 It's the award-winning 1994 animated classic The Lion King vs. the new 2019 live-action version, here on Movie Feuds. The Lion King has a wonderful cast of characters that will make you laugh, make you angry, even make you cry. It was going to be hard to replicate this stellar voice work heard throughout the Pride Lands, but the 2019 version was up for the task, failing at almost every single turn. This is an opinion-based show. You're gonna have to deal with that or move on. It's your life. 90s heartthrob Jonathan Taylor Thomas or JTT to the Tiger Beat fans out there. Voices the Cub who just can't wait to be king. He's energetic, curious, and oftentimes a bit of a wild card. JD McCrary mains the character in 2019. It's a play on words, main. Kids say main. Main is also on a lion. You get it. I don't know this kid, but he was on an episode of the Eric Andre show, so he's all right by me. And I also thought he was about as close to the original, performance-wise, as you could get. That says a lot, too, as James Earl Jones came back to voice Mufasa once again. You wouldn't be faulted for thinking it was someone else entirely, as the neighbor from the Sandlot seems far less enthusiastic now. Granted, Jones is quite a bit older than he was in 1994, but I think he's just bored reading mostly the same lines again all these years later. And this lack of interest can be heard through most of the ensemble here. Not bringing Jeremy Irons back for Scar is the biggest headscratcher for me. Then again, this film's existence at all is a headscratcher. Remember when they remade Psycho, shot for shot, and in color with Vince Vaughn? People hated it. Wondered what the point was. Yeah, how is this any different? I digress. Beyonce is solid as Nala, and John Oliver as Zazu works well enough, but do I prefer them over the originals? No, there's not a voice that I would want to swap out with the cartoon classic. Seth Rogen does do a great Pumba impression, but again, he's not Ernie Cibella. Some of the animals didn't even show up, such as Jim Cummings' crazy hyena Ed, or his buddy Banzai, played by Cheech Marin. Instead, more serious hyenas were put in place. Whoopi Goldberg's Shenzhi is back, now voiced by Florence Kasumba. I mean, she's back, but not really, because this one's far darker, far edgier, far more serious. There's no real dimension to the villains anymore. They're just dry, cold, bad guys. Did people honestly like the 2019 Lion King? I just have to know, because I feel like I'm losing my mind. Let's move on to story. The Lion King is Hamlet set in Kenya. It's Disney's Game of Thrones, a game that Scar successfully wins for many years. Mufasa's brother Scar is not thrilled with the prospect of taking orders from Simba down the road, nor is he keen to continue operating under Mufasa. So he makes a deal with the hyenas to kill two cats with one stampede, as the expression goes. And he mostly succeeds, but puts too much faith in his new allies as they botch the job. Simba runs away, befriends a war-tog and a meerkat, learns a Kuna Matata, and leaves his past in the past. The funny thing about the past is, kids, it has a cruel way of cropping back up on you. In this case, via old friend and wife-to-be Nala, as she tries to make a meal out of Pumbaa, Simba and Nala reunite, return to Pride Rock, and with the help of old and new friends, defeat Scar. It's an epic film with some really strong messages. The main one being to remember who you are and where you came from. Simba turned his back on his responsibilities, and by extension, his father. Since 2019 is 90% the same movie, minus the personality, charm, and emotion, there isn't much to say as far as differences are concerned. It adds in an additional unnecessary song from Beyonce, along with a two-minute camera shot following a literal ball of crap as it makes its way back to a now-dull Rafiki. This was a puzzling and kind of redundant scene, as I was already watching a two-hour ball of crap unfold. Since the photorealistic 2019 animals show little facial expression and are voiced by people as if they're auditioning to play Siri, the very same moments we've seen unfold in the past, now lack the energy. Mufasa's death in 94 had me crying like a grown man coming to the realization he would waste seven years of his life filming YouTube shows for a limited audience. The look on Mufasa's face as he begs to his brother for help, followed by the brutal realization that Scar never intended on saving him, is heartbreaking. Since Iron Man 2 director John Favre, yes, I picked Iron Man 2 intentionally, was so keen on life-like animals, that meant limiting their expressions. Big mistake. And last time I checked, real animals don't sing and dance and speak fluent English. So, did we really need to go the realistic route all the way through? John, maybe you should have stopped and thought about why. The animators back in 94 made the choices they did. You didn't stop to think about it, you just wanted the pile of cash you were given. Animation aside, even the dialogue changes were made for the worse. Mufasa doesn't even call Scar a brother in the 2019 retelling. Instead, it comes off more like a command to save him other than a plea for his brother's help. It's amazing how a movie that's almost 30 minutes longer can simultaneously feel rushed and move at a slog's pace. It's quite impressive. Key moments fly by like they're filling out a quota. Nothing breathes in this thing. Rafiki's awesome staff fight? That sucked. Tamon and Pumbaa standoff is mediocre at best. It had a nice tip of the hat to Beauty and the Beast, unless they're referencing the new version of that too, in which case, take it back. I just need to move on, I'm getting upset, and we still have production. The Lion King is still one of Disney's prettiest hand-drawn animations. The colorful world is playful, energetic, silly, dramatic, perfect. Jeremy Irons portrayal as Scar is one of my favorite villains of all time, with Be Prepared being amongst the best songs in the Disney catalog. And the way the animators showcase it as a call to arms with Nazi-inspired visuals of a horrible hyena army, marching to his every command is a sight to behold. They mostly stand around in the new version, while Scar talk sings his way through it. I don't even know what he's doing, honestly. This version is full of bleak, washed out colors, soulless, dead-eyed creatures that occasionally sing a nice song without moving their mouths in sync. At its best, it's a 4K National Geographic Safari tour with effects that will honestly age far faster than you might think. The human eye is a wonderful and somewhat snarky tool that, with the help of the brain, can make visuals look amazing one day, and then completely out of date the next. I remember at one point thinking PlayStation 1 and then PlayStation 2 graphics were some of the prettiest things on the planet, hard to top, near impossible. Now I look back and see them as a collection of boxes meshed together with mud. The animation is, of course, just one component to the greatness that is The Lion King. The music is also top tier stuff. The circle of life, I just can't wait to be king. Can you feel the love tonight? There isn't a bad one in the bunch. 2019 comes off like a cover band, playing the greatest hits of a far more popular group. They're playing the popular hits pretty well. But why would I pay to go to that concert when there's a perfectly good one available by the original band? Doesn't make any sense. I hate the 2019 film, if that wasn't clear. This honestly might be the most shocking movie feuds poll I've ever put out. Not because of the winner, no, that was a complete blowout. No, I'm surprised that 6% voted for the dung heap that was 2019's The Lion King. Did the 6% of you that voted for it not see the original? If that's the case, I don't blame you. I blame the parent. I'm not gonna try to understand the logic, but the winner here is 1994 with a staggering 94% of the votes. I was gonna try to be more impartial on this episode and just lay out the stats and the facts of these two movies, but that's boring. And this is more than just reviews. This is movie feuds. And if you're gonna come at me in the comments and say something stupid like, Lion King 2019 already made a billion dollars. This movie didn't work for its fortune. It already inherited one from the nostalgia that came before it. Just keep that in mind.