Movie reviews #77…
The Lion King. Jon Favreau, dir. I’ve seen The Lion King in three different media formats: animated feature, Broadway play, and now the CGI version. At the end of this review, I’ll say which one I like the best. For now, let me discuss the latest Disney incarnation of the story.
The plot here is basically a repeat of the animated feature: Scar is the lion villain, the hyenas are his willing accomplices, and Mufasa and Simba are Scar’s victims. The romance is supplied by Nala and Simba, the prince, who must reclaim his throne and become king. You could sleep through the whole thing like it was the next Pirates of the Caribbean installment if it weren’t for the music. However, The Lion King was the first and only one of a few original stories the Disney studios have created. The great “circle of life” has been augmented by the great Disney circle: animation, Broadway show, and CGI extravaganza. Ho-hum. The Lion King now joins the ranks of The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Frozen, Hunchback…ad infinitum? (Some of these haven’t made CGI or real world yet. I’m not sitting here breathless in anticipation.)
I’ve always had reservations about the plot. It forces the animal world into a fairy tale setting of deposed kings, princes trying to recover their thrones, royal romances, and courts full of jesters. If you don’t see that, I’m sorry. In fact, this version is dark enough (I heard little kids crying) that one could say it’s the Disney version of Game of Thrones. Also, while I accept that animated features have talking critters, I didn’t like realistic-looking CGI mockups talking like humans. Makes me wonder where Dr. Doolittle aka Eddie Murphy is.
I like the Broadway version best. The elaborate costumes hark back to the original animation and make talking animals more appealing. The music is better too. In the Broadway version, those contrapuntal drums gave me a primal, wild sensation akin to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, one that is completely missing in the film versions. And Queen B’s song doesn’t make up for that loss in the CGI version. Moreover, this show has offered many black authors a chance to appear on Broadway—their talents don’t get that much chance to shine there. To summarize, I like the Broadway show best—music, dancing, good acting, and colorful and original costumes. Skip the two movies and go see that show.
But alas, it’s a CGI world now, and Disney has mastered that technology. But here’s a warning: Starting with The Jungle Book, I began to think, if they can do CGI with animals, they can do it with humans. Except for a few special effects in sci-fi extravaganzas, CGI hasn’t yet replaced real human actors. Actors have agents and unions; animals don’t. But it’s only a matter of time. Of course, we’ll need more and more CGI for animals as species become extinct due to poachers, hunters, and humans’ attacks on the environment. Who knows? Maybe in the future all the PBS Nature shows will be CGI. Ugh!
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Comments are always welcome.
The Last Humans. “‘We’re in a year-round rationing and fire-danger situation here and often los a good percentage of our crops along the river for lack of water. It’s worse in the Big Valley, of course. We’ve done a real number on the environment, Miss Castro.’ ‘Call me Penny.’ ‘She’s ex-navy,’ said one air force guy, winking at me. ‘She only understands salt water.’” Ex-USN Search and Rescue and current LA County Sheriff’s Department diver Penny Castro goes on a forensics dive off SoCal shores and surfaces to find herself in a post-apocalyptic world. A bioengineered and airborne contagion has been delivered to the West Coast and will be carried around the world, killing billions. Her adventures trying to survive in this new world will make you ask, “Could this really happen?” Published by Black Opal Books, this post-apocalyptic thriller is available in ebook and print format from Amazon and as an ebook version from Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) Also available from the publisher or your local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it). A sequel is coming.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
