The Lyin' King

I generally steer away from the “Hollywood’s out of original ideas!” argument. For one, I doubt it’s any truer now than 30 years ago, especially since Hollywood’s as much a business as an art-machine. Two, films aren’t always successful based solely on if they’re unique or original. And three, I refuse to fall prey to “Pretentious Cinema Bro Syndrome”. However, there are moments where the temptation’s hard to resist. And nowhere is this more-apparent than what I’m about to discuss.

                         

Ah, The Lion King. It’s the highest-grossing, traditionally-animated film in existence. It stands tall as the “crown jewel” of The Disney Renaissance, that 10-year period between 1989 and 1999 where The House of Mouse released some of their finest work. So when Disney remade the movie in photorealism, it, inevitably, was also a financial success. Why wouldn’t it?

I’m not a big fan of these remakes. I liked Cinderella, The Jungle Book and Pete’s Dragon, but those either provided a new angle, or completely reworked a non-functioning premise. The rest of the movies are literal cut-and-paste jobs, except with updated winks and nods for the 21st Century. It’s tiresome!

Now, I get the appeal of remaking these movies. The originals are well-loved, so why not do them again? They don’t have to be good, only commercially-viable. What I don’t get is making these movies, watch them be successful, and then proceed to milk them for all they’re worth. I’m referring to the decision to craft a sequel to The Lion King with Barry Jenkins directing. If that made you scratch your head in confusion, you’re in good company. 

To be fair, scoring Jenkins is a big deal: he’s a talented director. He’s won several awards, including an Oscar. He’s a minority director of note, and he can draw in untapped cinema-goers. And he’s known for quiet, intimate character dramas. Having him do a Mufasa origin story could be interesting.

Conversely, I don’t want to knock Jenkins. Despite being lukewarm on Moonlight, it was well-crafted. It told a unique story about a poor black kid discovering his gayness in a world that wouldn’t accept him. So while I think there were better movies in 2017, I don’t begrudge its Best Picture win. That, and it led to a hilarious gaffe at The Academy Awards.

What bothers me is that Disney’s tapping Jenkins, a filmmaker known for intimate character stories, for a big-budget sequel to a remake that was regarded as mediocre. That’s not only unambitious for Disney, even by their standards, it’s also a waste of talent. Jenkins, like I said, is a small-scale director, and a big-budget film feels like a step in the wrong direction. It’d be like proposing to someone and then throwing a huge wedding the next day. There are some missing steps there. 

I’m sure some of you are thinking about Jon Favreau, someone who’s made the leap from small-scale to big-budget, but that ignores two points: firstly, Favreau’s career wasn’t a straight line. In-between Elf and Iron Man he directed Zathura, and he’d later direct Chef. Secondly, not every director’s as blessed as him. Not every small-scale director transitions successfully to blockbusters. Simply look at Ava DuVernay and A Wrinkle in Time.

I’m also concerned because I’d love to see Disney take more chances. I’d love to see more movies like A Wrinkle in Time, except with actual coherency. I’d like to see Jenkins direct a drama for Disney like Moonlight or If Beale Street Could Talk, if only to prove that Disney’s not afraid to be different. Working on a sequel to a shot-for-shot remake of a beloved classic, and one that wasn’t even well-received, isn’t exciting.

It’s possible that this could end up working. Maybe Jenkins will pull this off and we’ll get something special. But as it stands? I’m not convinced that he’s the right fit. It makes me want to shout that “Hollywood’s out of original ideas!”, irrespective of whether or not that’s true. That’s not a good sign. 

Perhaps I’m also overthinking this? This is, after all, Barry Jenkins. He’s a high-profile director with trophies under his belt. Disney might be desperate, but I doubt he is. He probably only accepted this role so he could green-light another, better, more-ambitious project later on. This is all pure speculation, true, but I’ve seen weirder happen.

Still, I’m not sold. It seems too fast and too big for a man who hasn’t proven he can do this sort of a project. Is it possible that he pulls it off? Yes, it is. But it’s also possible that he won’t, and that it could ruin his future prospects. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Then again, I’m probably bitter because the one project I’d love to see in live-action hasn’t happened yet. Seriously Disney, remake The Black Cauldron! Lean in on the darker imagery! Give us a PG-13 story! Make Princess Eilonwy the free-spirited, no-nonsense tomboy she was in the books! And don’t compromise on your vision! It’s been 35 years, that’s long enough!