If you know me, you know I love The Lion King. Both the original 1994 movie and the 2019 remake. So let's read the book based on the 2019 remake. Spoilers ahead.
A lion cub prince named Simba is born in his kingdom and raised by his wise father Mufasa, the king. Mufasa's evil brother Scar plots to kill Mufasa and Simba and take the throne for himself. He succeeds in killing Mufasa, and Simba ends up banished. The cub grows up and soon learns he'll have to do the right think and take his place in the Circle of Life by reclaiming his kingdom.
Yeah, it's really good. But to be fair that's also because it's based on two really good movies. It is primarily based on the 2019 remake, but there are also elements from the original present that weren't in the 2019 film. Plus, this book included some additional scenes and backstory bits that weren't found in either film and thus are wholly original.
I do think that ultimately this book isn't canon to the Disney The Lion King universe because it isn't really fully in line with either the 1994 or the 2019 film, but it's kinda its own blend of the two (plus some original ideas) and doing its own thing. And for what it is, it's very good.
The story, themes, characters and whatnot from the originals are all in tact one way or another and are still as strong as ever. Even people who don't like the 2019 remake (which are a lot, even if I'm not one of them) might still like this novelization because it references the original 1994 film a few times.
What I especially liked about this book that neither movies has, though, is the extra insight it gives us into some scenes and characters. Particularly the extra scenes taking place in the Pridelands during Simba's banishment were quite good, especially when written from Nala's, Scar's or Sarabi's POV as we get extra insight into their characters and motivations. The only scene I really found to be missing here is the one of Nala sneaking away from the Pridelands, which is present in the 2019 movie but not the novel. It just made the transition from the desolate Pridelands to happy grown-up Simba a bit abrupt. Seeing Nala leave would've eased into this transition more gracefully.
One change from both the movies is that (obviously) this book does not include the songs, but instead found different ways to execute these scenes. And I kinda like it? While I like some The Lion King movie songs, I'd be lying if I said they were overall my favorite soundtrack. I don't particularly care for songs like "I Just Can't Wait to be King", "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". I do really like "Be Prepared", but overall I'm not too big a fan of the movies' soundtracks. So seeing a take on the story completely lacking in these songs was honestly a bit of a breath of fresh air and I liked seeing the alternative takes on these scenes.
I also found the comic relief in this book to be thankfully less obnoxious than in either movie, especially the 1994 one. There are some annoying instances of Pumbaa passing gas, but aside from that the comedy is toned down quite a lot (more similar to the 2019 film, which I prefer comedy-wise) and it works better for the story in my opinion.
If there is a criticism I do have, it's that a honey badger is grouped in with the types of meek prey animals that are Pumbaa's and Timon's friends who are at first afraid of Simba. If you know anything about honey badgers, you know they do not fear lions and are honestly quite ferocious themselves. Honey badgers are also predators, not just insectivores like the novel makes them seem, and they do eat small mammals such as meerkats and bush babies, making Timon and his other smaller friends theoretically not very safe around the honey badger. This honey badger character is also an invention unique to the book, and the only one I really didn't think worked. If you want a better fictional depiction of a honey badger in a book, I refer to Bravelands arc three where Stonehide was a rather good representation of the species.
But aside from that I thought this was a rather good adaptation of the Lion King story. Sure, it's not a straightforward adaptation of either version of the movie and kind of does its own thing at times, but it's still very good because it is based on good source material and most choices it makes do work.
Rating: 5/5
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