Film Review: The Lion King Reo Māori leaves everyone with sense of pride

The Lion King Reo Māori. Photo / Supplied

OPINION:

In 1994, I took my niece and nephew, then aged 5 and 7, to watch Disney's The Lion King at the cinema in New Plymouth. Last night, 28 years later, I attended the premiere of The Lion King Reo Māori at Auckland's Civic Theatre.

The experience of watching the translated version of the animated classic made me emotional.

I sat there thinking about how my niece and nephew, who are now in their 30s and with children of their own, will have the opportunity to take their tamariki to this Hollywood masterpiece and enjoy hearing the beloved characters speak and sing the Elton John-written hit songs in the language of their tupuna.

The rapturous applause from the audience when the film started, mirrored the enthusiasm of the memorable opening scene of The Lion King.

Set in Africa, the beginning depicts masses of animals bowing and honouring the birth of Simba, a lion cub born to the kingdom's proud rangatira, Mufasa and his wife Sarabi.

As the animals onscreen acknowledge their future leader, the audience off-screen, who were Māori, non-Māori, and tamariki, were also savouring this momentous moment.

It signified that a major international entertainment conglomerate like Disney, home to Mickey Mouse, Star Wars, The Muppets, and the Marvel films, can team up with Māori producers Chelsea Winstanley and Tweedie Waititi of Matewa Media, to normalise te reo Māori and show our tamariki that their language is relevant and deserves to be cherished.

Whakaata Māori broadcaster Piripi Taylor's distinctive baritone voice was perfect for the role of Mufasa, made famous in the original film by James Earl Jones. Actor Matu Ngaropo, who is known for his roles in the overseas theatre productions of The Lion King and Hamilton, stole the film playing the villainous Scar.

He managed to replicate the same evilness that Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons had brought to the original character. Relative newcomers Mataara Stokes and Arihia Cassidy, who played Simba and Nala, captured the flirtiness of lions in love and showed their singing chops matched their roar.

But the real star was the Māori language. The team of translators, with each animal group speaking in different dialect, or "mita", showed that precision and care were taken to ensure that the indigenous language was captured authentically. Judging by the laughter and applause from the reo-speaking tamariki in the audience, the producers have updated a film about lions that has left everyone with a sense of pride.

The Lion King Reo Māori will be in cinemas across Aotearoa from tomorrow.