aOne of the 10 greatest movies of the Disney Renaissance era, an award-winning Broadway musical, and an all-time classic that continues to live on throughout the ages: The Lion King. The 1994 movie was one of the biggest movies of its time, making $986,214,868 saving the animation studio from going bankrupt. The rich African setting, the captivating music and the unforgettable characters are a trip of nostalgia for fans. Now in 2018, over 20 years since the release of the original, it was announced that, like many of its siblings, there would be a live-action remake and its rebirth date will be in 2019. But one question lingers in the minds of everyone; what is live action?

The response to the announcement was astounding and very split. Some were thrilled at the aspect of one of their timeless favorites being redone, much like Paige Pieper, Senior and Karson Miller, Sophomore. “I am really excited to see it because I love all the classic Disney movies and when they make these live-action versions, I get to experience the magic in the theaters,” Pieper said. “I think the cast they have will make it really good, as well as the storyline itself already being amazing. I hope they make it funny, but keep the seriousness in the beginning and end.” Miller said.

Others were more skeptical, one being Alexis Mette, Sophomore. “I don’t understand why they’re remaking it besides to get money,” Mette said. A few felt, needless to say, upset at the news. “It looks stupid. Why are they remaking a movie that didn’t need remaking? It’s not even live action, they just needed their East Asian CGI studios to do something in between Avengers movies. Needless to say, I don’t think it’s gonna be good.” James Carrino said, Senior.

Regardless, it is still a huge and risky investment that director, Jon Favreau, the man that resurrected the Jungle Book, can only hope is a success. The film, as determined through the trailer, will be in the same extremely realistic animation used in the Jungle Book. To further up the stakes, the cast is incredible. It consists of Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala and James Earl Jones, the original voice of Mufasa. Composer Hans Zimmer, the original composer of the 1994 movie, has also agreed to score the film. With such advantages, surely it has a paved road to success, but one never truly knows until it hits the theaters. Fans are the biggest critics and are often hard to please, but they hold the success of the movie in the palms of their hands. Whether they choose to be strict or easygoing is entirely up to them after the movie leaves the nest to enter the big world, but as the July release date looms on the horizon, there is only one thing everyone can do; be prepared.

See The Lion King in Theaters July 19, 2019