinda wishing I was watching the original. The Broadway Lion King show took a classic and allowed it to soar in new ways. This was a just a redo of a movie that never needed to be redone.

Wish I could have walked away with more positive thoughts. I much preferred Aladdin and the changes they made to enhance that story.
I agree with somethings but this was not worse than Aladdin. That movie gave me an even stronger feeling of just wanting to watch the original.
 

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
If there's one sure formula in entertainment, it's "the same, only different". That formula seems to be working for this version of The Lion King. Plus, nostalgia is a heck of a drug. Not to mention that Beyoncé is apparently the Emma Watson of this film, (people getting excited because of star power) although, from what I'm hearing, she sings only slightly better... :p

Still a hard pass from me, however.
 

Mike S

Well-Known Member
Pretty good remake. The only role that didn’t feel like it lived up was Donald Glover as adult Simba. Everyone else was either as good or improved in certain ways. Rafiki was good in what he was given but I feel he was shortchanged most of his best scenes from the cartoon. The new actor would’ve done them great. Actually seeing Nala go out for help was a plus. Zazu, Timon, and Pumbaa were all great even if Zazu lost some scenes as well. Mufasa is still Mufasa but time hasn’t been kind to James Earl Jones. Sometimes it felt like he was just going through the motions and didn’t have the same power in his voice. Also no ghost in the sky and the impact of his death was lessened due to the lack of emotion. Scar was great aside from Be Prepared’s neutering. The added plot for him made him more menacing. All the kids were great too.

Overall The Jungle Book is still the best of the remakes I’ve seen.
 

Tony Perkis

Well-Known Member
My review:

391608
 

HoldenC

Well-Known Member
Also no ghost in the sky and the impact of his death was lessened due to the lack of emotion
I was particularly taken aback at how emotionless the scene were Simba and Mufasa "meet" again was. In the original, you can feel the anguish in Simba's voice and the disappointment in Mufasa's voice. Here nothing. It felt rushed and I let out an audible, by accident, "what the heck" when the scene ended. His death was equally cringey, but no one can ever top Jeremy Irons iconic voice acting; especially in that scene.
 

Jedijax719

Well-Known Member
The ONE thing in this movie that was very disappointing to me was that they didn't have a cloud form Mufasa's face. I was puzzled by that. That whole seen was pointless as a result. I could accept the muted "Be Prepared" and I thought the emotions were good enough, but the fact that they didn't or even couldn't create something that resembled Mufasa's face was disappointing.

I recall with the first teaser in November that the last scene looked to be starting to form Mufasa's face when Simba roared. I just figured that it was the start of the formation and they were holding back. But it seems they didn't even show that. Oh well, one scene not that big a deal.
 

Mike S

Well-Known Member
I was particularly taken aback at how emotionless the scene were Simba and Mufasa "meet" again was. In the original, you can feel the anguish in Simba's voice and the disappointment in Mufasa's voice. Here nothing. It felt rushed and I let out an audible, by accident, "what the heck" when the scene ended. His death was equally cringey, but no one can ever top Jeremy Irons iconic voice acting; especially in that scene.
The biggest thing missing was “you said you’d always be there for me!!! But you’re not...” before Rafiki showed up.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
Biggest July opening ever.

Surpassed BatB OW for new #1 Disney live action remake debut.

'A' CinemaScore

90 RT score with audiences.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
Disney seems to be figuring out the formula for live action remakes as they release them. They do seem to be improving. So much potential there. I know it is Twitter hip to criticize remakes but that is misguided IMO.
 

Tony Perkis

Well-Known Member
Disney seems to be figuring out the formula for live action remakes as they release them. They do seem to be improving. So much potential there. I know it is Twitter hip to criticize remakes but that is misguided IMO.
Do you actually ever judge films on their own merits, or just cheerlead their success?
 

seascape

Well-Known Member
Do you actually ever judge films on their own merits, or just cheerlead their success?
The technology Disney is developing for CGI keeps better and better. You could almost forget there was only one scene in the entire movie that was a live shot. So cheerleading for Disney's success is a good thing. Technology will allow individuals in the future to make movies at a much lower cost and with streaming services like YouTube allow greater distribution. The future is open to all who dream and take chances.

Getting back to Disney and their worldwide box office, they are setting a record that will make it very hard to top. Investors better realize that no studio can stay on top forever and even if they stay of top, 11 to 12 billion dollars from 10 movies will not happen often. 2019 is something to be proud of but will not be repeated in 2020. Fortunately their Fix slate has not done well this year and should do better in 2020.
 

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