The Lion King

Based on the classic 1994 cartoon, The Lion King follows a young lion named Simba as he flees from his home after the brutal murder of his father at the hands of his scheming uncle. Filmmaker Jon Favreau, working with photo-realistic computer animation, delivers a mostly faithful (and mostly superfluous) remake that’s rarely able to capture the magic and charm of its predecessor, as the movie suffers from a lack of personality that’s never more apparent than in its treatment of its heroes – with the cutting-edge visuals preventing the various protagonists from demonstrating overt instances of emotion (ie Favreau simply isn’t able to transform these lifelike animals into wholeheartedly compelling cinematic characters). There’s little doubt, then, that the picture benefits substantially from a sporadic emphasis on familiar sequences that retain their power (eg the fiery climax is certainly quite exciting and engrossing), although the padded-out running time – the movie inexplicably runs a full half hour longer than the original – paves the way for an erratic midsection that’s ultimately riddled with lulls. It’s worth noting, too, that virtually none of the voice performances manage to make much of a positive impact – Donald Glover’s sleepy turn as the adult Simba is especially disappointing – and it is, in the end, impossible to label The Lion King as anything more than a cynical (yet admittedly watchable) cash grab.

**1/2 out of ****