THE LION KING (2019) – A Blu-ray/DVD and Digital HD Review by John Strange
When I first saw this film at an advance screening, The Lion King (2019) didn’t strike me as up to the standards of the first one. It looked good and all but the original was just so amazing that I had trouble seeing this one’s positive virtues.
One of the many things I love about also reviewing a film for its home release run is the chance to change my mind. Why I would change my mind about the film is also why I love reviewing these releases. The plethora of bonus extras include some excellent featurettes about how director Jon Favreau and his team of animators created a classic story with a whole new look.
That look was what bothered me, I think. I wasn’t ready to see this film look as real as the new team had made it. The advances in animation in the last 25 years (the first film was released in 1994) allowed them to make an animated film that looks like it is a live-action one.
The story of a pride of lions, this story has good guys and bad guys, love and hate. The son of the King of the Pride Lands, Simba (JD McCrary/Donald Glover), is presented to the denizens of the land as their future king.
His parents, Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Sarabi (Alfre Woodard) are great parents but all of their work is ruined when the evil brother of the king, Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) leads young Simba into a situation (that Scar causes) that results in Mufasa, the king, being killed.
This is the story of how Simba deals with his shame and loss and how he eventually finds his way back to the pride to save them all from Scar and his minions, the hyenas. The great characters in the story are memorable for their wisdom and humor but what really makes the movie is the music.
In The Lion King (2019), Hans Zimmer has taken the wonderful music or the 1994 version and taken it further, adding more African voices and rescored some of the original songs to be sung by some of today’s best voices. Listening to JD McCrary singing “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” and Donald Glover and Beyoncé singing the duet “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” was awe-inspiring. The music presented with this new envisioning of The Lion King is well worth watching the film all by itself.
It is fitting that the largest percentage of bonus features for this film revolve around that music. We have featurettes that talk about Hans Zimmer and his music (“The Journey to The Lion King: The Music”). We have a whole group of songs like “Circle of Life”, “Be Prepared (2019)”, “Hakuna Matata” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. We even have two music videos, one performed by Sir Elton John (“Never Too Late”), and the other performed by Beyoncé (“Spirit”). I loved both songs but the music video by Queen Bey was a tad boring to watch as she goes from one outfit to the next.
There are three featurettes that fall under the title “More to be Scene”. In these, we are filled in on who and what were behind the making of three of the iconic songs, “Circle of Life”, “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”, and “Hakuna Matata”. If you don’t love these songs, I think you scare me.
Two featurettes connected to “The Journey to The Lion King: The Music” involve telling us about “The Magic” and “The Timeless Tale” where we learn more about new advances that the animators and filmmakers developed to give us an animated film with the look and feel of a live-action film. This is where I realized just how much I underestimated this film during my first watch. The techniques involving virtual reality views of the scenes which allowed the filmmakers to map how the virtual cameras should zoom and pan, just like they would in a live film.
Adding to this knowledge was the Director’s Audio Commentary version of the film. Director Jon Favreau takes us through the film and gives us the who’s, the how’s and the whys. Totally amazing. Also included as a digital exclusive extra, we have an excellent featurette talking about the powerful women involved in the film.
Lastly, we have a short featurette called, “Protect the Pride” which reminds us that the number of lions on our planet has been rapidly diminishing. Disney donated proceeds from the film to the Lion Recovery Fund, a conservancy foundation created to help rebuild the prides and increase the numbers of lions in the wild. With less than 20,000 lions left on the planet, something must be done and these folks are at the forefront of that effort.
This is a really great film for all of the reasons I have talked about above. But the reasons have to be watched as a whole, preferably with loved ones, to truly experience the magic that is The Lion King. Bring it home today so you can experience the magic whenever you want!
Directed By:
- Jon Favreau
Cast:
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Oliver, James Earl Jones, John Kani, Alfre Woodard, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Penny Johnson Jerald, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric André, Florence Kasumba, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Amy Sedaris, Chance the Rapper, Josh McCrary, Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Phil LaMarr, J. Lee
Extras:
Digital (Movies Anywhere):
- The Lion King: Hear the Women Roar
- Filmmaker Introduction with Director Jon Favreau
- Audio Commentary with Director Jon Favreau
- Sing Along with the Movie
- Song Selection
- “Circle of Life”
- “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”
- “Be Prepared (2019)”
- “Hakuna Matata”
- “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
- “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”
- “Spirit”
- “Never Too Late”
- Pride Lands Pedia (Digital Exclusive)
- The Journey to The Lion King
- The Music
- The Magic
- The Timeless Tale
- Protect the Pride
- More to be Scene
- “Circle of Life”
- “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”
- “Hakuna Matata”
- Music Videos
- “Spirit” Music Video Performed by Beyoncé
- “Never Too Late” Lyric Video Performed by Elton John
Digital (Vudu):
- Perfecting the Pride
- “Spirit” Music Video Performed by Beyoncé
- “Never Too Late” Lyric Video Performed by Elton John
- More to be Scene
- “Circle of Life”
- “Hakuna Matata”
- “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”
- Audio Commentary with Director Jon Favreau
- Pride Lands Pedia (Digital Exclusive)
- Protect the Pride
- The Journey to The Lion King
- The Magic
- The Timeless Tale
- The Music
DVD:
- Protect the Pride
Blu-Ray:
- The Journey to The Lion King
- The Magic
- The Timeless Tale
- The Music
- More to be Scene
- “Circle of Life”
- “Hakuna Matata”
- “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”
- Music Videos
- “Spirit” Music Video Performed by Beyoncé
- “Never Too Late” Lyric Video Performed by Elton John
- Disney Song Selection (Sing-Along)
- “Circle of Life”
- “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”
- “Be Prepared”
- “Hakuna Matata”
- “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
- “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”
- “Spirit”
- “Never Too Late”
- Protect the Pride
Specifications:
Runtime:
Feature:
- 118 Minutes
Extras:
- 458 Minutes
Studio:
- Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date:
Digital:
- 10/11/2019
Blu-ray/DVD:
- 10/22/2019
Region:
- A/1 (U.S. and Canada only)
Website:
MPAA Rating:
- PG
Selig Rating:
Film Rating:
- BRAND NEW
Bonus Features Rating:
- A
Picture Quality Rating:
- A
Audio Quality Rating:
- A
Selig Rating Scale:
BRAND NEW: Should add to your DVD collection at any cost
SALE ITEM: Worth owning, but try to catch it a sale
SECOND HAND: Plan to get it, but wait to buy it used
RENTAL: Worth taking a look at, but not owning
COASTER: Pick it up at a garage sale and use it for drinks
PULL!: Makes a great Trap Shooting target
