Written by: LaTasha Givens
The Lion King is already a great story about love, loss, family conflict and friendship. Its really a coming of age story about deciding who you want to be and how you will respond to life’s challenges.
But I honestly went to just see my bestie Beyonce (she doesn’t know that we’re best friends yet). Nala was as amazing we all knew that she would be. The moment I heard her voice I got chills. What I didn’t expect was for the movie to be so good!! It’s the only remake I have ever seen that was better than the original.
I cried at the opening, laughed a lot in the middle and then cried again at the end. In a surprising way, the opening took me back to giving birth to my boys. As parents we all have a dreams and plans for our families and there’s nothing more magical and spiritual than bringing life into the world.
THE MIDDLE
The characters played their roles very close to the original script. Mufasa with his comforting voice brings you peace as he teaches baby Simba life lessons.
Nala and Simba are just too adorable. The film is so real to life that I actually want Lion cubs in my backyard, I know very Mike Tyson of me.
I love the friendship between Simba, Pumbaa and Timon. It’s a reminder how the people we need in our lives at particular times will appear organically, sometimes in a different package or “pack” than our own.
Scar is as evil as ever, and possibly scarier in this version. The musicality matched his every move which created anticipation. So even though you knew what he was going to do next, you were still scared.
I love seeing the strength of the lionesses after Mufasa was killed and all the other lions were chased off the land. The women did not leave even though they could have. With cubs by their side, they did their best to keep Pride Rock strong under Scar’s terrible regime. If it weren’t for them, I don’t think it would have sustained until Simba returned.
THE END
Nala and Simba reunite closer to the end of the movie. Mufasa’a spirit is reawakened in Simba. From there he was able to get rid of all the guilt and shame he had bottled up inside that crippled him for years. With Nala’s help, he was finally able to become who he was supposed to be, another life lesson. They go back together and fight for what is rightfully theirs and of course, they are triumphant.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
The cinematography is superb. Because of how well it’s shot, I literally thought I was going to fall off Pride Rock at times. I was reminded of why I don’t like roller coasters. Seeing the details on some of the smallest creatures flying and crawling across the screen was beautiful.
Note to parents of young children. We have a 4 year old and a two year old. Last year when we finally got around to reading Lion King, our oldest son got really scared when we turned the page and he saw Mufasa falling. So we told him Mufasa hurt his leg and was in the hospital with his goldfish. He now knows that he actually died. He was so sad and couldn’t wrap his head around why Scar would kill him. Because of the emotion around that and the scariness of Scar in this movie, we won’t take our boys to see at this time. It is a phenomenal movie, I think it may be better suited for children 6 or older.
I would give it 5 stars but Beyoncé prefers the number 4.
