The Lion King: there is the story, and then there is how the story is told. Jon Favreau’s remake of the modern animated classic follows the story of the original pretty much beat by beat; it is a good story, one which alternates emotional with funny very effectively. Voice acting is quite good: Chiwetel Ejiofor is regal and oozes cruelty as the villain; John Oliver, Seth Rogen, and Billy Eichner are hilarious as the sidekicks; Donald Glover and Beyoncé, however, don’t really make much of a mark as the main characters. The musical numbers are well-executed and remain a great source of pleasure. The photorealistic animation is simply amazing, both in creating the locations and the many different animals; it is not an exaggeration to say that this really looks like, for the most part, a nature documentary. However, the choice for realism over the crazy energy a traditional animation can bring ends up toning down some of the musical number presentations and some of the emoting by the characters. The quality of the story, the voice acting and the music trump that issue, however.