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The Lion King reactions are in and everyone feels the love tonight

Early critic reviews are extremely Simba-thetic

10 July 2019

Remaking an animated classic is very much a double-edged sword. On one hand you have source material that’s very strong and almost universally well liked. On the other, it already exists, so what’s the point?

But Disney’s live action remake of The Lion King (itself, arguably a remake of 1609 classic Hamlet, only with safari animals instead of Danes) is, thankfully, getting good early impressions from the press screenings. Here’s a flavour of what the critics are saying ahead of its July 17 release date.



“A piece of art” is pretty high praise, but impressively it gets more effusive with each 280-character review you read.



Davis isn’t the only person to feel that Timon and Pumba steal the show all over again, just like they did in 1994.



And yes, applause. Actual applause!



...though you may want to make sure you have a hankie on hand:



But hey, at least you’ll be smiling while you’re crying:



Ultimately, two great versions of a movie are better than one, as one reviewer noted:



While full-length reviews aren’t available yet, it certainly looks like Disney has another hit on its hands. Hopefully the first of many, given the studio has already committed to its entire movie output until 2027...


If you prefer your kids’ films of the animated, rather than CGI variety, then be sure to check out our list of the best Pixar films.