Taglines: The king has returned.
In Africa, the lion cub Simba is the pride and joy of his parents King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi. Mufasa prepares Simba to be the next king of the jungle. However, the naive Simba believes in his envious uncle Scar that wants to kill Mufasa and Simba to become the next king. He lures Simba and his friend Nala to go to a forbidden place and they are attacked by hyenas but they are rescued by Mufasa.
Then Scar plots another scheme to kill Mufasa and Simba but the cub escapes alive and leaves the kingdom believing he was responsible for the death of his father. Now Scar becomes the king supported by the evil hyenas while Simba grows in a distant land. Sometime later, Nala meets Simba and tells that the kingdom has become a creepy wasteland. What will Simba do?
The Lion King is a 2019 American musical film directed and produced by Jon Favreau, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a photorealistic computer-animated remake of Disney’s traditionally animated 1994 film of the same name. The film stars the voices of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Florence Kasumba, Eric Andre, Keegan-Michael Key, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, as well as James Earl Jones reprising his role from the original film. The plot follows Simba, a young lion who must embrace his role as the rightful king of his native land following the murder of his father, Mufasa, at the hands of his uncle, Scar.
Plans for a remake of 1994’s The Lion King were confirmed in September 2016 following box office successes for Disney remakes such as The Jungle Book (2016), which was also directed by Favreau. Favreau was inspired by certain roles of characters in the Broadway adaptation, and developed upon elements of the original film’s story. Much of the main cast signed in early 2017, and principal photography began in mid-2017 on a blue screen stage in Los Angeles.
The “virtual-reality tools” utilized in The Jungle Book’s cinematography were used to a greater degree during filming of The Lion King. Composers Hans Zimmer, Elton John, and lyricist Tim Rice, all of whom worked on the original’s soundtrack, returned to compose the score alongside Knowles-Carter, who assisted John in the reworking of the soundtrack and wrote a new song for the film, titled “Spirit”, which she also performed. The film serves as the final credit for editor Mark Livolsi, and it is dedicated to his memory. With an estimated budget of around $260 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made.
The film was theatrically released in the United States on July 19, 2019. It has grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide. Despite it not being advertised as an animated film, it surpassed Frozen to become the highest-grossing animated film of all-time. It is also the second highest-grossing film of 2019, and the seventh-highest of all-time.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its visual effects, music, and vocal performances (particularly Rogen and Eichner), but criticism for its lack of originality, and facial emotion on the characters. The film received nominations for Best Animated Feature Film and Original Song categories at the 77th Golden Globe Awards and 25th Critics’ Choice Awards. It was also nominated at 73rd British Academy Film Awards and 92nd Academy Awards, both for visual effects.
The Lion King (2019)
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Amy Sedaris, James Earl Jones, Florence Kasumba
Screenplay by: Jeff Nathanson
Production Design by: James Chinlund
Cinematography by: Caleb Deschanel
Film Editing by: Adam Gerstel, Mark Livolsi
Art Direction by: Vlad Bina, Helena Holmes
Music by: Hans Zimmer
MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of violence and peril, and some thematic elements.
Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: July 19, 2019
Visits: 30
