The Critics Have Seen The Lion King And Here's What They Say

It looks like the House of Mouse has delivered a live-action fable worthy of a king. First reactions are pouring in for Disney's live-action remake of the classic 1994 animated film The Lion King, and they're full of nothing but praise for the movie's stunning visuals and brilliant voice performances.

That The Lion King is being heralded as a landmark in photorealistic computer animation shouldn't come as a surprise. The movie is the handiwork of director Jon Favreau, who pulled off something similar with his 2016 live-action remake of The Jungle Book. At the time, that movie was also widely praised for its deeply detailed and meticulously rendered CGI characters.

For The Lion King, Favreau worked with a screenplay by Jeff Nathanson, who previously worked on Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. He also had the pleasure of presiding over a cast that included some of Hollywood's hottest stars.

Folks who caught preview screenings for The Lion King quickly flocked to Twitter to heap praise on the flick. Actress and cosplayer extraordinaire Mica Burton gushed over the movie's faithfulness to the original, while expressing appreciation for its more modern touches. She wrote:

"The Lion King… was more than anything I ever could've wanted. It was BEAUTIFULLY animated, paid the highest of honors to the original, and was packed with modern humor."

The Wrap senior film reporter Beatrice Verhoeven was in full agreement, bursting with praise for pretty much every aspect of the film, in particular the performance of a certain pop music powerhouse. She tweeted:

"Oh man #TheLionKing delivers. It's a visual masterpiece that will leave you smiling and crying the whole time. It's a true testament to the lasting effect Disney movies have on all generations. Timon and Pumbaa steal the show. And BEYONCE!!!"

Screen Picks editor and critic Kit Bowen acknowledged that the original film set a high bar to live up to but admitted the remake won her over nonetheless. Keep watching the video to see the critics have seen The Lion King and here's what they say!

#TheLionKing #LionKing