This week we dive into the remake of “The Lion King.” We answer important questions like who neutered the lions? Was Scar right the whole time? Why does this movie need to exist?
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Hey Guys,
Long time listener and first time writer here. 😛
Just listened to your the Lion King episode and I wanted to comment about why I loved the remake. I went back to watch the original after listening to your episode and I absolutely agree that it was more vibrant and fun to a certain extent. The most glaring examples are the “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” and “Be Prepared” numbers. I do wish that the remake had more changes similarly to how Jasmine’s character was changed in the Aladdin remake but I still wholeheartedly loved the Lion King remake. I was amazed at how much emotion they were able to convey with “realistic” animal expressions and I found the remake to be much more emotionally impactful. On a side note, I do wish that the remake made Simba interact with Mufasa’s dead body more from disbelieve that his father has died after the stamped scene. That would have killed me and I would have loved it.
As far as the merit of the remake existing with barely any changes goes, I understand your views as creators about creating original interpretations and not just basically use the same script and calling it a new movie. I also agree that it’s crappy that the original writers were not credited at all. But I do disagree with the view that this remake diminished the original. I’ve always believed that any work is a stand alone and that sequels or remakes never take anything from the original work.
Anyways, I wanted to end this long comment with a few things that I really liked from the remake:
1) I loved how Timon and Pumbaa’s oasis was populated with other animals.
2) Timon and Pumbaa were great! I loved the call backs and new dialog that were written for them.
3) The visuals were incredible. Both the animation of the animals and the sceneries of the desert, plains, and oasis were out of this world.
4) The darker more “serious” tones. I understand that for some it may be hard to take a movie about talking animals and their power struggles seriously. It wasn’t for me. I found the remake’s tone to be more subdue and serious. I loved it. I may even prefer it to the original. I’ll wait to make that claim when it comes to Disney Plus. 😛
But yeah, just wanted to write in and tell you guys what I think and also to let you two know that you’re doing a great job and keep it up!
Thank you for jumping into the conversation! While we did disagree on the overall impression of the movie, I actually agree with a good amount of what you thought worked well. Timon and Pumba were especially a high point for me. I hope we didn’t give the impression too much that remaking the film harmed the original. I’m with you that they are separate works of art. I just landed more on the side that this newer one was unnecessary. It’s awesome to hear from someone that found it more enjoyable, though. Movies can be a very personal experience, and I am always glad to hear from someone who had a different take than I did.
Thanks for listening!