Synopsis
Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.
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Cast
- Chiwetel EjioforScar (voice)
- John OliverZazu (voice)
- James Earl JonesMufasa (voice)
- John KaniRafiki (voice)
- Alfre WoodardSarabi (voice)
- JD McCraryYoung Simba (voice)
- Shahadi Wright JosephYoung Nala (voice)
- Penny Johnson JeraldSarafina (voice)
- Keegan-Michael KeyKamari (voice)
- Eric AndréAzizi (voice)
Recommendations
- 80
IGN
Director Jon Favreau's The Lion King is a worthwhile reimagining that relies on nostalgia over risk-taking. - 80
Variety
Favreau’s most important responsibility in overseeing the remake was simply not to mess it up. Which he doesn’t. Then again, nor does he bring the kind of visionary new take to the material that Julie Taymor added when staging the Broadway musical. That makes Favreau’s “The Lion King” an undeniably impressive, but incredibly safe entry to the catalog — one whose greatest accomplishment may not be technical (which is not to diminish the incredible work required to make talking animals look believable), but in perfecting the performances. - 63
Movie Nation
“King Redux” has just a couple of more laughs than the first Disney cartoon, but being 30 minutes longer, that’s not much of a plus. The original vs. remake comparison is hard to get away from here, but I have to say I was moved just once by this remake — that lovely opening note of African song/chant still thrills. - 60
Time Out
Always effortful and desperate to impress, The Lion King may serve as a virtual substitute for going to the zoo (don’t slide down the Black Mirror cynicism of that idea), but let’s hope it never replaces such outings, nor its 1994 forebear, a passport to something far more sublime. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
By and large, very few remakes, other than Gus Van Sant's shot-by-shot reproduction of Psycho, have adhered as closely to their original versions as this one does. Everything here is so safe and tame and carefully calculated as to seem pre-digested. There's nary a surprise in the whole two hours. - 60
Total Film
The ’toon still rules when it comes to heart, but this shot-for-shot remake is an impressively mounted, visually breathtaking nostalgia rush. - 58
Consequence
In the end, it’s less the Circle of Life and more the Line of Indifference. - 33
The A.V. Club
Ultimately, only Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, as slacker sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa, make much of an impression; their funny, possibly ad-libbed banter feels both fresh and true to the spirit of the characters—the perfect remake recipe. Just don’t look too hard at their character designs. They’re realistic, hideously.
