Thirty years after its release, The Lion King is still Disney’s best movie, but I’m worried about how its legacy will be impacted by Disney’s various live-action remakes and spinoffs. Released on June 24, 1994, The Lion King became an instant success as it received critical acclaim and became the top-earning film of the year with a worldwide gross of $763 million. The iconic music, the breathtaking animation, and the emotional depth of its equally dramatic and humorous story made The Lion King timeless, along with cementing it as a childhood favorite of mine to watch and rewatch on numerous occasions.

The Lion King‘s success led to direct-to-video animated sequels and spinoffs, including The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride and The Lion King 1 1/2, the latter of which was a hilarious retelling of the original movie, and humorously recontextualizes the scene of all the animals bowing at Pride Rock. Overall, these stories were fun and low-stakes continuations of The Lion King, but didn’t have much of an impact on the original’s beloved legacy for me. The 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King and the upcoming live-action prequel and sequel Mufasa: The Lion King are a different matter, and I’m starting to feel that they undermine the legacy of Disney’s best movie.

The Lion King Officially Turned 30 Years Old This Year

The Music, Animation, & Story Remain Timeless

Thirty years later, The Lion King still grabs me from the second it begins in a way that few other movies ever have with its “Circle of Life” opening. The opening musical notes and the rich colors of the rising sun over the Pride Lands immediately create an immersive experience that it maintains not only to the end of “Circle of Life,” but throughout the entire movie. Decades later, the film’s strongest moments still resonate with me, from the devastation of watching Mufasa fall to his death to the laid-back camaraderie of “Hakuna Matata” as Simba bonds with Pumba and Timon.

Hearing “Circle of Life,” “Hakuna Matata,” and the other cleverly written and perfectly performed songs, even outside the context of watching the film, emotionally transports me to the magic of watching The Lion King as a child. In addition to the direct-to-video and live-action spinoffs, The Lion King has also become a Broadway musical, which I have seen and enjoyed, but when I hear The Lion King‘s music, I always picture the original film and the gorgeously animated scenes that accompany each song. This includes the expressive nature of each character, which can only be fully brought to life through animation.

Part of The Lion King‘s enduring appeal for me is other layers of its story that I didn’t grasp as a child. As someone interested in the idea of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, Simba’s arc is an excellent example, making his journey all the more transformative and powerful to watch unfold during each rewatch. There are also many parallels between The Lion King and the William Shakespeare play Hamlet, which adds further tragic pathos to the story that stands on its own, but is in many ways a Disney retelling of the classic play.

How 2019’s The Lion King Impacted The Original Movie’s Legacy

It Is An Underwhelming Addition To The Original’s Legacy

The 2019 Lion King live-action remake directed by Jon Favreau was a box office hit that earned more than a billion dollars worldwide. The photorealistic computer-generated animation is impressive, depicting the animals in a truly lifelike fashion, and the film also boasts a stellar cast, featuring Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Seth Rogen, and even James Earl Jones voicing Mufasa again. Despite these merits, I left my one and only viewing of the 2019 Lion King feeling underwhelmed and longing to rewatch the 1994 version instead.

Part of this is due to the eerily lifelike visualization of the animals, which made some scenes feel like I was watching a wildlife documentary where the animals were singing and talking to each other instead of their actions being narrated in a documentary voiceover. Animation naturally lends itself to making animal characters more expressive. Watching the villainous Scar smirk or watching the terror on Simba’s face as he sees his father plunge to his death is communicated more easily and effectively in animation than by watching photorealistic animals who inherently lack the expressiveness of their animated counterparts.

One of the purposes of a remake is to enhance elements from the original film. With The Lion King being Disney’s best film, there isn’t much that the live-action version could improve upon, which leads to it mostly just retelling the original story, only in a far more muted and less emotionally resonant manner. A new element it introduces is a Beauty and the Beast reference that is more cringeworthy than anything else. The Lion King‘s legacy is too strong to be ruined by the lackluster live-action remake, but it feels unnecessary to have the lackluster 2019 film be part of its legacy.

Why I’m Worried About Mufasa: The Lion King

It Has More Potential To Weaken The Lion King’s Legacy

The 2019 Lion King‘s billion-dollar success inevitably led to a new spinoff, Mufasa: The Lion King. Directed by Barry Jenkins, the film will serve as a prequel and a sequel to the live-action Lion King, showing young Mufasa’s journey into becoming king of the Pride Lands as Rafiki tells the story to Simba and Nala’s daughter, Kiara. Since it is still taking the same visual approach as its predecessor, I was already worried about the Mufasa movie, worries that haven’t been assuaged by the trailer.

While the live-action Lion King was disappointing, it ultimately didn’t damage the original’s legacy as it mostly amounted to an inferior retelling of the original story. Mufasa: The Lion King may not be so easily dismissed from the legacy conversation as it won’t just be a retelling since it is telling new stories through the tale of Mufasa’s past and Kiara hearing the tale for herself. Certain narrative choices could change how Mufasa, Scar, Rafiki, and other characters are seen in the original movie, potentially weakening their roles.

If the film is a box office hit, Disney will likely greenlight more live-action Lion King spinoffs, which could dilute the beloved characters and story of the 1994 Lion King. Unlike other Disney properties, The Lion King doesn’t need to be a sprawling and never-ending franchise. The original is a complete and satisfying animated masterpiece that can stand on its own without the addition of live-action prequels, sequels, or other spinoff iterations.