After months of waiting, the Lion King has finally hit theaters. Twenty-five years after the original hit theaters, the re-make of the Lion King has finally made it to the big screen. The goal of the re-make was to make everything look 100% real and not animated, and it’s safe to say that according to the box office, it worked. After a little over a month, it has shattered box office records, bringing in $510 million to take over first in most domestic earnings by a musical.

The Lion King follows the story of lion cub Simba and his journey of growing up and accepting his past after the death of his father. The movie begins with his father, Mufasa showing Simba their kingdom and how one day it will come his time to rule it. Eventually Mufasa dies at the hands of his brother Scar, and Scar being the evil brother he is, blames the death on Simba. Simba then runs away to a jungle paradise, where he finds his eventual two best friends, Pumbaa and Timon. After maturing into a full grown lion, he is reunited with his childhood best friend, Nala.  Simba eventually accepts the past and uses it to help him grow as he heads back to Pride Rock to challenge Scar.

The Lion King was my favorite childhood movie, and when I saw the newly re-made version it gave me a sense of nostalgia. Although, it does lack some of the life lessons and humor of the first, it was overall a great production. The soundtrack remained the same for the most part. James Earl Jones returned as Mufasa to play the role that few could play.
This cast was extremely talented and full of well-known successful actors. The lead of Simba was played by Donald Glover, and he did a fantastic job. Glover was really able to put a tone in his voice when you could see the irresponsible side of Simba, but as well as the tone change when he started to transform into the mature lion that Simba was meant to be. Glover filled this role perfectly. The other lead would be Nala played by Beyonce, who I thought played Nala better than Moira Kelly in the first one. Her voice was absolutely spectacular in every single song especially Can you feel the love tonight?. Overall this role was perfect for her.

Some of the supporting characters like Pumbaa and Timon, played by Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner were great as well. They portrayed Pumbaa and Timon great by giving them their funny but wise personalities. Scar which is close to a lead, but does not have enough screen time, was played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Ejiofor’s voice makes Scar more menacing than in the first, which is what everyone wanted.

Probably the most unique thing about the graphics would have to be the real life look to the movie, and the real-life expressions on the animals during the movie. Although, this was the purpose of the re-make, the CGI is absolutely incredible and it caught me by surprise. As well as the lighting, and how it will shift when conveying an important scene.

Another special thing about the graphics would be how, if there would be no action happening you could hear the subtle animal noises, which you couldn’t enjoy in the first movie. Also, the frame work was unbelievable. One great instance of this would be when a mouse is making its way to Scar’s lair not knowing where it was headed, but eventually would find out! Overall CGI animation was amazing, I have never seen anything like it.

If I were to use one word to describe this film it would be special. It conveys so may valuable life lessons, as well the quality of the film too. It brings forth a new era of CGI animation and overall creativity. If I could go see it again I would because not only did it bring me back to me as a young child, but others were brought back too. Now the movie does lack some of the qualities of the first, but it has so much more to offer which in my mind is a winner to me.