The Lion King (2019 film) In November, talking with ComingSoon.net, Favreau said the virtual cinematography technology he used in "The Jungle Book" would be used to a greater degree in "The Lion King". Although the media reported "The Lion King" to be a live-action film, it actually utilizes photorealistic computer-generated animation. Disney also did not describe it as live-action, only stating it would follow the "technologically groundbreaking" approach of "The Jungle Book". In mid-February 2017, Donald Glover was cast as Simba, with James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa from the 1994 film. In April 2017, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen were cast to
Simba to pan Simba, describing him as "irritatingly callow." Chris Hick of the "Deseret News" complained about the fact that Simba and the other "characters in "The Lion King" are not as warm and fuzzy as other Disney animated features," crediting this with making "the film a bit tougher to warm [up] to." ComingSoon.net strongly panned Simba as a lead character, writing, "typically for Disney animated fare, it's the hero who is the weak link being both blandly designed and blandly performed." Acknowledging the character's Shakespearean origins, "The Baltimore Sun"s Stephen Hunter gave Simba a negative review, writing, "Alas ...Simba stands