The Lion King - 4/5

Kids from the 90's I know were quite 'wowed' by the news of a live-action Lion King back in 2017. The cast of actors left everyone very impressed. And I am quite certain it was the casting of Beyoncé that had people acknowledging that this project was going to be a big deal. Fast forward two years later, after the hype is at its peak and every 90's kid in the English speaking world is probably watching this movie and is excited about it - how does it all live up? Critics are divided, and some have considered this to be unnecessary. However - take note from a 90's kid - it will never live up to the memory of the original, but this is still an awesome movie. You may wonder how they transpose the emotions of an animal from the cartoon to a CGI dimension - well they do their best. It is meant to look real, and I doubt you would find a lion as expressive as the original Scar out there in the jungle. Seeing this film in live-action to a fan of the original is almost surreal. The opening scene of The Circle of Life was remarkable, and it was just at that level of quality during the entire movie. The new take on the songs was brilliant, and the nostalgic element kicked in perfectly. There were some edits to the storyline that were a bit of a surprise and there were some lines and scenes that were removed. The additional scenes and dialogue were probably to provide more screentime for some of the actors (like Beyoncé ). Now for the best bit - I was very impressed with the Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner's take of Timon and Pumba. A lot of their lines were adlibbed and not part of the original script. This gave the film a comical facelift. They were the best bit of the movie. Then..how does Beyoncé live up to Nala? Queen Bey found time to work on this side project in the midst of getting ready for Coachella. Like everything she does, she does her best at Nala. The version of Can you feel the love tonight with Donald Glover is a refreshing take of the original, and fans will love it. They also made Nala a bit more 'feminist' than the original. Finally - this is the perfect family movie for this season. Regardless of what critics say, give this movie a chance.