The Lion King

The Lion King

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Overview

Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

Media

THE LION KING | 2019 Live Action New Trailer | Official Disney UK

Cast

Chiwetel Ejiofor

James Earl Jones

Director:

Jon Favreau

Writer:

Jeff Nathanson, Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton, David Lowery

Release Date:

2019-07-12

Run Time:

118m

Tagline:

The king has returned.

Genres:

Adventure Animation Drama Family

Keywords:

africa family father son relationship grief king lion live action and animation live action remake musical prince redemption remake sidekick uncle

Financials and Popularity

Budget: 260,000,000.00$

Revenue: 1,662,020,819.00$

Vote Average: 7.1/10

Vote Count: 10743 Votes

Movie Popularity: 11.3345

Spoken Languages: English

Review

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Insomniacs Reviews
- 27 April 2026 at 10:48 pm

7 Based on 1 Votes
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⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 7/10 THE SUMMARY Jon Favreau takes the reigns for this 2019 "photorealistic" reimagining of the 1994 Disney masterpiece. The plot remains a sacred beat-for-beat retread: young prince Simba is exiled from the Pride Lands after the tragic death of his father, Mufasa, only to return years later to reclaim his throne from his treacherous uncle, Scar. While the story is identical, the medium is entirely new—using cutting-edge VR film-making and CGI to create a world that looks like a high-budget nature documentary, but with Beyoncé and Donald Glover providing the vocals. THE PROS Visually, this film is a absolute win; the level of detail in the fur, the grit of the African soil, and the lighting of the Savannah is a sincere technical marvel. It’s a celebratory explosion of CGI talent that pushes the boundaries of what is possible in digital cinema. Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen are a total belter as Timon and Pumbaa, providing a sincere and much-needed dose of humor and improvisation that breathes life into the rigid realism. James Earl Jones returning as Mufasa is a masterstroke of nostalgia, giving the film a regal, familiar anchor that hits you right in the childhood. THE CONS It earns a 7/10 because it’s a bit of a head-scratcher why Disney chose "realism" over "expression." By making the lions look like actual animals, they lost the ability to show human-like emotions; watching a hyper-realistic lion sing about his "way to be king" without a single facial muscle moving feels a tad uncanny. It misses the 8/10 mark because it is a sincere shot-for-shot remake that offers almost nothing new in terms of story or character development. It feels a bit like a tech demo—impressive to look at, but lacking the vibrant, colorful soul that made the original 1994 version a 10/10 classic. THE VERDICT A 7/10. Decent and worth it for the sheer spectacle, but it’s the business of "eye candy" rather than a narrative triumph. It is a vault essential only if you want to see the pinnacle of modern animation technology. Go and watch it for the "Circle of Life" opening—it’s a total belter that will make you appreciate just how far CGI has come, even if it leaves the heart a little cold. INSOMNIAC TRIVIA • VR Set: Director Jon Favreau didn't just sit at a computer; he and the crew used VR headsets to walk around inside a "video game" version of the Pridelands, setting up camera shots as if they were on a real physical location.• Hidden Reality: Despite the entire movie being digital, there is one single "real" shot in the film—the very first opening shot of the sun rising over the Savannah. Favreau included it to see if anyone could tell the difference between the real world and the CGI.• Black Box Sessions: To get the chemistry right, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner recorded their lines together in a "black box" theater, allowing them to actually walk around and riff off each other, which is why their banter feels so much more natural than the rest of the cast. THE VIBE Like watching a National Geographic special on a massive IMAX screen while someone plays a Broadway soundtrack in the background. It smells like dry grass, rain on hot dust, and expensive movie theater popcorn. It makes you marvel at human technology while simultaneously wanting to go back and watch the 2D version to see Simba actually smile.

Videos

THE LION KING | 2019 Live Action New Trailer | Official Disney UK

Cast

Chiwetel Ejiofor

James Earl Jones

Shahadi Wright Joseph

Penny Johnson Jerald

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Collections

The Lion King (Reboot) Collection

Reviews for

The Lion King

Comment (1)

Insomniacs Reviews
- 27 April 2026 at 11:48 PM

⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 7/10
THE SUMMARY
Jon Favreau takes the reigns for this 2019 “photorealistic” reimagining of the 1994 Disney masterpiece. The plot remains a sacred beat-for-beat retread: young prince Simba is exiled from the Pride Lands after the tragic death of his father, Mufasa, only to return years later to reclaim his throne from his treacherous uncle, Scar. While the story is identical, the medium is entirely new—using cutting-edge VR film-making and CGI to create a world that looks like a high-budget nature documentary, but with Beyoncé and Donald Glover providing the vocals.
THE PROS
Visually, this film is a absolute win; the level of detail in the fur, the grit of the African soil, and the lighting of the Savannah is a sincere technical marvel. It’s a celebratory explosion of CGI talent that pushes the boundaries of what is possible in digital cinema. Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen are a total belter as Timon and Pumbaa, providing a sincere and much-needed dose of humor and improvisation that breathes life into the rigid realism. James Earl Jones returning as Mufasa is a masterstroke of nostalgia, giving the film a regal, familiar anchor that hits you right in the childhood.
THE CONS
It earns a 7/10 because it’s a bit of a head-scratcher why Disney chose “realism” over “expression.” By making the lions look like actual animals, they lost the ability to show human-like emotions; watching a hyper-realistic lion sing about his “way to be king” without a single facial muscle moving feels a tad uncanny. It misses the 8/10 mark because it is a sincere shot-for-shot remake that offers almost nothing new in terms of story or character development. It feels a bit like a tech demo—impressive to look at, but lacking the vibrant, colorful soul that made the original 1994 version a 10/10 classic.
THE VERDICT
A 7/10. Decent and worth it for the sheer spectacle, but it’s the business of “eye candy” rather than a narrative triumph. It is a vault essential only if you want to see the pinnacle of modern animation technology. Go and watch it for the “Circle of Life” opening—it’s a total belter that will make you appreciate just how far CGI has come, even if it leaves the heart a little cold.
INSOMNIAC TRIVIA
• VR Set: Director Jon Favreau didn’t just sit at a computer; he and the crew used VR headsets to walk around inside a “video game” version of the Pridelands, setting up camera shots as if they were on a real physical location.
• Hidden Reality: Despite the entire movie being digital, there is one single “real” shot in the film—the very first opening shot of the sun rising over the Savannah. Favreau included it to see if anyone could tell the difference between the real world and the CGI.
• Black Box Sessions: To get the chemistry right, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner recorded their lines together in a “black box” theater, allowing them to actually walk around and riff off each other, which is why their banter feels so much more natural than the rest of the cast.
THE VIBE
Like watching a National Geographic special on a massive IMAX screen while someone plays a Broadway soundtrack in the background. It smells like dry grass, rain on hot dust, and expensive movie theater popcorn. It makes you marvel at human technology while simultaneously wanting to go back and watch the 2D version to see Simba actually smile.

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