YMMV / The Lion King (2019)

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Was Scar's Villainous Crush on Sarabi and the fact that she was his predecessor's queen the only reasons that he wanted her for his? It is possible that the fact she had produced offspring could have been an additional factor that would have motivated him to want Sarabi for his mate.
  • While Scar does not put in any effort to pretend to like Simba when his nephew is a cub, he does not interact with any cubs and raises the question if he were an example of an animal who would show no interest in interaction with offspring that are not his own. It might be undermined by the fact that he has no offspring, but the question still stands.
• Angst? What Angst?: Whereas in the original, Sarabi was openly weeping at the loss of her husband and son in one fell swoop, this Sarabi is not shown reacting when Scar announces their deaths. Heck, even the other lionesses don’t convey much sadness here when they are told of their demise, even though they were just as sad as Sarabi in the original.
• Animation Age Ghetto: Despite the film being animated, albeit photorealisticaly, Disney refuses to call it an animated film and repeatedly markets it as if it were live-action, to the point where they submitted it as a live-action film at the Oscars (it did land a nomination for Best Visual Effects... though most awards competitions put it in the animated category instead). Many viewers questioned if this was because Disney did not believe that audiences take the film as seriously if it's seen as a "cartoon" instead of a "real" film, despite the original being exactly that. This is even more egregious when you remember Disney was founded on the ambition of taking animation to a new cinematic level, which the film is also doing with the photorealism technically.
• Award Snub: At least for the Beyhive, who didn't take well that the Academy Awards passed over "Spirit" for Best Original Song.
• Awesome Music: Enough for its own page.
• Base-Breaking Character: Of all the things that has divided the audience with this remake, the new versions of the characters and their actors' performances are most frequently debated.
  • Some found Beyoncé as Nala to be passable if nothing special, while others found her performance was a case of Dull Surprise and made the character impossible to take seriously.
  • Depending on who you ask, Donald Glover either did a decent job as Simba, effectively playing the character as laidback yet insecure (while being less stilted and vocally dissonant compared to Matthew Broderick's portrayal), or his performance was flat and wooden and the character of Simba as a whole was a waste of Glover's talent.
  • While the announcement that James Earl Jones would reprise the role of Mufasa was almost unanimously well-received, his actual performance in this film has proved controversial. Some appreciated the nostalgia of hearing his iconic voice once again, while others found his performance to be phoned-in and tired ^note Though the blame for this has not been placed on Jones himself, as his voice has aged considerably since the original film (he was 64 when the original came out and 89 years old at the time of the remake, meaning that his very old age made his voice not as powerful as it was 25 years earlier) and the difference is very obvious due to most of his dialogue being word-for-word the same. Some also found his reprisal to be too distracting and out of place with the new cast and would have preferred it if a different actor were cast instead.
  • Chiwetel Ejiofor's portrayal of Scar, and the film's overall reinvention of the character, is by far the most controversial. Some enjoyed the film's more twisted and impulsive take, while others missed the wittier and more sarcastic smooth operator from the original film. Many also found it hypocritical that James Earl Jones was brought back to play Mufasa, but Jeremy Irons was not brought back to reprise his equally iconic performance as Scar ^note According to Irons himself, he was not even contacted with the offer and would have accepted if he was.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • While the original had Timon and Pumbaa singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", it was brief and led to reintroducing the grown-up Nala and her reuniting with Simba. Here, it is made into a full-on musical sequence, Timon and Pumbaa's various other animal friends slowly joining in before Nala jumps out to attack them out of nowhere.
  • Before the climax, there's a scene where Rafiki is shown going to his tree and taking out his iconic walking stick from the original film, even referring to it as his "old friend". The stick has never been seen or mentioned at any point in the film before this, and all of the meaningful scenes from the original where Rafiki used it - most notably, hitting Simba with the stick to show how "the past can hurt" - have been omitted completely, making this oddly dramatic moment feel completely random to anyone watching the remake without seeing the original.
• Catharsis Factor: Just as in the original film, seeing Scar get ripped apart by the hyenas he threw under the bus is incredibly satisfying after all the crimes he committed, and this time he screams in pain to boot.
• Complete Monster: Scar is a wrathful and bitter lion driven by an insatiable desire for power. Envious of his brother Mufasa's position as king, Scar attempts to have Mufasa's son Simba—Scar's own nephew—killed by tricking him into entering the domain of the vicious hyena clan. When this fails, Scar allies with the hyenas and orchestrates a wildebeest stampede, killing Mufasa and blaming Simba for the tragedy, exiling him before sending the hyenas to finish him off. Taking over as king, Scar reduces the Pridelands to a barren wasteland by killing everything with no restrictions in addition to starving the lionesses when Sarabi, Mufasa's widow, refuses to become his mate. When Simba returns, Scar attempts to kill him personally, stopping only to tauntingly reveal his role in Mufasa's death. When his crimes are exposed, Scar orders the hyenas to kill everyone in sight, and when Simba has him at his mercy, attempts to blame them for his crimes.
• Critical Dissonance: As with Aladdin (2019), the film has earned a rotten score from critics at Rotten Tomatoes but earned better reviews from many audiences and fans alike. Specifically, it has a 52% on the critic's score and an 89% from audiences who were confirmed to have purchased a ticket. Since then, however, most critics and casual audience members alike seem to think negatively of the movie.
• Critical Backlash: While reception has been mostly mixed and many agree that it is inferior to the original, some of the hyperbole around the film, such as its existence being seen as signs that Disney is becoming lazy and less creative, have resulted in this to some fans.
• Critic-Proof: Despite repeated bashing from critics and general animation fans, the film still managed to become the highest grossing animated movie of all time, bringing in $1.65 billion worldwide and beating Frozen's previously held record by more than $350 million. Though many guessed from the start that, despite criticism, it would likely turn a profit since this is Disney after all and a remake of a beloved and hugely successful classic.
• Dancing Bear: Many reviews accuse it of being more of a tech demo than a movie, going out of its way to maintain the illusion that these are real animals in real settings with them never doing anything that the animals wouldn't be capable of besides talking. They also hope that now that the animation technology has been given this test run using an already popular story, it can be put to better use going forward such as Prehistoric Planet.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Shenzi has a smaller part than in the original film, but she makes up for it by being an Adaptational Badass who is treated as a serious threat, has a menacing redesign for the medium of photorealistic animation, and has a genuinely sinister performance from Florence Kasumba.
• Fandom Rivalry:
  • One has popped up with The Jungle Book (2016), which makes sense since they are both Disney movies featuring talking animals that share the same director. The Lion King is rather unfavorably compared to it, due to the former being considered the best of the Disney Remakes, since the original Jungle Book is an in-name only adaptation, while The Lion King is, for the most part, its own story, which still holds up to this day, so the idea of remaking it makes no sense for many. The facial animation is also compared, with some arguing that the animals in The Jungle Book look livelier in comparison, despite the movie coming out three years earlier.
  • Another has popped up with the Frozen fandom, due to this movie dethroning it as the highest grossing animated movie. Even people who didn't like Frozen support their reaction, since they hate the Disney remakes more. Others point out that Frozen still is the highest grossing animated movie, due to the Flip-Flop of God on whether the remake counts as animated. And then Disney themselves announced out of nowhere that Frozen II is the highest grossing animated film ever, ignoring this one.
  • Naturally, since it's a remake of one of the most beloved animated movies of all time, there's a Broken Base between fans of the original and the remake. Plenty of diehard fans of the original have shown hostility against the very idea of a photorealistic remake, thinking that refusing to let the characters emote kills any attempt at drama and argue that even beyond that, the characters and plot are said to feel like cheap imitations, rather than being new interpretations. And while most of the debate is one-sided, since many fans of the remake only watched it for nostalgia's sake, there is a minority who argue that the remake is superior to the original, since "photorealism is better than traditional animation since any work being animated immediately makes it childish".
• Fanfic Fuel:
  • The film presents the hyenas as far more than just Scar's lackeys, being their own separate society who he approaches for help. And at the film's end many of them, including their leader Shenzi, are still alive and Simba will need to continue maintaining the uneasy truce with them as king.
  • The fic gives another origin for Scar's scar: he got into a fight with Mufasa. This fight isn't explained and thus is fanfic fuel.
  • Scar is attracted to his brother's mate. A Sibling Triangle between Sarabi, Mufasa, and Scar isn't a new idea in the fandom, but the film adds fuel to it.
  • Simba and Nala aren't the only cubs in the pride. Who these new cubs are and whether they're the same as extended media cubs (Tama, Chumvi, etc) creates a lot of fanfic fuel.
• He Really Can Act: While the voice acting in general is very divisive, outside of possibly Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner, some critics singled out JD McCrary for praise, which is surprising given he's more of a singer than an actor and it's his first feature film. Many even felt sorry for McCrary rather than Simba during the scene where Simba finds Mufasa's dead body, as they felt he gave a heart wrenching performance during that scene that didn't go well with the expressionless animation style.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Scar, who wants to be rid of his benevolent king brother and nephew to become (a tyrant) king, setting up a trap to kill Mufasa amidst protecting Simba, and will fight anyone who goes against him. In Maleficent: Mistress of Evil released later in the year, Ejiofor plays Conall, a fellow Dark Fey and kind leader who explains to Maleficent the history of their kind and advocates for peace between the Fey and the humans, believing she is the one who can make it a reality. And just like Mufasa, he also dies protecting her in a trap set for the Dark Fey, with his final words to her being "Remember who you are."
  • This wouldn't be the last time Seth Rogen got to voice a famous warthog, since he would voice Bebop in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem around four years later.
• Ho Yay:
  • Pumbaa and Timon are even more Like an Old Married Couple than before, also aided by Billy Eichner’s performance occasionally slipping into a Paul Lynde impression.
  • Azizi really wants to be as close as possible to Kamari for no explained reason.
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: The biggest criticism of the film is that it's almost a shot-for-shot remake, with people comparing it to Gus Van Sant's Psycho, even moreso than Beauty and the Beast (2017) , bringing little new to the table apart from the more realistic visuals.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: Several scenes get chopped down to only follow the basic beats of the original but lose a lot of what made them stand out in the first place for many viewers.
  • Rafiki's introduction when he plays with Simba a little while baptizing him for the presentation is cut down to simply giving him a warm look and proceeding with preparing him, making the whole thing come off as Rafiki just going through the motions instead of doing something for his dear friend Mufasa (although he does give Mufasa an affectionate touch to the face beforehand).
  • Due to "Be Prepared" being changed to a mostly speak-singing political speech, the singing parts are reduced to mostly the final verse, resulting in a noticeably condensed version of the sequence.
  • Nala's reunion with Simba in the oasis particularly comes under fire for this. In the original, a whole dialogue scene took place before "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" in which the story significantly progressed; Nala discovered Simba's survival, Simba discovered Scar lied about the events at the gorge, and Timon and Pumbaa learn that their friend isn't who he says he is and something much bigger is going on than they thought. Then Simba and Nala have a moment that blossoms into attraction and their song. In the remake, after a joyous initial reunion, Nala drops all pretenses and demands Simba return since Scar and the hyenas have taken over. Simba doesn't even really react to the hostile takeover, and quickly starts flirting with Nala and leads her off to have their song, and Nala apparently forgets everything until later. The scene goes by at a fourth of what the original went by, robbing character development and causing confusion as to why Simba didn't take things seriously (whereas in the original, mention of the hyena invasion was enough for Simba to realize something did have to be done).
  • Rafiki's interactions with Simba are significantly cut down, primarily their conversation that is ripped mostly line for line from the original, yet the stick scene is removed due to Favreau not wanting Rafiki to wield a staff besides the climax. This affects the score, since clearly Zimmer wanted to still incorporate the "La La" refrain (heard in the original when Simba chases after Rafiki after the latter says "bye"), as well as the hectic jungle chase theme, as both end up being shoved together for the remake's version of the jungle chase.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Some memes have gone around joking that they don't want a remake because they don't want to have to go through the dramatic moments and Tear Jerkers of the original film all over again.
  • Beyoncé's casting as Nala led to many memes revolving around her (particularly the “Beyoncé?!?” meme).
  • The fact that Animals Lack Attributes is in full play has drawn a fair share of jokes from the fandom.
  • The film — despite being one of Disney's most high-profile projects in years — getting such a middling critical reception resulted in some fans bringing up the old accusations of Disney bribing critics, saying they must have forgotten to send out the checks this time.
  • Considering how bafflingly restrained Eric Andre is during most of the press surrounding the movie, fans joked about how Eric is constantly being watched by Disney assassins to be on his best behavior in the lead-up to the film.
  • This fan comic isn't the only time fans have had Azizi quote some of Eric Andre's best bits.
  • John Oliver has said that "Invisible Beyonce" has become something of a running in-joke amongst the cast, due to her being absent for a cast photo, but photoshopped in later.
  • For a song called "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", the song clearly takes place in daylight, leading to many joking that it should be called "Can You Feel the Love This Afternoon", or joking about the African midnight sun, that someone forgot to turn off.
  • "It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we proudly present...your dinner!" ^Explanation To try to lure the hyenas into going for Pumbaa, Timon sings "Be Our Guest". Many fans said that this was the funniest part of the movie.
  • YourMovieSucks.org has made a meme out of the way Mufasa says the word "Yes" in one scene, and Scar sounding like he says "Beep repair" (even trimming it to just "BEEP") in "Be Prepared".
  • "Taxidermy Lion King" for the rather taxidermied look that people felt the CGI was.
• Moral Event Horizon: Like the original film, Scar crossed it when he punched Mufasa in the face and knocked him off the cliff to his death.
• Most Wonderful Sound: In the teaser trailer, hearing James Earl Jones once again voicing Mufasa and Lebo M's iconic opening chant from "Circle of Life" can bring a tear to one's eye.
• Narm:
  • James Earl Jones was approaching ninety years old when the film was in production, and it becomes clear that his voice has aged since the original film twenty-five years ago. Sad as it is, Jones is widely agreed to not have the same power behind his voice that he used to have, and while he can do the "voice from beyond" such as Mufasa's appearance in the clouds fine, his more demanding lines leave something to be desired. His scolding of Simba in particular goes from furious to gently agitated, his pleas for Scar to help him in the gorge sound much less desperate, and some audio from the original film is reused for "If you ever come near my son again" and "I'm coming Simba, hold on". Some viewers have also suggested that some of his other lines (such as "Sarabi and I didn't see you..." and "Don't turn your back on me, Scar!") were reused alternate takes from the original, since none of Jones's other lines sound anything like that.
  • The sequence where Rafiki finds out Simba is alive. In the original, he comes across some pollen carrying Simba's scent; here, he finds a piece of his mane... after an Overly Long Gag of the mane floating down a river, being carried by a bird, eaten by a giraffe, ending up in said giraffe's dung, the dung being rolled across the desert by a dung beetle, and finally being carried by some ants that happen to pass by Rafiki's tree.
  • While Beyonce's musical contributions to the film have been praised, her actual performance as Nala has not been so warmly received. Many feel her delivery is stilted and lifeless, making Nala's more serious moments feel boring and almost comical as a result. There are also those who find her singing in "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (which comes complete with randomly modulating/wavering certain notes instead of just holding the note or singing the line like a normal person) to come across less like an expression of true love and more like a singer mugging for an Oscar (as is equally the case in "Spirit," except that song doesn't have dozens of previously-recorded performances by other singers to which it can be compared).
  • As much as the visuals try to give the acting that extra push it needs, they often do not work together, as only three or four of the film's myriad animals seem like they get actual emotive faces. This often leads to situations where characters just stare at something/someone and have no reaction, like how Simba looks unfazed at being in a dangerous situation.
  • The iconic "Long live the King" moment is often ridiculed, due to Chiwetel Ejiofor's awkward reading of the line, and then slapping Mufasa in the face instead of throwing him. It doesn't help that the original scene is one of the most dramatic moments of not only the movie, but of Disney animation overall, which was hard to live up to. James Earl Jones' "Scar... help me!" and falling scream as Mufasa also sound awkward and stilted compared to the raw terror he expressed in the original. It also doesn't help that when Scar slaps Mufasa, the sound effect used is like a video game boom sound effect and not remotely natural or believable. The most ridiculed part, however, is Simba's pathetic, high-pitched, and weak Big "NO!" afterwards.
  • The opening of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" comes completely out of nowhere, feeling like there should have been at least a couple extra seconds to build that it's time for another song. Also, Pumbaa's brief and funny interjections from the original are expanded to pure Don't Explain the Joke territory. Furthermore, the scene takes place in broad daylight, which clashes heavily with the song's chorus and the line "the sweet caress of twilight".
  • The adherence to realism results in many shots where a character who isn't speaking has their mouth open like a real animal. The problem is that these are supposed to be sentient characters with human personalities, so it looks like Mufasa, the wise king, is walking with his mouth hanging ajar; or Scar loses his menace for many while stalking towards the camera since his mouth is agape.

• Narm Charm:
  • Others find the floating mane sequence to be epic, and one of the more original flourishes in an otherwise shot-for-shot remake. It could be favorably compared to the "The Egg Travels" sequence from Dinosaur, Disney's first stab at photo-realistic animation. It also very much connects to the "circle of life" theme showing how the animals' interconnected lives make it possible, without overly spelling it out.
  • Scar slapped Mufasa instead of throwing him off the cliff edge because in this continuity, it's implied Mufasa gave him his scar, so he wanted to claw Mufasa in the face one last time to give him a scar in return, which is incredibly petty because Mufasa was about to die anyway. Having an in-character reason for the slap made it a little more tolerable for some, although the scene still falls under Narm for many.
• Nightmare Retardant: Mufasa's death scene is, for the most part, done faithfully. However, instead of just tossing him into the ravine, Scar sends him to his demise by slapping him in the face. And while Mufasa's yell as he falls in the original is physically and emotionally agonizing, his yell in this version sounds almost bored in comparison.
• Older Than They Think:
  • Most associate "He Lives in You" (which plays over the credits in Xhosa) with the sequel when the song was originally featured on "Rhythm of the Pride Lands", which features music unused in the original film and was later re-purposed for the musical.
  • Some reviewers have noted how awkward it is that the "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" scene takes place at day in this version. However, this isn't the first time this has happened with a song in a Lion King work. In The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar, the hyenas sing "Tonight We Strike," which is about how they're going to sneak into the Pridelands and attack at night, only for them to attack during the day. This is because the script originally called for them to attack at night, but it was changed, and the song was left unchanged.
• Padding: The 88 minutes of the original are stretched to two hours. While there are a few plot additions (many of whom are generally well-received), it's often accomplished by long pans of the painstakingly rendered scenery and making scenes longer than they were originally - along with the above mentioned mane sequence, which even cuts to black before the dung beetle, the mouse in Scar's introductory scene is seen wandering through the Pride Lands before entering the lion's den.
• Questionable Casting:
  • JD McCrary as young Simba. While he's a young and talented singer, he doesn't have the acting experience to really fit well as Simba for many viewers, as he isn't able to really emote naturally, likely due to inexperience. Some scenes (the scene where he cries over Mufasa notwithstanding) that he has to really try to emote or yell sound very off or restrained, especially compared to the original voice of young Simba, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who was around the same age as JD (if slightly older). Quite a few people felt his casting was done because he was a well-liked child talent, instead of for his acting talent.
  • Seth Rogen's casting as Pumbaa raised some eyebrows, as Rogen generally plays more sarcastic, snarky characters as opposed to the sweeter-natured Pumbaa. Particularly after an interview where Rogen revealed that he couldn't sing, and Disney had to bring in Pharrell as a vocal coach. By the time of the film's release, however, many critics who otherwise disliked the film had praise for Rogen's performance (except for his singing skills, which Rogen has candidly admitted are nonexistent).
  • The casting of Eric Andre has raised a few eyebrows given his unique brand of comedy shown on The Eric Andre Show, with some going so far as to wonder how the hell he was even considered by the scrupulously squeaky-clean Disney for one of their most iconic films.
  • Casting Beyoncé Knowles as adult Nala, who has been for a long while criticized for her acting and now voice acting, especially post-movie release, due to her line reading. While general consensus says that she was an amazing choice for the soundtrack, her voice work as the character is often seen as a point of contention, especially when it seems she was only brought on for her name rather than her acting abilities.
  • The casting of John Oliver. While John Oliver is a comedic person, he isn't really an actor the same way Rowan Atkinson is, which makes his performance as Zazu sound a bit awkward in comparison. Ignoring even that, some wondered why Trevor Noah, who has Oliver's exact job of parody-news anchor and is South African and would therefore fit in better with the mostly black cast of the film, was not picked. Noah himself jokingly questioned the decision when the cast list was first released.
  • James Earl Jones reprising the role of Mufasa. While it was nice to have at least one of the original actors back, Jones was in his late eighties during recording. And while he undoubtedly did the best he could at his age, his voice was very worn and shaky and he couldn't emote like he used to, which led to some of Mufasa's more demanding lines utilizing alternate takes from the original film (most noticeably "If you ever come near my son again..." and "I'm coming, Simba! Hold on!") likely because Jones couldn't say them powerfully enough anymore. Since Mufasa's dialogue is almost word-for-word as it was in the original, many are wondering why they didn't use only stock audio of Jones from the first film in the remake, or even recast the part altogether.
  • In the Norwegian dub, Håvard Bakke, who had voiced adult Simba in the 1994 film, was brought back for the remake to this time voice Scar. This was not received well by the Norwegian fanbase as, even 25 years later, Bakke's voice is too familiar as Simba's and hearing it suddenly come from Scar instead is jarring, to say the least. For reference, it's basically as weird as if Matthew Broderick suddenly voiced Scar 25 years later. The voice is older, yes, but still all too recognizable.
• Signature Scene: Mufasa's death once again, though this time for the wrong reasons. Many critics of the film consider it to be the defining example of what the remake got wrong about the original as noted elsewhere on this page. Indeed, even some of the film's defenders will admit that it didn't even come close to emulating the original.
• So Okay, It's Average: Reviews cite it's a technical marvel in photo-realistic animation, and cite certain characters such as Zazu, Kamari and Azizi (Banzai and Ed in the original), and especially Timon and Pumbaa to still be a delight even with new voice actors and in CGI. But for many viewers, that's essentially all it has going for it. The story is shot for shot, word for word that of the 1994 original, and despite the extra runtime, doesn't change a lot — in some cases even shortening certain segments such as "Be Prepared" — and general consensus is, you're not missing much if you want to skip this movie aside from the different medium, making it something of a Dancing Bear.
• Special Effects Failure
  • The visuals themselves have gone under fire for their barely expressive faces and the attempt at Photorealism falling distractingly short in many shots. Even the behind the scenes animation tests are more convincing.
  • If one looks closely during Mufasa's death, you can see that his teeth are moving slightly ahead of the rest of his CG model.
• Strangled by the Red String: Already a criticism in the original, Simba and Nala’s romance comes off even more like this when they reunite as adults due to how quickly the scene speeds through.
• Superlative Dubbing: The Japanese dub of the film is considered the best version of the film, as it manages to capture the performances and nuances very well despite being a different language. The performance of Mufasa in particular is seen as very good.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Beyoncé's Black is King is a visual album/movie using music from a spin-off album she created for this movie that links the songs together with a story inspired by The Lion King, just with humans. The movie/visual album also got much better reviews from critics and audiences, to the point where some felt that that should have been the remake instead rather than this movie.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Some of the most notable changes include, but are not limited to:
  • "Be Prepared" has been given new lyrics, but is far too short compared to the original. It's also not performed with nearly as much gusto as the original and more of a spoken-word version rather than singing some of the lines, which left some viewers disappointed. Some critics described it as feeling like a reprise of a song that never actually happened.
  • The hyenas are changed from being comedic villainous sidekicks to mostly serious, dark, and more threatening figures (though Kamari and Azizi do have a running gag about Azizi invading Kamari's personal space). This didn't sit well with fans of the hyenas, claiming that it was possible to have made them more legitimately threatening while keeping their funny bantering. Many are also disappointed with how Kamari and Azizi are nowhere near as expressive and have less personality than Banzai and Ed did.
  • In the original film, when Scar kills Mufasa, he acts like he's going to save him, but sinks his claws into his paws, saying his Long live the king line and letting go, while in this version, he mostly does the same thing, but he knocks him off by slashing his face to knock him into the ravine, which feels a little overkill.
  • The "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" song and sequence takes place entirely in the middle of the day, making the scene feel very weird, since the song lyrics make several references to "night" and "twilight", and the original scene took place in the late afternoon and twilight to match this.
  • Simba goes and hears his dad's voice in the clouds like in the original version, but apart from brief flashes of lightning showing the outline of Mufasa's head, it's all you see of him, and all Simba looks at otherwise is clouds. This was apparently done for 'realism', but a lot of viewers felt it was far less visually impressive and didn't pack as much of an emotional punch as Mufasa's spirit dramatically appearing in the night sky, especially as it's one of the most iconic scenes from the original. Though some did cite appreciating the added dialogue from Mufasa at least.
  • The famous stampede scene. To quote one comment on YouTube:
    1994 — The gorge is massive enough to hold an entire city of people, like Shanghai or Lagos. There are hundreds of thousands to a couple million wildebeests stampeding through the gorge. The wildebeests are running like an unstoppable force. Scar kills Mufasa with an enjoyment from the last words he whispers.
    2019 — The gorge is about 1/5 the size of the original, there are only say 100,000 or so wildebeests, they're running like they're taking a small jog. Scar rushes his dialogue, then he bitchslaps Mufasa to his death.
  • The triumphant score played over Simba racing back to Pride Rock is replaced with the song "Spirit" in the adaptation. While "Spirit" isn't all bad, it doesn't have the same triumphant tone that the original scene did.
  • "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" loses some of its luster since it's basically Simba and Nala running around animals at the waterhole with Zazu trying to keep up compared to the original's trippy animation which had the cubs riding and jumping on animals that made it much bouncier and more fun. Again, the lack of expressions doesn't help, either, especially in the ending shot of the song, where it just looks more like a bunch of animals gathered than a chorus singing along. There's also at least one stray note that's auto tuned into the wrong key, as YourMovieSucks.org pointed out.
  • Most likewise didn't like Nala's characterization as a cub since in the original both Simba and she were similar and acted pretty much like kids while at the Elephant Graveyard which made their friendship and later relationship more believable, instead instantly getting spooked at the surrounding and trying to get Simba to turn around. It's also meant to be poignant in how they mature as they grow up. Nala having moved past those days and trying to be the initial link to get Simba to come back home while Simba is still trying to run from his responsibility over being, what he thinks, was the cause of his father's death. This movie also doing a rather sloppy job of showcasing the buildup to that as Nala instantly tries to get Simba to come home rather than be joyful at seeing him alive, the two catching up via "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and then dropping the news of what's happening at home as what happened in the original.
  • The relationship between Simba and Scar has changed, and most agree it's for the worse. In the original film, Simba clearly loved his uncle and enjoyed playing around with him, which made Scar's betrayal sting even more because we saw that Simba was not only betrayed by family, but by someone he clearly looked up to. Likewise, while Scar's "affection" for his nephew was insincere and condescending, it still added a playful charm to his character while also making him even more vile since he actively used this relationship to manipulate and take advantage of Simba. In the remake, this dynamic is removed in favour of Simba openly making fun of his uncle's lower ranking while Scar doesn't even try to mask his contempt for his nephew, which makes it much harder to believe that Simba would ever trust Scar and makes the eventual betrayal lose all of its impact.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Shenzi being an Adaptational Badass and the hyenas' leader starts out quite intriguing, but ultimately little is done with it beyond giving Nala a Designated Girl Fight which doesn't even get a real conclusion.
  • Kamari and Azizi, though mostly for who voices them rather than their potential as actual characters. In addition to fans of the original's complaints about the hyenas being Darker and Edgier, some fans of Keegan-Michael Key and Eric André have complained that the movie doesn't give them much to do, thereby wasting their comedic talents. It doesn't help that, aside from a running gag where Azizi constantly keeps getting too close to Kamari, the two are hardly in the movie and don't get much to do except act as Scar and Shenzi's lackeys.
  • Adult Simba is this, oddly enough. Because many of the plot heavy scenes in the third act have been shortened (the argument scene and Mufasa's Ghost come to mind), it feels like the movie barely gives the audience a chance to know its own main character and Simba's development feels more rushed compared to the original, to the point where it's hard to even understand WHY he comes back to challenge Scar. Also, like with Keegan-Michael Key and Eric André above, some fans of Donald Glover have complained that the movie wasted his talents and didn't give him much of a chance to do his own thing, not helping with the limited screentime he got compared to Matthew Broderick.
  • Nala and Sarabi. A common criticism of the original, even among fans, was that they weren't given enough screentime in the original. What didn't help is that the movie had a mostly male-dominated cast. The remake tries to give them more to do than its predecessor did, but, because the movie follows the structure and plot of the original so closely, they're only given a few more lines and one more scene. However, to some, the added screentime they did get (as well as the sub-plot Sarabi was given) is enough to count as an Improved Second Attempt.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: While adult Simba is given a clear Adaptational Angst Upgrade in having worse self-esteem and self-loathing issues, the scene where Nala escapes, the scene where Simba's fur flies all over Africa, and the "Lion Sleeps Tonight" scenes go on for so long that the movie ends up not having much time to focus on the pathos and drama surrounding Simba as he deals with the trauma of not only losing his father but thinking he was responsible for his death.
• Took the Bad Film Seriously: While YMMV on whether it's a bad movie or just a pointless remake, most critics and viewers, even those who otherwise despised the movie, agreed that Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen gave the best performances in the movie.
• Unintentional Uncanny Valley:
  • Some expressed concern that the character designs are too realistic and argue that the characters look lifeless in comparison to the animated version and that the film looks more like a nature documentary than an epic movie. Pumbaa's design in particular was called horrifying, as many people used to the cute cartoony version of him did not realize how ugly real-life warthogs are.
  • Reviews listed this as a major shortcoming of the film. The 2D animated version allowed the characters a full range of expressions to convey emotion, but this version sacrifices them to be more photo realistic. The expressions look stilted, with only the characters' tones and body language to really go by. Even several of the reviews listed as positive state that the film has gorgeous photo-realism and nostalgia going for it—and not much else.
• Visual Effects of Awesome:
  • The film is being brought to life using the same photo-realistic, Academy Award-winning CGI that Favreau used for The Jungle Book. According to reports from the D23 Expo, which took place an entire two years before the film's release, the CGI was already just as astonishing as that seen in The Jungle Book. Indeed, early reviews cite it as one more admirable trait of the film.
  • The teaser trailer alone is nothing short of breathtaking. The Academy Awards spot is also quite impressive with tuned-up colors and lighting in shots from the teaser trailer.
  • While the animals may not be as expressive as the original animated film, they are far more expressive than the trailers and clips released have suggested - with a winning combination of facial expressions and body language on all the animals. The lions and hyenas are particularly emotive.
  • Regarding the 3D: While the original Lion King is considered one of the best post-conversion efforts of all time, the shot of Zazu flying to Pride Rock during the opening number isn't a reverse Paddleball Shot (i.e. Zazu flying away from the camera while still appearing to soar directly above the audience) here like it was in the original film. No, like Avatar this film focuses more on the depth side of things, and it's still just as spectacular.
• Vocal Minority: While the movie has received some of the most outspoken disdain out of any of Disney's remakes — even by the standards of said remakes — the film is also unquestionably the most successful out of any of them, with a global box office total bigger than The Avengers (2012).
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: It's only rated PG but has an incredibly gritty-looking art style that, while bloodless, has very intense and violent action scenes. Scar tries aggressively to force Sarabi to be his queen, with all the rape implications that carries, given he's a dictator, and is shown to be physically abusive towards her, violently attacking her before Simba arrives. He also punishes her and the other lionesses by giving the hyenas the right to eat before them, so all that's left for them is what little they can pick off the bones. Scar and the hyenas are also actually shown eating from the carcass, with the camera angles and his and the hyena's bodies being the only thing keeping us from seeing the blood and guts. Nala's escape scene is over quickly, but also quite intense for a child.

---