Yeah, I considered mentioning the James Earl Jones thing. Doesn't really change the good neighborhood/bad neighborhood dynamic, though, or the whole patrilineal monarchy business, for that matter.
In general, I think Disney has often re-purposed old (or sometimes just old-fashioned) stories without a great deal of apparent thought for what those stories mean today.
Which is not necessarily a big deal, and doesn't mean The Lion King, for instance, isn't a good movie. But when you compare it to most of Pixar's movies, you see what can be gained by writing genuinely new stories.