The Lion King (2019) 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
Brad Sturdivant
October 21st, 2019
I’m always surprised by the passionate reactions I see for the original animated THE LION KING. People truly love the film and have deep, emotional connections to the film that have stood the test of time. That makes things tricky when it comes to doing a “live-action” remake. Prior to this, the live-action remakes added a human element to the story and gave audiences a slightly different take to what they were used to. But with THE LION KING, the idea of “live-action” is up for debate and the only thing really different with the film is the type of animation.
The story is identical in almost every way. The songs are the same and the jokes and emotional beats hit at the same time and in the same way. The difference is the style in which the story is told since we’re no longer watching cute cartoon animals and instead, we’re watching something closer to a Planet Earth documentary. So the emotions are there and you’ll still shed a tear when Mufasa dies, but it just feels…different. It’s almost hard to explain, but the innocence and carefree vibe that comes crashing down with that scene doesn’t resonate as well in this version as it does with the original animation.
It’s also hard to judge the voicework; Glover, Beyonce, Rogen and everyone else do a fine job, but were they any better than Matthew Broderick, Moira Kelly and Ernie Sabella? For me, they were almost identical, and the voice actors didn’t make anything better or worse. Once again, it’s just different.
Even though the story is the same, THE LION KING is still a cherished tale and one that many people deeply love. Personally, I never connected with the film on that deep of an emotional level and so the lack of emotions with this new version didn’t have much of an impact. For me, the style of the film and the incredible special effects are worth the price of admission. This is a groundbreaking film when it comes to effects and I was constantly more impressed with the technical aspects of the movie than with anything actually happening on camera. There are some extremely impressive visuals in THE LION KING.
Even if the film doesn’t offer anything new, the 2019 updated THE LION KING is fun to watch for the visuals alone. And it’s a nice refresher on some of the classic songs and a fine way to introduce the story to audiences that haven’t seen the original.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: Given that the best thing going for THE LION KING are the visuals, the 4K version is the only way to watch the film. The image jumps off the screen, making it feel almost like a 3D disc, enveloping the audience as if we’re in the action. Every detail is clear and vibrant, to the point you want to reach out and pet Simba’s head. This is why the format was created and could easily be a reference quality video presentation.
Audio: The Dolby Atmos track is a worth companion to the fantastic video transfer.
Commentary with Jon Favreu: Favreu jumps in and gives a class on technical filmmaking, going into detail on almost every aspect of the film. I know many people are curious about how they made THE LION KING and this commentary track should answer those questions.
The Journey to The Lion King: This is a three part making-of featurette covering the music, the story and the technical merits. All three are very good and go into detail about the making of the film.
More to Be Scene: Three musical scenes get a deep dive.
Director Intro: Jon Favreau gives a brief overview of the making of the film in about a minute.
Music Videos
