For several years now, Disney have been remaking and adapting some of their old animated films with live action or photorealistic animation for modern audiences. Beginning with The Jungle Book, there were a small number of these remakes produced between 1994 and 2010, but since 2014 it’s become a regular occurrence, with one or two films released every year. And there are at least 8 more in the pipeline.
Until recently I hadn’t seen any of those remakes (nor the original films either in some cases), because I just haven’t been interested in checking them out, and I’m perfectly happy with the classic movies I’m familiar with. The one exception was Beauty & The Beast that I saw in 2017, and that was only because I was taking part in a trial of an audio description app that happened to be using that film.
However, this month I decided to do an old vs new comparison of two of my all-time favourite Disney movies that I did watch in my childhood – The Lion King and Aladdin – both of which had remakes released in 2019.
This came about because I recently visited the cinema with a couple of friends to see the Mufasa prequel to the modern Lion King. So it made sense to watch the original Lion King again and compare it with the remake that I’ve never seen before. That meant I had to reactivate my Disney+ subscription for a month, so while I was there I thought I would check out Aladdin as well. And in both cases I discovered that Disney+ has extra features and even the direct-to-video sequels of the original films. So I figured I may as well look through all of that stuff.
As a result I then ended up buying the original films and their video sequels on Blu-ray and DVD, because having rewatched them after all these years I still find them enjoyable, especially the originals. I haven’t got the editions with the most extra features on them, partly because they’re not widely available now but also because I don’t need them anyway. I just went for the editions that were easiest to get hold of and I’m perfectly happy with those. And I’m not interested in owning the remakes, because while they’re interesting to see once out of curiosity, they simply aren’t as good or necessary.
So with all that said, here are my reviews of the films, along with their sequels and extras, and I hope you enjoy!
Contents
The Lion King
Original & Remake
As if anyone needs reminding, The Lion King is about a young cub called Simba who is due to take over as king of the Pride Lands from his father Mufasa, but is forced to flee when his evil uncle Scar manipulates events to kill Mufasa and take charge himself. Simba then finds a new home, where he grows up with meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa, and has to be persuaded to return to dethrone Scar and take his rightful place as king.
It’s also well known for its classic songs by Tim Rice and Elton John, including Circle Of Life, Hakuna Matata and Can You Feel The Love Tonight? to name a few, which audiences continue to enjoy in the hit stage musical. I had an amazing time seeing that show with a touch tour and audio description a couple of summers ago, and this year the West End show has recently welcomed its 20 millionth guest! That milestone is currently being celebrated with a special pop-up exhibition at Battersea Power Station during half term, although I’m not going to see that as I’m busy with other things, and I got hands-on with the models and costumes during the touch tour anyway, which beats any exhibition!
But back to the films, and the 1994 classic wins hands down on every level against the 2019 remake, as I knew it would, including the very different styles of animation. The photorealistic animation in the remake is incredible for sure, with so much attention to detail, but it also proves to be a disadvantage, because it lacks much of the heart and soul that was present in the original movie.
In particular, the characters in the 1994 film are really expressive and full of personality, whereas the animators in the 2019 remake have been so faithful to how animals look in reality that most of that is lost. Mufasa’s death scene for example, the pivotal moment in the story, is extremely impactful in the original film, with Simba really pulling at the heartstrings in a way that cannot fail to move you. But in the new version it just falls flat – which is ironically the reason that Mufasa dies in the first place – because the animation doesn’t fully convey how deeply traumatising it is for the young cub, so it doesn’t hit you in the way it’s supposed to. It’s still a sad scene, granted, but it’s nowhere near as effective or moving. Even if you haven’t seen the original, you can tell something’s not quite right.
The acting overall is also much better in the first film, again really delivering on the characterisation and emotion. The magnificent James Earl Jones plays Mufasa in both versions of the story (the only actor to reprise their role), but has much more gravitas in the original given his younger age. Meanwhile, Jeremy Irons is really menacing as Scar, Rowan Atkinson is perfectly cast as Zazu with all the comedy the role entails, and the other actors are brilliant too.
The songs in the original film are performed better as well, in part because of the vocal talents involved (Beyoncé in the remake doesn’t really cut it), but also because the animation isn’t restrained by the photorealism that the new film imposes on itself, so it has a lot more fun with it. Indeed, the whole score for the original film by Hans Zimmer is beautiful, so I’ve downloaded the Legacy Collection edition of the soundtrack with all the music and several bonus tracks, plus I have the soundtrack for the musical.
And beyond all of that, overall the writing is better, the comedy is funnier and the story flows more nicely in the original film, and it’s still pure joy to watch whatever your age. It’s a truly timeless classic.
That’s not to say the remake is terrible though. Despite its inherent flaws, it is a good enough way to pass a couple of hours, as long as you manage your expectations and accept its limitations going into it, especially if you’re familiar with and love the original movie. The animation is stunning in terms of its photorealism, and it does have moments that are sweet, dramatic or amusing. But it’s just not a film I’d watch again given that the original is so much better.
Animated Sequels
I also had a look at the two straight-to-video sequels on Disney+, which I’d never seen before. They’re not on a par with the original film by any means, but they’re not too bad either in fairness, so they’re worth watching.
The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride from 1998 is about Simba’s daughter Kiara falling in love with Kovu, a member of Scar’s former pride, and the issues that result given that certain family members on each side aren’t happy about it. And The Lion King 1½ from 2004 is a ‘sidequel’ that revisits the story of the original film from the perspective of Timon & Pumbaa, during which we learn about Timon’s upbringing (with a surprisingly catchy song about digging tunnels) and how the two of them became friends. On top of that Disney+ also has the animated children’s shows called Timon & Pumbaa and The Lion Guard, but I’m not interested in watching those.
Mufasa Prequel
The new prequel, that was released in December, is all about the journey of Mufasa (now played by Aaron Pierre) from childhood to ruler of the kingdom, so in that regard it’s a similar premise to the first film. Indeed, like Simba, he’s also forced to grow up far from home before returning to his family, but this time it’s because he’s been swept away down the river in a huge flood. He meets some other lions and is adopted into a new family, where he forms a close connection with his new brother called Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.).
But Mufasa longs to find a mythical and beautiful place called Milele (the Pride Lands where the original film is set), to which he and his real parents had been headed. So when he and Taka are forced to run by a nasty group of lions called the Outsiders led by Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), they head for the promised land, along the way meeting hornbill Zazu (Preston Nyman), mandrill Rafiki (John Kani) and lioness Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), who we know from the original film. The Outsiders are hunting them down though, so it’s a dangerous journey. And once the travellers reach the Pride Lands, we discover how Mufasa earns his place as king and how Scar came to be his enemy.
The whole story is told by Rafiki to Simba’s daughter Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), so in that sense the film is also partly a sequel, as we briefly see Simba and his family after the events of the 2019 movie.
Overall I would say the prequel is alright. As with the 2019 film, it’s not something I’d want to buy or watch again, but it was a decent enough way to spend an afternoon in the cinema.
It wisely doesn’t try to compete with the original Lion King adventure, but instead works well as a companion piece. It is an interesting story, especially as we get to see the origins of several familiar characters, and gain greater understanding of the relationship between Mufasa and Scar. And the stunning photorealistic animation has been improved this time, because the animals seem to be more expressive, although still nowhere near as much as in the 1994 film of course. There’s a fair amount of action, tension, humour and heartwarming moments as well.
The songs however, while serving their purpose nicely enough, are completely forgettable. And Timon and Pumbaa (Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen) have been rather shoehorned in, as they’re not part of the prequel narrative, so all they can do is make occasional comments while listening to Rafiki. It’s nice to see them again and they are sometimes amusing, but their presence is ultimately unnecessary.
Another little thing I did like though is that the film kindly honours James Earl Jones at the start, with a bit of archive audio of his voice as Mufasa before showing a dedication to him. He passed away a few months before the film’s release, so I’m glad they paid tribute to him.
Extra Features
I’ve now bought the Blu-ray box set of the 3 original Lion King films after watching them online, because it was the easiest way to get hold of the first movie that I wanted most, and as it was cheap I don’t mind having the two sequels as well, even if I won’t watch them as much. I’m not interested in owning the remake or the Mufasa prequel though. But even if you don’t buy the films, some of the extras are also available on Disney+ as well.
The 1994 film comes with a lot of extras on the Blu-ray, presented on a menu that has nice animation, transitioning between a few of the environments from the film with the music changing to match. For a start, you can watch the movie with sing-along lyrics or an audio commentary by the director and two co-producers. There’s also a great 38-minute documentary called Pride Of The Lion King, where the production team look back at how the film was made and discuss the Broadway musical, along with a 19-minute retrospective by producer Don Hahn.
In addition, there’s an extended version of the Morning Report scene, which was one of the new songs written for the stage musical, but was newly animated and inserted into the film for the Platinum DVD release. Plus there are 5 deleted and alternate scenes, a gag reel of bloopers as if the animals were really being filmed, and an enormous image gallery that you’d have to be really obsessive to spend ages looking through (so I didn’t).
There’s also a link to further online extras from Disney BD-Live, which doesn’t work now as they abandoned that service a long time ago. And there’s a 4-minute advert for Blu-ray 3D presented by Timon and Pumbaa, which is also included on the discs for the sequels.
On Disney+, meanwhile, the film comes with the sing-along version, deleted scenes and the Pride Of The Lion King documentary.
The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride only comes with a trailer on Disney+ (like every film does), but it does have a few extras on the Blu-ray. These include an interesting 10-minute making-of feature, a nicely animated 5-minute short called One By One about an African community making kites together, two short features for children hosted by Timon and Pumbaa where they give facts about insects and answer science questions, and the music video for Love Will Find A Way by Kenny Lattimore and Heather Headley.
The Lion King 1½ on Blu-ray (which is sold with its alternate title Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata) has a 15-minute look at the making of the film, 7 deleted scenes, a 4-minute spoof documentary about Timon, a 5-minute movie presented by Timon and Pumbaa with facts about animals, and the music video for Grazin’ In The Grass by Raven-Symoné, which is an inferior pop cover of the song by Friends Of Distinction, which itself is based on an instrumental recorded by Hugh Masekela, a South African trumpeter. Disney+ also has the deleted scenes, along with Timon and Pumbaa’s little movie about animals.
Meanwhile, the 2019 remake on Disney+ comes with an introduction and audio commentary by the director, a sing-along version of the film, an interesting 22-minute feature that shows how the photorealistic animation was achieved (including the clever use of virtual reality), insightful breakdowns of the animation for 3 scenes, music videos for the new songs Never Too Late by Elton John (which I do quite like as it’s very catchy) and Spirit by Beyoncé, and a short feature about some of the animals that’s presented by a dung beetle. The Blu-ray, which I haven’t bought, also carries most of those features, along with a few others about the making of the film.
Finally you can also watch the 30th anniversary concert on Disney+, that was performed at the Hollywood Bowl last year, featuring some of the original stars of the movies and the musical. Sure, one or two of the older performers don’t have the same level of energy they once did, but it’s still great to see them, and on the whole it is fun. There’s a short behind the scenes feature on Youtube about that gig as well.
Aladdin
Original Film
Again this doesn’t really require an explanation, but if like the genie you’ve been trapped in a cave for thousands of years, Aladdin’s story is based on an old Arabic folk tale, and is about a young impoverished man who finds a lamp containing a genie who grants him three wishes. He takes advantage of the opportunity to get turned into a prince in order to try and win the heart of Princess Jasmine at the palace, while the evil Jafar tries to get the lamp for his own nefarious purposes.
The 1992 film is an absolute classic of course, mostly because of the insurmountable Robin Williams giving a stellar performance as the genie, full of humour and heart (and he also plays the peddler who introduces the story). But all of the other characters are great too, including Scott Weinger as Aladdin, Linda Larkin as Jasmine, Jonathan Freeman as Jafar, Douglas Seale as the Sultan, Frank Welker as Aladdin’s funny and mischievous pet monkey Abu, and Gilbert Gottfried as Jafar’s amusingly irritable parrot Iago. Brad Kane and Lea Salonga also deserve credit for the singing voices of Aladdin and Jasmine.
The animators also deserve praise for enabling the magic carpet to have so much character and expression considering it doesn’t have a voice, face or limbs, as well as their overall designs of the costumes, locations and big set pieces. Even today the movie still holds up as a visual triumph.
And then of course there are the brilliant songs by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, including the wonderful Friend Like Me when the genie introduces himself to Aladdin, the majestic Prince Ali for Aladdin’s arrival at the palace, and the sublime A Whole New World between Aladdin and Jasmine. Remarkably, the end credits version of the latter by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle is still Disney’s only Grammy-winning song to date.
A few different versions of the soundtrack have been issued over time, including a Legacy Collection with the full score and several bonus tracks, a shorter Special Edition with 2 more demos that aren’t in the Legacy Collection, and further tracks in the Music Behind The Magic box set. The latter isn’t available now, but I’ve downloaded the Legacy Collection and the 2 Special Edition bonus tracks to add to it, and that’s plenty for me. There’s also a catchy Sim Gretina remix of Friend Like Me online that I quite like, which was used in a magic carpet prank video by Youtube star Jesse with the help of Casey Neistat.
It’s also notable that Disney have included a warning with this film and its animated sequels, about the racist stereotypes it contains, directing viewers to their Stories Matter website about how stories have impacted society. This warning appears on quite a few of their films, and I’m glad they’ve taken this approach rather than deleting the movies entirely. Warner Bros also do a similar thing, and there are some TV channels that give a brief warning when showing old programmes such as sitcoms. The vast majority of adults who watch such content don’t need the disclaimer of course, because they know that stereotypes are wrong already, but there are sadly some who need a reminder in this day and age, while for children it could be used as a way to spark discussion and learning.
Animated Sequels
The two direct-to-video sequels for the original animated film are also both on Disney+, and while inferior in quality are still worth a look.
The first is The Return Of Jafar, which I did also own on video during my childhood alongside the original film, so I do remember it. And as the name suggests it’s about Jafar, now an all-powerful genie himself, coming back to get revenge against Aladdin. It features most of the original cast, except for Dan Castellaneta (best known as Homer Simpson of course) playing the genie and Val Bettin as the Sultan, while Jasmine’s singing voice is now provided by Liz Callaway. And while they’re all ok, the magic is lost with the genie, so to speak, as Robin Williams set the bar so high that Dan just can’t live up to it, and having a different voice for that character just feels wrong. Plus the whole film just feels weak overall really, in terms of the animation, the story and the songs.
That sequel was actually born out of an animated TV series, as it was the story that had been originally planned for the first 5 episodes, before it got spun out into its own movie instead. So even though the series launched before Return Of Jafar, it’s actually set after it chronologically, just to confuse things. And in total it ran for 86 episodes in 1994 & 1995. But I never watched it, as I didn’t have the Disney Channel back then, and it’s not on Disney+ today. I’m not concerned about it now either, as it was more for children really, and the films were all I wanted to see anyway.
The third and final film in the trilogy, which came after the TV series, then brings Aladdin’s story to a close. In Aladdin & The King Of Thieves from 1996, a gang of forty thieves (as in the Ali Baba story) gatecrash Aladdin and Jasmine’s wedding, in their hunt for a staff containing an all-knowing Oracle who will answer just one question per person. Aladdin manages to save the staff, however, and uses it to find out what has happened to his father, who he hasn’t seen for many years. But when he tracks him down he’s in for a shock.
I had never seen this sequel before, perhaps because I was getting into my teenage years at that point, and thus my tastes were probably changing from Disney cartoons to other things by then. So it’s been interesting to check it out now, and it is a bit better than The Return Of Jafar. That’s largely because Robin Williams is back as the genie, which really lifts it as he’s on good form, coming out with a myriad of fun cultural references, including a nod to the Lion King and other Disney cartoons. And in general it just feels like a bit more work has been put into the production compared to the Jafar sequel.
I like the way the movie ends as well, bringing things full circle with the peddler from the market singing a reprise of Arabian Nights, which is a callback to the start of the first film. And there’s a nice little bit from the genie at the end of the credits too – it’s often worth skipping through the credits to the end for a little bonus in Disney movies, and the Aladdin trilogy is no exception.
So that was where Aladdin’s main story ended, although the characters did return in the Arabian Night episode of the Hercules TV series in 1999, while Princess Jasmine and some of the supporting characters made a guest appearance in the direct-to-video film Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams from 2007, in a segment called More Than A Peacock Princess. I didn’t see those at the time of course, so this is the first time I’ve seen clips of them, though they’re nothing special.
Live Action Remake
As with the CGI remake of the Lion King from the same year, I had never seen the 2019 live action remake of Aladdin before, so it was interesting to check it out. And what immediately strikes you is that unlike The Lion King, which adhered closely to the original plot and script, Aladdin has had a complete rewrite.
Don’t get me wrong, the underlying narrative is still the same, with all the key story beats and important songs present and correct, and there are moments within the action and dialogue that are lifted directly from the old film, so there are very clear connections with its predecessor. But Guy Ritchie’s adaptation is also very different. In part that’s because live action, even with the aid of special effects, cannot match everything from the cartoon version perfectly, so it had to change anyway. But it’s also an opportunity to explore the story in a different way and in more depth, and also in a manner that’s more respectful towards the Arabic culture, as there are no warnings about stereotypes with this version.
I did therefore go into this film with low expectations, aware that things had been changed, so I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. But it is reasonably entertaining. The original animated version is superior, granted, but they have put a lot of effort into this adaptation, and it shows.
Will Smith in particular is pretty good as the genie, credit where it’s due. Not as stellar as Robin Williams of course, but he doesn’t try to copy him either, instead making the role his own, and he does honour Robin by including a few of his lines. He has great chemistry with Mena Massoud as Aladdin too, who does well in the title role, and it’s nice to see how much the genie cares about him. Jasmine (Naomi Scott) also has a lot more strength and range to her character, so we get to know her much better. Aladdin’s monkey Abu (with Frank Welker reprising his role from the original animated film) is quite fun too, and the magic carpet is again brought to life very effectively.
As for Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), he doesn’t feel as menacing as in the old film, although he’s clearly still not someone you’d want to mess with, especially when he gets the genie under his control near the end. His parrot Iago (Alan Tudyk) does have some dialogue, but is nothing like the angry bird from before, so doesn’t add any comedic value this time. And the Sultan (Navid Negahban) is a much more formal presence compared to the jolly, bubbly ruler in the animated film. So the characters in this remake are a bit of a mixed bag really, they’re not as strong as in the old film.
Some of the songs are better than others as well. I did enjoy the epic new versions of Friend Like Me & Prince Ali, which is hardly surprising with Will Smith leading them, and they clearly had a lot of fun putting the visuals together in both cases. Meanwhile, A Whole New World is nice enough, but pales in comparison to the original film. And the new song for Jasmine – Speechless – is powerful and performed well, yet is still forgettable and doesn’t really fit with the style of the other tracks. They save the worst for the end credits though, ironically after the fabulous dance finale, with a heavily rewritten rap version of Friend Like Me by Will Smith and DJ Khaled, plus A Whole New World by Zayn Malik and Zhavia Ward, and I’m not a fan of either of those renditions.
So while I won’t be buying it and wouldn’t be in any rush to see it again, I’m glad I finally gave it a go, as it was better than I’d been expecting.
Extra Features
I’ve now bought Aladdin on Blu-ray, which has a lot of extras on it. The movie itself can be watched with sing-along lyrics on screen or an audio commentary from three of the producers. Beyond that, the most significant and interesting feature is A Diamond In The Rough: The Making Of Aladdin, which is an extensive compilation of material lasting almost 1 hour 40 minutes, including a discussion with the filmmakers in front of a live audience, behind the scenes footage, rough versions of animations, interviews with cast members and more. There are also a couple of deleted scenes presented as storyboards, which are in a separate feature lasting nearly 6 minutes.
The remaining 25 minutes of bonus material is all about the songs, including 2 music videos for A Whole New World – the award-winning end credits version by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle, plus a cover version recorded by Nick Lachey & Jessica Simpson for the Disneymania 3 album, which is ok but not as good.
We also get to hear 4 deleted songs, the most significant of which is Proud Of Your Boy, which had to be cut when Aladdin’s mother was taken out of the story, which is a shame because it is lovely. The lyrics were written by Howard Ashman, who was very fond of it, but he sadly died before the film had finished production, so the song is included on the Blu-ray in his memory, with moving tributes by his colleagues. It’s presented in two forms – the original demo by composer Alan Menken, which was released on the Special Edition soundtrack album and the Music Behind The Magic box set, and an orchestral version recorded by Clay Aiken for the 2004 Special Edition DVD. Alan Menken has also performed the song live several times, and it became part of the stage musical too (which I haven’t seen), so it’s continued to live on.
There are also a few additional extras on Disney+, including another deleted song, a rundown of all the genie’s celebrity impressions (many of which I hadn’t recognised because they’re American references), and a chat between the directors as they reminisce about working together. These extras were among others on the Diamond Edition release (including a second commentary, outtakes and a look behind the scenes at the musical), which isn’t the edition I’ve got, but I’m happy with the Blu-ray I do have, it’s got enough on it as it is.
I’ve also bought the two sequels on DVD, as it was the easiest way to get them, and given their lower animation quality I don’t need Blu-ray copies. Both of them have audio description available too, which sadly isn’t present for the original movie on Blu-ray, nor for any of the films in the Lion King box set I mentioned earlier. Disney+ has audio description though, thankfully, for those who need it.
The sequels only have trailers with them on Disney+, and there are only a few extras for children on the DVDs, so nothing exciting to speak of. For The Return Of Jafar, you can have 3 wishes fulfilled by the evil genie in his own special way, and learn about the types of wishes people make around the world. Then for The King Of Thieves, you can hunt down 8 of the 40 thieves, and search for the wedding presents that the gang have stolen from Aladdin and Jasmine. Other than that, each DVD has a menu of the songs from the film that you can watch and sing-along with, but that’s it.
As for the remake, I’m not interested in owning it on disc, but there are several short extras on Disney+ anyway, including Will Smith talking about playing the genie, Mena Massoud’s video diary, a little montage of outtakes, 6 deleted scenes, a deleted song (which is a slow, sweet duet between Aladdin and Jasmine), and a feature about director Guy Ritchie’s involvement with the movie. The Blu-ray includes all of that along with 3 music videos – Speechless by Naomi Scott, plus 2 versions of A Whole New World featuring Zayn Malik, specifically the end credits version with Zhavia Ward and a bilingual version with Becky G singing in Spanish.
Conclusion
So that’s it, I hope you enjoyed my exploration of those two franchises. It’s been a very long time since I last saw the original films in my childhood, but they’ve really withstood the test of time, and the musical numbers are still great. The modern remakes have had a lot of work put into them, sure, so they’re not awful, but they just can’t match up to the originals either, which will always be the best. I hope that children who see the new versions are encouraged to check out the old ones too, so they can make up their own minds.
I’m not planning to review any more Disney remakes beyond these, although never say never I guess. But if you want to see more reviews of animated films I’ve written recently, you can check out my post about Wallace & Gromit – including their Oscar-nominated new film Vengeance Most Fowl that has just won 2 BAFTAs this week – and my follow-up about other Aardman productions. So I hope you enjoy those too!
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