The Lion King is visually stunning, emotionally underwhelming.

Shah Rukh Khan made me do it. He’s perhaps the only reason I watched The Lion King in Hindi. Him and his son, Aryan. No, I’m not a ‘flag-bearer of nepotism’, but it was poetic to watch The Circle of Life, literally and metaphorically. As Simba takes over for Mufasa, Aryan takes over for Shah Rukh. This type of poeticism is the most detrimental kind. It means that director Jon Favreau’s big budget bonanza is so enamoured by its own glory, that it forgets to colour outside the lines, leaving us to do that.

Honestly, if I’d watch The Lion King in English, my review would’ve been much more unkind. But in Hindi, though some of it is clunky, the magic lives on. It’s no surprise that The Lion King is visually sumptuous. I thought of a Nat-Geo David Attenborough special meets a Sanjay Leela Bhansali historical. The animals, all rendered using visual effects are photorealistic. There’s been no use of even one animal.

VFX Supervisor Rob Legato has done a superlative job. Every last detail, down to the dust that flies when the animals walk has been skilfully made. The Lion King is a technical marvel and a visual treat. Its opening shot, spread across the African vista might just be the most beautiful thing you’ll see in a movie all year. Animals gathering around to meet their new prince in delight, while the sun rises, signifying a new beginning.

But, we’ve seen this before. And done better, too. The 1994 Lion King, of which this is a remake, was gorgeously hand drawn. The reason that animated films like The Secret Life of Pets, Finding Dory and Minions, which have non-human protagonists work is because the visages can be fine tuned. There is room for enhancement, for adding of expression and an abundance of emotion. But, to retain the authenticity, the lions don’t ever emote.

Especially tacky is the iconic death scene of Mufasa. Don’t come at me in the comments, this scene is forever engraved in everyone’s minds. The emotions don’t ring through. I thought the cub Simba was more befuddled than sad. Even Scar (Ashish Vidhyarti) isn’t particularly interesting. He spews lines in fluent Urdu, about a ‘dawaat’ and a ‘sacha raja’, but his treatment is superficial to say the least. Because he’s the villain, Favreau shoots him in cloudy skies and dark frames.

The background score is gloomy and menacing, whenever he talks about promising the hyenas (or lakkad bhaage) in Hindi great things. There’s political subtext here. But, Favreau fails to answer the bigger questions. Every live action remake Disney has doled out hasn’t lived up to the grandeur of the original. That streak has continued with Cinderella, Maleficent and most recently, the boring Aladdin, all being especially underwhelming. But, at least there, filmmakers Robert Stomberg and Guy Ritchie gave us new perspectives.

So, we got to see Maleficent as far more than the lecherous villain and Jasmine being a feminist icon. Though very little, at least there was some freshness. The Lion King is a frame by frame, second by second recreation of its original. It begs the question, that even though the shots are stunning, did we really need this film? Yes, introducing the new generation to the famed story is important, but was this the best way to do it? I suspect you’ll agree with me when I say no. There’s just so little here, that I’m surprised Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan Khan agreed to do this film. Shah Rukh is majestic, filling in James Earl Jones’ shoes with ease. He has this aged wisdom to him that perfectly matches Mufasa. He’s like a caring father, who rarely breaks down. Aryan is less impressive. He lacks that distinctive hunger that Donald Glover has. But, he does a good job in imbuing Simba with a goofy foolishness.

Though the character is stuck up and pompous, Aryan works carefully to make you care for him. Dialogue writer Mayur Puri’s dialogues feel banal and in places forced. Even the music is especially clumsy. Though Armaan Malik’s Hakuna Matata is charming, Zindagi Dor Si being the substitute for The Circle of Life seems forced. But, voice artists Sanjay Mishra and Shreyas Talpade as Pumbaa and Timon, smoothen the bumps.

Their effervescent nature is so endearing. Honestly, they were born to play these parts. At least unlike in the Dhamaal and Golmaal franchises, when they stutter, it’s inspired rather than cringey. I wouldn’t suggest Lion King if you loved the original. There’s very little to offer, and even less, I assume, in English.

It is visually stunning, but it lacks that beating heart that propelled better films that came before it.