Thanks to ‘The Lion King’ — which hits theaters this weekend — and ‘Spider Man: Far From Home,’ which has been breaking box office records for a few weeks now, folks at the Walt Disney Company will have no trouble keeping the lights on this summer…
By Denise Clay
As someone who watches the Hollywood trade papers, I was fascinated when the announcement came down that 21st Century Fox studios had been purchased by the Walt Disney Company last year.
As part of the $54.2 billion acquisition, Disney, which also owns ABC, Marvel Studios, and Hulu, took over Fox’s cable networks including the popular FX, the rights to distribute “Star Wars” films and the 21st Century Fox studios, a move that could bring Deadpool, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But to pay for all of this, much less maintain it, Disney needs money. And it knows that the best way to get it is to put out movies filled with familiar characters that folks will run —- not walk —- to the theaters to see this summer.
So Disney gives you a “photo real” (not live action, they’re really clear about that) version of “The Lion King” that brings back James Earl Jones as Mufasa and features Beyonce’ (and a new Beyonce record, because you can’t have one without the other) as Nala and “Spider Man: Far From Home” to show you that even when Peter Parker is on vacation and trying to impress the girl he likes, shenanigans ensue.
Now because the House Of Mouse knows that these are familiar properties and that you’ll like them both, they’ll get your money. Heck, they’ll probably get mine.
But only one left me wanting more, which considering the fact that Disney has a $54.2 billion price tag it’s gotta make good on, means a sequel that probably won’t be an equal.
Let’s start with Lion King, which opens on Friday. This “photo real” film, which was shot with a combination of virtual reality, animation, and live action, tells the story of Simba the lion, voiced this time around by JD McCrary of OWN’s “The Paynes” (young Simba) and Donald Glover, of “Atlanta” fame (Simba as an adult).
Simba and his pal Nala (voiced by Shahadi Wright Joseph as a child and Beyonce as an adult) go looking for adventures around Pride Rock with Zazu (John Oliver), keeping a watchful eye, but because Simba’s Uncle Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is kinda salty about his brother Mufasa being the king instead of him and Simba’s proposed assumption of the mantle once the King is gone, some of the their play dates go horribly awry…like the time they ended up in an elephant graveyard surrounded by hyenas ready to eat them.
With the help of Mufasa, Simba gets out of that jam, but when his father gets killed by his brother during a stampede, Scar manages to convince Simba that it’s all his fault and that he needs to leave the only home he’s ever known.
Now Simba’s leaving home leads to him meeting Timon and Puumba, who steal the show as voiced by Seth Rogan (“Pineapple Express”) and Billy Eichner (“Billy On The Street”), and several rollicking choruses of “Hakuna Matata”…
But stop me if you’ve heard this before, which I’m pretty sure you have.
The only thing that’s truly new about this “Lion King” is Beyoncé’s “Spirit”, or as I like to call it, her attempt to join Prince, Lady Gaga, John Legend and Common in the “Pop Stars With Oscars” circle, and the way that the project was filmed.
Actually, that’s not true. Another thing that’s new about this movie is just how little of the original score by Hans Zimmer, Tim Rice, and Elton John — another member of the Pop Stars With Oscars circle — made it into the film. While director Jon Favreau, who I’ll talk about more in a minute, knew that this movie wouldn’t make sense without “The Circle Of Life,” “Hakuna Matata,” and the Oscar-winning “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?”, he didn’t include much else. And that’s a disservice.
But you have to hand it to the Disney folks. They know what sells. They know that if you attach Beyonce to anything, folks are going to run to it, especially if it’s a remake of a beloved movie. That said, it’s merely okay because while the voices in this picture try and convey emotion, what made the fully animated version of “The Lion King” such a classic, the expressions of the characters themselves, is missing here.
Here’s another thing that you have to hand to the Disney folks: the House of Mouse wastes nothing, especially talent. The studio recycles like nobody’s business, Case in point, “Black Panther” alums John Kani and Florence Kasumba are the voices of Rafiki and Shinzi respectively.
And Favreau leaves the director’s chair to reprise his Iron Man/Avengers character of Happy Hogan in “Spider Man: Far From Home,” which is the next way that the Disney folks are going to get you to help them get together the $54.2 million they need to finish paying for the Fox acquisition.
“Far From Home” begins with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) trying to make some sense out of life after what folks are calling “The Blip”, or as most of us know it, Thanos’s Infinity Stoned finger snap that got rid of half the world’s population. He’s also trying to deal with the loss of his mentor Tony Stark in the ensuing Avengers battle that ultimately brought almost everyone taken in “the Blip.”
But he’s also trying to finish high school, go on a science trip to Europe, hang out with his friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), figure out what’s up with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and Happy, and tell the girl he likes, MJ (Zendaya) how he feels about her with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop.
None of that happens, of course. And that’s because Peter learns the one thing that I guess all Avengers have to learn eventually: You don’t ‘ghost” Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). While on a school trip to Europe, Fury shows up with a new hero, Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) in tow. While it appears that he’s there to help fight an inter dimensional threat brought forth by “The Blip,” his real purpose is to separate Peter from his inheritance from Tony Stark, a pair of glasses with, let’s just say, special abilities.
What I’ve really enjoyed about this latest iteration of “Spider Man” films is that you’re seeing things blowing up and the world going to hell from the point of view of a high school student. Granted, he’s a high school student that’s been to space and has Captain America’s number on speed dial, but for all intents and purposes, Peter Parker’s still a kid.
Which is why what happens in the post credit scenes turns out to be so wild. Without giving too much away, a longtime nemesis of Spidey’s comes on the scene and the next movie is probably going to feel really familiar to those who grew up watching the cartoons.
And I’ll be there for that because I’m interested in seeing where the story goes next, which is something that I could have said about “The Lion King” if it had changed, well, anything.
That said, I can recommend both movies, although I recommend “Far From Home” just a little bit more.
And hopefully, Disney will send all of us a thank you note for helping them finish buying 21st Century Fox.
(Although they could do that a whole lot better with a Fantastic Four reboot. Just saying…)
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