The Lion King (Tamil) voice cast: Siddharth (Simba), Arvind Swami (Scar), Aishwarya Rajesh (Nala), P Ravishankar (Mufasa), Manobala (Zazu), Singam Puli (Timon), Robo Shankar (Pumba)
The Lion King director: Jon Favreau
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In 1994, when the Lion King was released, Arvind Swami was the voice of Simba, but this time, it’s Siddharth. In case, you haven’t watched the original, this visually-enhanced remake of the Disney classic could be your cup of tea. But, to me, unfortunately not. When an animation drama works, they can be joyful and worth-watching as there are not many films whose visuals entice a four-year-old and a forty-year-old equally. When they don’t work, they can be tiresome.
The photorealistic animation does its best to portray a brooding picture, but it really nullifies the whimsical nature of the film’s song sequences, an aspect that made the original more special. The visuals, to a greater extent, achieve a lending personality to the characters. Their facial expressions do not feel restricted and convey their underlying emotion in a palpable way.
The climactic moments has the required amount of turbulence. Simba’s journey from a reluctant heir to a confident saviour is well-portrayed, despite relying heavily on the usual tropes and archetypes. One wishes that Nala’s character could’ve been more powerful. Despite the overbearing familiarity, ‘The Lion King’ carries some imaginative flourishes, one such instance includes the wonderful scene where Rafiki, the soothsaying monkey, finds out about Simba’s existence. Overall, The Lion King is a line-by-line adaptation that engages the one who is less familiar with the original.
