4 Ways The Lion King Improves On The Original Movie (And 6 Ways It Doesn’t)

While it stays faithful to the 1994 classic, the new Lion King changes a few things and adds some original scenes to give old-school fans excitement.

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Disney continues its dominance of the global box office with the new The Lion King – the studio’s latest remake of one of its animated classics. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Lion King shows how a young Simba (JD McCrary/Donald Glover) overcomes tragedy to become the rightful king of the Pride Lands.

While it mostly stays faithful to the 1994 animated classic, the new Lion King changes a few things and adds some original scenes to give old-school fans something new to look forward to. As expected, some of these changes improve the source material while the others don’t. Here are four ways that The Lion King improves on the original movie and six ways it did not.

10 Improvement: The Animation

The Moving Picture Company–the studio behind Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book–returns to bring the Pride Lands and its inhabitants to life. Using virtual-reality technology and cameras to create a VR-simulated environment, the animators created what Disney is proudly calling “a new form of filmmaking.”

9 Improvement: The Hyenas

The remake features a new trio–Shenzi, Kamari, and Azizi–who are noticeably deadlier and meaner. Shenzi is now the hyenas’ fierce Alpha, while Kamari and Azizi share a comedic tandem centered around the latter’s disrespect of personal space. By choosing to introduce entirely new hyenas, the remake stands out in this specific aspect.

8 Improvement: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella (Timon and Pumbaa, respectively) sung well in 1994, but Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen (Timon and Pumbaa, respectively) sing a longer snippet of the song and are backed up by some friends. The scene is short but perfectly encapsulates the fun-loving nature of the two best friends.

7 Improvement: The Meaningless Line Of Indifference

Because the two could be eaten at any moment, they’ve adopted a cheerful brand of nihilism to justify their carefree lives. This extension of their famous motto “Hakuna Matata” is a funny (if shortsighted) retort to the profound Circle of Life that adds to the duo’s humorous personalities.

6 Didn’t Improve: The Pacing

The remake follows the same outline of events but shortens (i.e. “Be Prepared”) or cuts some key moments (i.e. Rafiki’s life advice) to quickly get to the next scene. Even if it’s 30 minutes longer than the original, the new Lion King feels strangely rushed and leaves no time for proper character development.

5 Didn’t Improve: The Voice Actors

By no fault of their own, the cast can do little to elevate a retread of the original. The old script is an ill fit for the new voice actors since they’re working with material not written for them. Some exceptions include new conversations for Timon and Pumbaa and the hyenas’ banter, but these are small saving graces.

4 Didn’t Improve: Realism Over Wonder

This obsession with reality affects everything in the movie, ranging from the characters’ looks to their singing. One example is the opening sequence, where Pride Rock no longer explodes in vibrant colors during the sunrise as it now boasts realistic shades of flat yellows and browns.

3 Didn’t Improve: Emotionless Animals

But because animals can’t realistically have a wide range of emotions, the new Lion King features a cast of hyper-realistic lions, hyenas, and more that just so happen to talk. The end result is a movie populated by lifelike yet lifeless animals that anatomically can’t express the appropriate emotions in their scenes.

2 Didn’t Improve: The Music

With the involvement of current pop sensations like Beyoncé, Donald Glover, and Pharrell Williams, it was inevitable that new material would be composed but the most recent additions glaringly stick out instead of blending smoothly with the original soundtrack.

1 Didn’t Improve: The Musical Numbers

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