The much-anticipated new version of animated movie classic ‘The Lion King’ landed with a whimper rather than a roar on Thursday with critics hailing it as visually impressive but tame in terms of character and storytelling.

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‘The Lion King,’ Walt Disney Co’s latest remake of its own beloved animated films, shows off advanced techniques that blend virtual reality, live action and digital imagery to bring a hyper-real feel to the animals and African settings.

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But early reviews said the overall result was a let-down, although most critics conceded the movie will perform well at the box office where some analysts are predicting an opening weekend of around $150 million (Dh550.8 million) when it arrives in North American theatres on July 19 (July 18 in the UAE).

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“Everything here is so safe and tame and carefully calculated as to seem predigested. There’s nary a surprise in the whole two hours,” wrote Todd McCarthy for The Hollywood Reporter.

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McCarthy predicted, however, that the film “will be duly gobbled up by audiences everywhere like the perfectly prepared corporate meal it is.”

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The new version, starring Beyonce and Donald Glover as the voices of lions Nala and Simba, is a faithful, sometimes shot for shot, recreation of the 1994 film, including much of the original dialogue and Elton John’s hit songs.

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“That raises the inevitable question of, ‘Why bother?’,” wrote Variety critic Peter Debruge, calling the film “undeniably impressive but incredibly safe.”

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“The answer can be spelt in dollars,” Debruge wrote.

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‘The Lion King’ starts its international roll-out in China on Friday and arrives in the rest of the world in the middle of next week. The 1994 film was a $968 million global smash that spurred a long-running Broadway stage show and more than 20 international productions.

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Despite the hyperrealism of the new version, some critics found the film lacking in emotion and said the lifelike singing and talking lions, hyenas and warthog felt odd.

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Some reviews were unusually harsh. Alissa Wilkinson at culture website Vox.com said the movie lacked magic, calling it a “bloated retread without a reason.” “Be prepared for a crushing disappointment,” wrote Scott Mendelson at Forbes.com.

###THE LION KING – Featuring the voices of John Oliver as Zazu, and JD McCrary as Young Simba, Disney’s “The Lion King” is directed by Jon Favreau. In theaters July 29, 2019.

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