So this one is tough because The Lion King re-release in 3D isn’t really something I wanted to review since it’s almost two decades old but since it exploded the box office I felt I had to review it. So I slapped on those color-muting 3D glasses (they do ruin a nicely colorful picture like The Lion King) and went to see this last weekend.
What Works: Well, of course The Lion King is a great movie. It really is. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily better in 3D than it was when it first hit theaters, was later re-issued, I saw it on VHS a hundred times (I think every schoolteacher in the country has a copy of this movie to show the day before Christmas break), saw it on Broadway, and will now be able to watch it on Blu-Ray and DVD. [Seriously, the creator of these characters must be a billionaire by now.]
What Doesn’t Work: Watching the movie for a 500th time (and the first as an adult), I noticed that the first half of this movie (when Simba is still a kid) is nearly perfect. There’s a great villain in Scar, great tension, Shakespearian themes, some seriously inventive rhythms, and great songs (Scar’s unsettling “Be Prepared” to the joyful “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”). But then I noticed that the second half (when Simba leaves Pride Rock and meets the comedic sidekicks) isn’t nearly as good. The pacing is slacker, the adult themes are no stronger now that the characters are actual adults (which is weird), and even the songs are less impressive (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”).
What I Would Have Done Differently: You can’t mess with The Lion King. Even talking about changing this movie would inspire an appropriately angry mob to kill you, so I’ll just say that I really enjoyed seeing the movie on the big screen again. I’m not sure it’s better in 3D and I actually would have preferred just getting to watch it in 2D.