This is an analysis of the final battle scene from The Lion King, but not just one but both of them. The 1994 original and the 2019 remake. With my attachment to this franchise (yes, franchise, there were two sequels and a TV show), I was rather excited to do this.
Lion King final battle: Analysis
The 1994 Original
The final battle in the original used a lot of reaction shots as well as close-ups of the characters faces, this is so that we can clearly see and focus on the emotions of each character, especially Simba and Scar who are the primary focus of the scene but also those of the hyenas who were betrayed by Scar in the scene. This was very effective as it took advantage of one of the strengths of animation, the stylized designs of the characters which allowed for clear and expressive faces which emote ranges of emotions. For the action scenes, medium shots, medium-long shots and similar shots were used so that the audience could better see the fight between the two lions, this makes the actions of the characters more clear. Long shots allow us to better see and feel the space and environment of the duel. Some POV shots were used, like when Scar is looking down the cliff or for Simba when he was fighting Scar, coupled with the current environment it creates a cramped feeling. Scar was also shot at a slightly higher angle and with long shots, this makes him look small and weaker as by this time in the story he was meant to be old and weak, especially in his final moments where he was surrounded by hyenas as that is his lowest point. The animated version took full advantage of the fact that it was animated and as a result made a well-executed finale.
The 2019 Remake
On the other hand, the remake version attempts close-ups and reaction shots too, for the same reasons, to show the emotions on the character’s faces. Unfortunately, it was not nearly as effective for two reasons, first, the lighting was too dark so the emotions on their faces were not clear, and second, the little we could see did not emote much emotion anyways. There were also fewer mid shots and long shots, likely an attempt to make the audience feel closer to the action but as a result, the fight was a lot harder to follow and personally I couldn’t tell who was who after the fight started. It had a decent sense of space as long shots were used to pan out across the entire cliffside. However, the final scene where Scar was eaten by the hyenas was decent enough, incorporating the long shot at a higher angle to make Scar look small and weak like in the original. The bad character design, coupled with the attempts to replicate just the original shots and story made it rather clear, it tried replicating something it didn't quite understand fully and as a result was just a weaker version of it.
Final evaluation
Overall, I think the 1994 original had the superior scene, the shots and angles used were appropriate, the action was a lot easier to follow as well as the characters having much clearer facial expressions which makes their emotions much more clear. The live-action movie did a somewhat passable job, it had a decent sense of space with the long shots and ELS used for the cliffside and the final scene was decently well done and expressed Scar’s current emotions and situations well enough most of these things were also done well, if not better in the original. To end it, the animated movie took full advantage of its strengths and succeeded, the remake, while technically being animated as well did not take advantage of the strengths of animation. It tried to only copy the shots and narrative and as a result of not understanding its own medium, suffered as a result.
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