Beyonce’s Black Is King Has Arrived, And The Internet Is Floored By It

Beyonce In Black is King
(Image credit: (Disney))
(Image credit: (Disney))

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Although Disney+ initially established itself as home to the House of Mouse’s library of classic animated and live-action stories, it's starting to morph into a streaming service defined by offering exclusive experiences to its subscribers by some of the most influential artists of our age. Last month, the platform dropped Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton which was met with viral acclaim and, this weekend, we’ve been graced with Beyoncé’s The Lion King visual album -- Black Is King.

The new Disney+ release was met with universal praise by critics – with the album named a “masterpiece” by numerous sources. Black Is King is a film by Beyoncé that implements the music she wrote for 2019’s live-action remake of The Lion King, from her album titled The Gift, to celebrate Black excellence through a series of music videos and powerful visuals. The internet is obsessed… well because Beyoncé. Check out this reaction:

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The Grammy-winning artist just doesn’t stop. Last year, she graced fans with the Netflix music documentary Homecoming, aboutthe jaw-dropping Coachella performance she pulled off right after having her twin babies Rumi and Sir. Black Is King is a beautiful representation of the album she put out last year for The Lion King, next to her role as Nala in the blockbuster film. Another fan pinpointed one heavenly moment in the movie where she belts out “Spirit” and CHILLS:

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Anyone else going to add watching this performance to their morning routine? It’s pure bliss, and it shows off Beyoncé’s raw talent. Also among the conversation for Black Is King is how important it feels to the Black community, who is often underrepresented in mainstream Hollywood. One mother shared her young daughter’s reaction to the film:

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Wow. Another personal story comes from journalist Evette Dionne, who found herself in tears watching Black Is King with her mother. As she said on Twitter:

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One conversation being had about Black Is King is how itimplemented The Lion King in an original way, a quality Jon Favreau’s live-action version may have lacked. As one fan commented:

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Musician and Game of Thrones star Raleigh Ritchie took to Twitter to call Black Is King his family’s Lion King remake as far as he’s concerned but intended “no shade” towards last year’s big-budget epic:

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We’re just blessed to have this “gift” from Beyoncé. We’re not surprised she’s done it again, but like WOW she’s done it again.

Black Is King is available to stream on Disney+ now. You can use this link to subscribe to the platform, and check out what’s coming to the service this month here.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.