The Lion King (2019)
Did we really need this film?
If you have listened to The Strategic Whimsy Experiment before, you probably know how I feel about Disney’s remakes. In short: I find them absolutely unnecessary. I understand the capitalistic drive to create these films, but if something is next to perfect, I don’t understand the point of trying to redo it.
The Lion King (1994) was one of my favorite movies growing up. I watched that VHS over and over and over again — I’m shocked that it didn’t eventually wear out on me. And because I watched it so much as a child, the dialogue, shots, and music are emblazoned in my brain. So, I knew getting through The Lion King (2019) would be a struggle for me.
When the movie started with the iconic song “Circle of Life” and it was nearly identical to the original film, I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want an exact shot for shot remake of an exquisite animated film. Then they changed some things and I was annoyed by that too. So I found myself sitting there, questioning everything about my thought process; if they kept it the same I wouldn’t like it and if they changed it I wouldn’t like it.
But then I realized something: many of the additions that they put into the film I felt didn’t add much. In fact, some of the things I felt detracted from the power of the film. One example is the puff of Simba’s hair that was…
