Beyonce takes The Lion King remake ‘to another level’

Initial reviews for Disney’s live action remake of The Lion King have lauded Beyonce’s performance in the “game-changing” flick.
The 37-year-old stars as lioness Nala in the new version of the animated classic and, following the world premiere in Hollywood, California on Tuesday (09Jul19), critics took to Twitter to praise the Formation hitmaker’s take on the role.
“#TheLionKing is a visual effects spectacular…. @donaldglover and @Beyonce make a perfect voicing pair,” wrote one fan, while another reviewer praised the movie’s soundtrack, adding: “(Donald) Glover & Beyonce take it to another level.”
Another fan lamented the star was “underused” in the movie, however, a fourth critic was just overjoyed by the music icon’s casting, writing: “BEYONCE!!!”
The film as a whole seems to have received unanimous praise, with editor-in-chief of Collider.com, Steven Weintraub, tweeting: “Not sure I’ve ever heard as much clapping during a movie as I did tonight at #TheLionKing… The visual effects/animation in the film is INCREDIBLE. For the first time in maybe my entire life as the movie started I got really emotional. Just hearing the music wrecked me. While it’s a story you know, it’s soooooo well done.”
Ahead of the premiere, Beyonce dropped her new song Spirit, with the track taken from upcoming album The Lion King: The Gift. The mother-of-three will also be curating the record, which features various artists and is “steeped in the sounds of Africa”.
Both The Lion King and album The Lion King: The Gift is released 19 July.