Some animators on the original Lion King are divided over Disney’s remake

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

If you were wondering if and when Disney would ever stop with their live-action/CGI remakes of their animated hits, then all you have to do is look at THE LION KING’s over $1 billion total (after two weeks) to realize that ain’t happening. Disney has several new remakes coming down the pipe, including next year’s MULAN, and it’s understandable to wonder how the animators on the original movies feel about it. Now some of the animators on the original LION KING have come forward to share their thoughts about the CGI remake, with reactions ranging from “resentment” to satisfaction.

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The Huffington Post recently reached out to 13 animators on the original 1994 film to ask about their thoughts on the remake, several of whom did not respond to their requests. Of the others who did respond, some answered anonymously, and if you guessed they are not thrilled about the remake, then guess what friend; you guessed right.  “There is a huge resentment against these 3D remakes from the original 2D crews. Maybe if we got any kind of royalties it would be different,” one responded.

One who did respond openly was animator David Stephan, who worked on such key parts of the movie like the “Circle of Life” sequence. He is certainly in the dissatisfied column, saying, “If you polled the crew of the original ‘Lion King,’ most of them would say, ‘Why? Did you really have to do that?’ It kind of hurts.”

He continued, discussing his dislike over the lack of emotion that came from trying to make everything photorealistic, which he feels robbed the remake of the impact the original had.

“It would jar me out of the film, literally. Especially with little Simba walking around. It was too real. And then when he would talk, it reminded me of those old nature films where they would dub the voices over and the lips would move. I thought, ‘Oh, this is really cheap.’ I think it was just too soon for this one. … I just came away going, ‘Wow, that was a great story that I worked on back in ’93.’ … How come the apes in ‘Planet of the Apes’ look so much more alive than the animals in ‘Lion King’? This one just said, ‘You know what, let’s cut the expressions out completely. Let’s just keep it real as possible.’ And I think it just diminished the film.”

He wasn’t even a fan of the performances from actors like Donald Glover, Beyonce Knowles-Carter and more. “I thought the performances were weak,” he said. “I mean, they were so wooden. [The filmmakers] put themselves into a corner when you do that realistically."

At the end of the day, Stephan throws it all back at Disney. “It’s sort of sad that the stockholder is now in the room deciding what movies get made. … Disney’s now taken the cover off, and it’s now in your face: ‘Yeah, we just want to make money,’” he said. “That’s disappointing as an artist, from a studio that was founded on originality and art.”

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However, two other LION KING animators who responded to HuffPo, Alexander Williams and Dave Bossert, have opposing views to Stephan's. They were actually very pleased with what director Jon Favreau and the team did, for the most part, with the latter saying, “It not only showcases a great story again, but it’s an homage to the original film.”

While Bossert agrees with Stephan that the lack of emotion from the animals was a downside, he says that ultimately the overall movie stayed true to the original.

“Visually, it’s stunning … In some instances, it’s a shot-by-shot version of the original animated film, and that didn’t bother me at all because I think the filmmakers were staying faithful to the original property. The faithfulness to the original animated film certainly endears it to the audience, without question.”

When it comes down to it, it seems the reactions from the original animators is a strong reflection of the general public's. Some think it does a disservice to the original, others say it lives up the standard by doing something new, and there are probably a bunch going, "Nah, I'm good." What it all comes down to is your own feelings of the movie, and if it left you cold or mesmerized. This movie is so big everyone is going to have some thoughts on it, so you can only really judge for yourself. The only thing that is certain? This will be far from the last Disney remake we have to talk about. 

THE LION KING is in theaters now.