Last week, I said to a friend how weird it was that Disney was making a cartoon adaptation of a cartoon. “What do you mean??” he asked. I said, wait, you don’t think they actually trained all those animals to sing and dance, do you??? Happily, no, he didn't, though he was still a little confused by my point. I explained that I know the new version of The Lion King may look real, but it's still animation. Just because it’s CGI animation doesn’t mean it’s not animation. “Oh, you’re right,” he said. I was okay with the original cartoon, but didn’t love it. (And, yes, I know I was in the minority because it made a billion dollars. And then the stage version piled so much more on top of that.), As a result, my feeling was largely the same this time since it was the exact same story and same Elton John-Tim Rice songs. And I even dozed off briefly a couple of times. What makes it worthwhile, of course, is that the CGI animation is spectacular and fun. And I saw it in 3D, which made it all a bit more vibrant. But all of that is form, not content. Moreover, it’s 30 minutes longer than the original, so (for me) it dragged, stretching out the thin story even more. Further, being longer means there’s more time between the songs, which had been the part I liked the most in the original. And as amazing as the CGI animation is – and it’s absolutely, jaw-droppingly great – I actually had a problem with it in the opening, deeply-impressive scene of “The Circle of Life.” In the original cartoon, there’s something endearing about all the cartoon animals in the jungle coming to Pride Rock to pay homage to the new baby lion. But with realistic-looking animation, I oddly found it a bit creepy to see all the very real-looking animals SO excited and overjoyed and bowing down in deep reverence to the baby lion, who will grow up to be a predator of them. I could accept that much easier with cute, drawn cartoon animals, but less so with animated animals that look absolutely realistic. To be clear, I'm glad I saw it in 3D, and I was in awe of the production. But as an overall movie, for my taste, it was just fine. And ultimately, my opinion doesn’t even remotely matter. The movie will clean up at the box office, and already has started to. And understandably so, since the CGI animation is utterly brilliant. And most people already love the story and some may even love that there’s more of it here. I look forward to Disney adapting it into yet another stage musical... Here's some of that opening "The Circle of Life." The CGI animation is stunning. The song is excellent. And I still find it a bit creepy.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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