The new Lion King is officially out and there’s plenty to love about it. But, how does it compare to the original animated classic? Does it hold up?

The latest Disney remake/reimagining of an animated classic is The Lion King. Some fans are getting restless with all of these remakes, but we don’t see the problem, especially since the old ones are still there, left untouched. The new Lion King is the perfect example. It’s a great watch and is a great reminder as to why the majority of people love the original version. But, how does it compare to that version?

Well, we’ll be breaking that down. From the story, to the music, the characters, and the visuals, we’ll compare each one side by side to see which one has the edge. Before we get into that, let it be known that the movies are extremely similar. In fact, the new one is almost a shot-for-shot remake. This will simply be a comparison to see which one did certain things better.

1. The story

The stories for both movies are almost identical. From the intro, to the very last scene, we’ve seen it all before. There are minor changes in the new movie, but if you aren’t paying attention closely enough, you may miss them. The question is, which film does a better job telling it?

The answer is the original. As mentioned, we’ve seen it all before, but the new version is extremely realistic, which leads to some bland scenes where the characters are almost expressionless and have very little emotion. The dialogue is still there and those memorable scenes you remember still tug at your heartstrings. However, the original is much more impactful because of the emotion and the way it tells its story.

Another big deciding factor, at least for us, is the absence of one pivotal scene in the new version. When Simba finally encounters Rafiki again, Rafiki slaps him over the head with his staff to try and teach him something about the past. It goes on to be one of the most important scenes in the film, which ultimately helps Simba remember who he really is and what he needs to do. It’s unfortunate this crucial scene wasn’t included.

We’ll get more into that emotional aspects in terms of animation next. As far as story goes, the original has the edge.

Advantage: Original