While we're excited for this latest remake, we also know that Disney's track record in this area has been spotty so far. Here are five things the "Lion King" remake needs to do if it's going to live up to the beloved original.
1. Make it a Musical
As far as we're concerned, musicals are a case where filmmakers need to go all-in or not bother at all. We don't want to see another case like "The Jungle Book," where one really fun Christopher Walken-led musical number completely flips the tone of the movie for five minutes. We want to see all of our favorites from the original "Lion King," including "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".
2. Find Great Voice Actors
The remake has a lot to live up to in that regard. Jon Favreau and his crew need to focus a lot of attention on finding voice actors who can bring these characters to life and bring depth and pathos to talking safari animals -- much he did with the cast of "Jungle Book." We almost wonder if Disney isn't better off bringing the original cast back, but ultimately, the remake needs to establish its own identity.
3. No Humans, Please
Consider the example of "Wall-E." While that film is undoubtedly one of the greatest additions to the Pixar canon, it's hard to deny that the film loses some of its luster when the human characters start intruding on the love story between Wall-E and EVE. We'd hate to see something similar happen for "Lion King."
4. Leave Room for Some Surprises
At the same time, we don't want to see a remake that simply recycles what came before with a fancy new coat of paint. The remake can re-purpose the old songs, but it can't just coast by using the same plot as before. It has to be able to surprise viewers who grew up watching and re-watching the VHS tape until it wore out.
Luckily, Favreau already set a strong example with "The Jungle Book." That remake is similar to the original in most respects, but it deviates in many ways as well. The ending is also completely different from the animated version. That's what we want to see from "Lion King."
5. Build a Shared Universe
But with Favreau helming "Jungle Book" and now "The Lion King," we wouldn't be surprised to see Disney start building some connections between these live-action remakes.
We don't necessarily need to see the Disney equivalent of Nick Fury assembling talking animal heroes to form the Disney Avengers, but it would be really neat to see actual continuity form between movies and for "The Lion king" to somehow reference the events of "The Jungle Book."