Nicola O'Malley (NihonKiwi)

As an avid fan of the original animation and the stage production, I was impressed with Jon Favreau's take on the Lion King. The animation and effects were visually stunning, and more realistic than I thought could ever be possible for a film that was entirely created using computers. However, the realism detracts feeling and emotion from some scenes, making them anti-climactic; especially the scene of Mufasa's death, which had such an impact on me as a child. Hans Zimmer's return to the score for this film did not disappoint, and at some points actually saved the emotion and drama of the original plot which the photo-realism (perhaps unintentionally) butchers.The voice acting and singing was decent, and I was particularly impressed with John Kani's portrayal of Rafiki as well as James Earl Jones's reprisal of Mufasa. The voice actors for child Simba and Nala were well chosen, while their adult counterparts made Simba more relaxed and playful, and Nala stronger and more determined in nature. Despite it's flaws, I did cry twice during the film, more than what I cried for the original all the way back in 1994. Fans of the original Lion King will undoubtedly both love and dislike this re-imagining, myself included.