The Lion King Early Reactions Hail A Roaring Achievement

Director Jon Favreau‘s The Lion King held its first screening last night, which means the initial reactions are now stampeding in. This reboot of the beloved 1994 animated classic had a lot to live up to. As he did for his 2016 remake of The Jungle Book, Favreau and his team used cutting edge technology to render, Simba, Mufasa and the rest of the animals of the African Serengeti in photo-realistic detail. The trailers, teasers and still images sure looked sensational, but what about the film itself?

The critics have now spoken—via spoiler-free Tweets (full reviews are still embargoed)—so we’ve got our first sense of how the film lived up to its iconic forebearer. The consensus seems to be that Favreau’s take is an astonishingly gorgeous love letter to the original, with a winning cast (Beyoncé, anyone?), and stand-out turns from Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa, respectively.

Let’s take a scroll across Twitter to get those reactions:

The Lion King hits theaters on July 19, 2019.

Featured image: THE LION KING – Featuring the voices of John Oliver as Zazu, James Earl Jones as Mufasa and JD McCrary as Young Simba, Disney’s “The Lion King” is directed by Jon Favreau. In theaters July 19, 2019. © 2019 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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The Credits is an online magazine that tells the story behind the story to celebrate our large and diverse creative community. Focusing on profiles of below-the-line filmmakers, The Credits celebrates the often uncelebrated individuals who are indispensable to the films and TV shows we love.