4 Things Disney’s Lion King remake must get right

Are you excited for Disney’s new live-action Lion King? What do you hope to see? Here’s what we think would make for a successful adaptation!

Unless you live under a rock, you should be aware of the new Disney trend to make every single one of their classic movies into a live-action remake. Disney has completed live-action editions of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Pete’s Dragon, and Aladdin, with many more to come in the next 5 years. By far, the most highly anticipated film on their upcoming slate is Jon Favreau’s The Lion King, which is being filmed in photo-realistic fashion, much like Favreau’s previous film, 2016’s The Jungle Book.

The original Lion King animated feature has grown to become one of Disney’s most beloved animated classics, spawning a number of sequels and even a Broadway rendition. Needless to say, Disney must get this one right, otherwise fan uproar could become overwhelming.

So, the question has become, how can Favreau create a film that both gives tribute to the original and can carry forward independently? Thus far, reviews seem to be mixed on the new film, with some loving it and others bored by it.

As a huge fan of Lion King,  I have come up with 4 things that this movie must have in order to be a successful remake of an impossible-to-remake film.

1. Disney must include most of the original songs. 

Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast got it right, but The Jungle Book left a little to be desired in this arena. The music in this new Lion King must be included, but rumors suggest that a few songs will be missing.

Whichever songs end up in the finished product for the film, it’s clear that fans would riot if songs like “Hakuna Matata,” “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” and “Circle of Life “were not included.

2. “He Lives In You” needs to be included in some way.

While most of the original Lion King songs are likely to be included, the film would miss out on a huge opportunity if it didn’t take some pages out of the Broadway play’s book. One of those would be the popular song “He Lives In You,” which is sung in the Broadway show by Mufasa and Rafiki at different times.

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The song has an ethereal and spiritual quality that pairs well with the overriding theme of The Lion King and should be added to the final product.

The song didn’t initially appear in the Broadway play alone, but was a song that was unveiled in the sequel to the original movies, Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride. The song then went on to appear twice in the Broadway show and has become one of the more memorable tracks within the show.

Jon Favreau needs to find a way to incorporate this song into the new movie. It’s powerful, meaningful, and would strengthen an already emotionally-charged scene between Simba and the spirit of Mufasa.

3. Add more depth to the relationships within the film.

If there’s one complaint I’ve always had about the original film, it would be that there isn’t a lot of depth to specific relationships within the movie. A lot of that can be attributed to the fact that this was an animated film and was barely and hour and a half long. Generally, animated films are only an hour and a half, so they had to do what they could with the run-time they were given.

That shouldn’t be an issue with this new film. The filmmakers should use this as a new opportunity to strengthen and give more depth to the bonds between Mufasa/Simba, Simba/his mother, and even Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba.

I’d love to see more scenes of Mufasa and Simba early-on, as well as more scenes between Pumbaa, Timon, and Simba later in the film. The original film jumps quickly from young Simba to adult Simba, which leaves a little to be desired. I’d love to see more of a gradual transition between the two eras in the upcoming film.

4. Keep the original Lion King villain as close to the 1994 version as possible.

Scar is an iconic and terrifying Disney villain and must be kept as close to the original Scar as possible. The problem with the new Aladdin seemed to revolved largely around a weak and not-frightening version of Jafar. It was almost jarring how little the new Jafar resembled the old (and scary as hell) Jafar from the original.

This cannot happen with the new film. While they weren’t able to bring Jeremy Irons back, Chiwetel EJiofor is a worthy successor and can add much gravitas to a beloved Disney villain. They should change little about his character and perhaps even add more scenes. But PLEASE Disney, don’t remove the scare factor.

The Lion King will show up in theaters Thursday, July 19. What are you hoping to see in the new film? Tell us what you expect from the upcoming film in the comments below!!