Review | The Lion King film review: Disney’s photo-real remake is an unerringly faithful take on 1994 animated film

Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Seth Rogen and James Earl Jones are among the stars voicing the animal characters in Disney’s almost Shakespearean tale

The Jungle Book director Jon Favreau retains the Elton John-Tim Rice lyrics from the beloved original for this musical under African skies

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A still from The Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau and voiced by, among others, Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Earl Jones and Beyoncé. Image: Disney

Published: 1:00am, 23 Jul 2019Updated: 6:21am, 23 Jul 2019

3.5/5 stars

Disney’s relentless quest to remake its entire back catalogue continues with The Lion King, an unerringly faithful computer-generated take on the 1994 animated film. It is directed by Jon Favreau, whose impressive 2016 version of The Jungle Book bravely dropped tunes from the original cartoon version, such as The Bear Necessities, and instead took audiences back to the Rudyard Kipling stories that inspired it.

There was never any question of ditching the songs here, penned by Elton John and Tim Rice, in what is essentially a musical under African skies. Musafa (voiced by James Earl Jones, who reprises his role from the original) is the lion that rules the Pride Lands, a position envied by his scheming brother Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who thinks nothing of recruiting a dastardly pack of hyenas to orchestrate a plot to kill his sibling.

There’s something very elemental, almost Shakespearean, in the story as Musafa’s naive cub Simba, the rightful heir to the throne, is convinced by Scar that he’s responsible for his father’s death and that he must flee. Donald Glover voices the older Simba, while Beyoncé is Nala, Simba’s childhood friend, whose role is expanded here – a move seemingly inspired by the spin-off Broadway musical.

Providing the comic relief, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner do a stand-up job as warthog Pumbaa and meerkat Timon, the outsider animals that befriend Simba when he leaves the Pride Lands and teach him the “no worries” lyrics of Hakuna Matata. Other beloved songs – in particular Circle of Life and Can You Feel The Love Tonight, sung by Glover and Beyoncé – are trump cards in Favreau’s lively deck.