Hakuna Matata… The Lion King Is A Hit!

BY: GABBIE K.

On July 19, 2019, the remade version of The Lion King was released in theaters everywhere around the world. Directed by Jon Favreau, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures, the intention of the movie was to recreate the original movie in a way that is a realistic live-action movie. Many celebrities were also involved with the movie, causing many people to watch it simply for the famous people that they admire or look up to. Celebrities included Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa. Having big-name celebrities like these in the movie only brought more attention to the movie, both good and bad.

This version of The Lion King earned over $1.6 billion from countries all over the world, leading the movie to pass popular movies, such as Frozen, as the highest-grossing animated film. Not only that, but the movie is also the second-highest-grossing film of 2019, behind Avengers: Endgame, and the seventh-highest grossing film of all-time. Many of this money came from mixed reviews from some people that loved it and others that hated the way it was changed from the original version.

Many different aspects of the movie made it stand out from other movies, and even the original movie itself. With voices like Knowles-Carter and Glover on the soundtrack, some can conclude that it sounds much better than the soundtrack of the original animated version. A new voice that was also surprising to hear is the voice of Seth Rogen, who isn’t typically known for his singing. Yet, despite having this as an advantage to the movie, it is also a disadvantage. Many critics were not fond of the idea of celebrities, such as Rogen, having to sing for his character, Pumbaa. An anticipated song sung by Beyoncé and Elton John was also expected and by not having that song included on the soundtrack, many people critiqued that as well.

Although the movie received many critics attacking it, there were also many positives to it. The Lion King is in the running to receive awards from the People’s Choice Awards on November 10, 2019, including the ‘Movie of 2019’ and ‘Family Movie of 2019’. Beyoncé herself is also in the running for receiving the award for ‘Animated Movie Star of 2019’. Again, the fact that well-known celebrities are included in the movie can be a plus to the production of the movie.

Whether the movie was a hit to some or absolute disappointment to others, the fact that the movie received these awards and recognition is something. Don’t take my word for it, though, go out and see it for yourself! Hakuna Matata, you can’t miss it!

On October 11, 2019, the movie can be found in stores on Digital HD and on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on October 22, 2019.