Everything you see in Disney's new Lion King exists in a delicate balance with its animated
ancestor.
Yes, like all the Studio's remakes, it's connected in the great circle of cinematic life.
But is it still a roaring good time like the original?
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan and today I'm explaining the biggest 14 differences
between the new Lion King movie and the 1994 classic.
I'm also kicking off a new giveaway, so subscribe, hit the bell, and leave a comment about the
movie for a chance to win.
Some spoilers ahead, so take care if you haven't seen it yet.
There's one line that I especially love in the animation that doesn't make it into the
new movie and that's 'I'm surrounded by idiots', which Scar says about his hyena cronies.
While it's a shame that bit of dialogue doesn't appear in the remake, there is a good reason
for it.
You see, in the reworked story, the hyenas are generally much less stupid and much more
menacing than they are in the 1994 film, so their part involves a lot less slapstick.
"Will you knock it off?"
"Well, he started it."
"Look at you guys.
No wonder we're dangling at the bottom of the food chain."
Director Jon Favreau felt the broad comedy of the animated hyenas wouldn't gel with the
new film's photorealism and more grounded nature.
So, don't expect any scenes of hyenas crashing into masses of thorny bushes or rolling around
laughing as they say Mufasa's name over and over.
"Mufasa!
Mufasa!
Mufasa!"
"It tingles me."
But although those kinds of shenanigans are out, and top hyena Shenzi especially is more
scary, there's still some comic relief from her fellow hyenas, Azizi and Kamari, who've
been given new African names instead of the original Ed and Banzai.
Another big change which ties in with how the new hyenas are portrayed is Scar's song
Be Prepared.
Before the movie came out, there were rumours that the fan favourite song hadn't made the
final cut.
However, while it definitely is in the film, it's undergone quite a transformation, and
is now performed as a mix of speak-singing with some regular singing by Chiwetel Ejiofor
who voices Scar.
"When I am king, the mighty will be free to take whatever they want."
And the new version of the iconic villain tune is significantly shorter than the 1994
one.
"Be prepared!"
That's because many of the original verses just don't fit the story anymore now that
the hyena characters are no longer as dim-witted.
"But thick as you are, pay attention."
So gone are Scar's many and varied ways of calling the hyenas brainless idiots.
"The lights are not all on upstairs."
And gone too are the numerous times he has to explain his plan until they eventually
understand it.
"We'll be prepared.
For what?"
"For the death of the king."
"Why, is he sick?"
"No, fool, we're going to kill him."
What remains the same though is the song's chorus and the idea that when Scar is king,
the hyenas' reward will be a full belly.
"Why eat one meal?
When you can be feasting the rest of your lives."
Another part of this sequence that's been discarded are these intensely-coloured scenes
that resemble a volcanic hellscape and the shots of Scar looking on as row upon row of
hyenas goose-step past, imagery which was actually based on footage of Hitler and the
Nazis.
The reason those moments have been given the chop is because the new film is going for
a more naturalistic approach when it comes to the animals' look and behaviour - and I'll
talk more about that later.
As the voice of the animated Scar, Jeremy Irons gave the villainous lion a wickedly
arch, and wonderfully outrageous theatrical tone.
"Will I like this surprise?"
"Simba, it's to die for."
Which at times reminds me of George Sanders' sleekly voiced villain Shere Khan in Disney's
1960s classic The Jungle Book.
"Bravo, bravo.
And thank you for detaining my victim."
Lots of Lion King fans really love Irons' memorable take on Scar, so it's a tough role
for any actor to step into.
But Chiwetel Ejiofor has really put his own stamp on the character, giving his Scar a
more Shakespearean interpretation.
"Mufasa and Simba are gone.
Which means I am your king."
Which fits well with the story as Hamlet was one of the inspirations for the original film.
But it's not just Scar's voice and manner that's changed, his appearance has also been
given an update.
Now Simba's evil uncle looks much more battle-worn, with numerous marks and scars all over his
face, a piece missing from one of his ears, a shabbier mane, and his signature scar over
his left eye looks painfully real.
Like the original movie, the remake's Pumbaa and Timon have some of the best comedic moments
in the story.
But in the 2019 version, Disney have gone even more meta with the humour.
"This is the place you're fighting for?"
"This is my home."
"Is it behind that terrifying rock?"
"Talk about your fixer-upper."
Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner, who voice the warthog and meerkat duo, give a fantastic
performance, nailing the jokes that make a reappearance from the first film.
"What's a motto?
"Nothin'.
What's-a-motto with you?"
"Nice!"
"Boom!"
But they were also given a lot of leeway to improvise lines, and the scene of Timon and
Pumbaa teaching Simba to eat grubs with all the other animals has been cleverly updated.
"If you want to live with us, you have to eat like us."
"Hmmm, extra crunchy."
"They're local."
"Yep, oh are they?"
"They're from right there."
Rogen and Eichner's riffing on "Hakuna Matata" is also very funny and there's an interesting
meta moment when, this time around, they un-censor this joke from the 1994 animation:
"And I got downhearted" "How did you feel?"
"Every time that I..."
"Hey, not in front of the kids."
"Oh, sorry."
In another very self-aware moment, the remake assumes that much of its audience has already
watched the original film, so when Pumbaa and Timon mention "Hakuna Matata" to Simba,
they're shocked he hasn't heard of it already.
"Repeat after me.
Hakuna Matata."
"What?"
"Hakuna Matata!"
"Hakun..
Most people get a bigger reaction when we say it the fir..
Okay."
Which reminded me a lot of the joke in Aladdin when the Genie makes a big neon "Applause"
sign appear after he's sings "Friend Like Me".
Disney even pokes fun at The Lion King's sacred "circle of life" idea in an extra scene added
to the new movie where Pumbaa and Timon make the case to Simba that the "circle of life"
doesn't actually exist.
Instead it's more of a "meaningless line of indifference".
"Kid, that's not a song.
That's propaganda."
When Simba and Nala need to sneak past the hyena guards to get to Pride Rock, both movies
put a musical feast on the menu as a way round their problem.
"All we need to do is find something that's like big and juicy.
Why's everyone looking at me?"
In the animation, as Timon presented his pal Pumbaa as a tasty treat to distract the hyenas,
the meerkat did a song-and-dance routine to the Hawaiian War Chant, which was also a little
nod to the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disney's theme parks where the tune plays.
"Are you achin'.." "Yep, yep, yep."
"For some bacon?"
"Yep, yep, yep."
"You could be a big pig, too!"
In the new film, however, hula's out and another delicious Disney easter egg is in!
Yes, this time, Timon's tune of choice is the much-loved Beauty and the Beast track,
Be Our Guest!
"It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we proudly present..
Your dinner!"
It's really funny hearing Timon perform a short version of Lumiere's famous opening
lines before he runs off screaming with Pumbaa as they're chased by the hyenas!
Oh, and when Timon put on his best French accent to do this bit, it reminded me of this
moment in the animated version of Can You Feel The Love Tonight?
"Ze sweet caress of twilight."
When Beyoncé was cast in the new Lion King, many people thought that Nala's role would
get a lot more development.
"Where have you been?"
And in the final film, she does get a few more lines and scenes, including her escape
from Scar, her journey home with Simba, and then there's her [fierce] rallying cry:
"Are you with me, lions?"
As the pride get in formation to battle the movie's big bad.
Still, that only adds up to a touch more time on screen for Nala than she got in the animation,
and overall, the character feels less developed compared, say, to how the live-action Aladdin
beefed up Jasmine's role, making her more active and fleshing out her backstory.
As well as Beyoncé's gorgeous take on 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight?', she does get
a brand new musical moment in the film though, which I'll talk about later.
And on top of that there's her new Lion King-inspired album, The Gift, which she's described as
a 'love letter to Africa'.
In the 90s classic, after a hyena calls Pumbaa a pig, the animated warthog launches into
a speech made up of popular quotes from famous movies!
He kicks things off with Robert De Niro's unforgettable line from Martin Scorsese's
Taxi Driver "Hey, who's the pig?"
"Are you talkin' to me?"
"He called him a pig."
"Are you talkin' to me?"
"Shouldn't have done that."
"Are you talkin' to me?" and finishes up with a hat-tip to Sidney Poitier's
electrifying words from the 1960s Oscar-winning In The Heat of the Night.
"Now they're in for it."
"They call me Mr. Pig!"
In an update, the new Lion King drops the movie references and adds a different comical
scene which features the hyenas calling Pumbaa 'chubby' after which the warthog sends a body
positive message to his bullies: "I will not be made to feel ashamed of who
I am!" he says, before chasing them off.
In complete contrast with the beautifully vivid colours and more stylised look of the
animation, the new film has gone for a photorealistic look that's absolutely mind-blowing.
The digitally-created locations and animals are so astoundingly natural-looking that it's
hard to believe you're not actually watching real wildlife on screen, apart from the fact,
of course, that these creatures talk and sing!
But the remake's focus on photorealism doesn't just affect the way the animals look; it also
has a huge effect on how the animals act.
The human-like behaviour and facial expressions we saw in the 1994 movie are largely gone
in the new film, replaced with more natural animal behaviour.
So, don't expect to see animals pulling cheeky faces , or making neck-cutting gestures, sobbing
their hearts out, filing their claws, swinging on vines, lounging about in vine hammocks,
or forming an animal pyramid.
And those very human-esque eyebrows have also been given the chop.
A number of film critics have said that all this realism means the new film loses some
of the emotion of the original.
Now I don't remember people having that problem with Jon Favreau's photoreal Jungle Book reboot,
but maybe that speaks more to the place The Lion King holds in the heart of many fans,
or perhaps it's because that film also featured a human actor on screen.
Either way, if you want to enjoy the new movie, you'll likely need to just accept less exaggerated
facial expressions.
One thing's for sure though: it's absolutely criminal how cute photo-real Simba is!
Several new songs have also been added to the soundtrack, but only one of them features
in the film proper.
That's Beyoncé's song 'Spirit', which we hear as adult Simba and Nala run back to Pride
Rock together.
And that scene is actually another little change from the animated film where Simba
makes the journey back to the Pride Lands separately to Nala.
The original film's composers Elton John and Tim Rice also return to write a new song called
'Never Too Late', which John sings over the closing credits.
And straight after that, you'll hear 'He Lives In You', which is about how, even in death,
Mufasa will always be with Simba.
The song is part of both the Broadway show of The Lion King as well as the movie sequel,
Simba's Pride, and it's performed and co-written by Lebo M, whose work on the animation's music
was crucial in creating its unforgettable sound.
There's also some more fascinating changes in the remake that fix a number of surprising
goofs and mistakes from the 1994 animation.
That's in my next video and I'll add a link here and in the video description as soon
as it's ready.
Now, it's time for you to decide which Lion King is better.
I've added a poll where you can vote.
Just tap in the top of this video, and after you've cast your vote, you'll be able to see
the results.
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