The Lion King (Post-release)

What did you think of The Lion King?

  • Total voters
    16
Davy Jones

Davy Jones

Sr Member
Just saw Disney jump the shark I think.
An hour ago it was announced that the next animated classic to get remade in live action will be the Lion King.
I have my own opinion about remaking these classics but let's focus on the actual "live action" part.

The Lion King has no humans in it. It can be assumed that all the animals will be animated CGI. It is almost a certainty that since no real people will have to interact with sets or props that all environments will be animated.
So in what sense is this "live action"? Isn't it just an animated remake of the The Lion King done in a different animation style?

I know The Jungle Book already presented a bit of this paradox but at least the kid was real.
I just see these remakes as cash grabs now. They have some neat ideas to explore by remaking certain films with real actors, some real environments, and realistically rendered CGI characters. But it seems like they are actually much more interested in trying realistic style animation for all their iconic traditionally cartooned characters. When you have movies on the slate like Dumbo (little featured human characters, tons of animals) , The Little Mermaid (human characters with tons of animals) and The Lion King (no humans, tons of animals) it just seems like odd choices. Disney knows people will see them. They know they will like them because they like being reminded of familiar things, and they know they will make another billion for each.
Not saying it's a bad business decision, it just makes me wonder why they are so quick to want to replace their beloved classic characters with uncanny looking, decidedly not cuddly, mutants that are "live action"
It's all about spectacle I guess. People will go and see what they haven't seen before, even if it's bad.8
 
It will probably be the same treatment as The Jungle Book with live action elements like background plates and other scenery, but probably otherwise 95% CGI.
 
They already have a live version, called The Lion King on Stage. Leave it alone.

The Broadway show is great. See it if you get a chance.
 
Disney has announced plans to make live versions of many of their animated films. Much like Pete's Dragon, Jungle Book, Peter Pan... The trend will continue.
 
Disney isn't even trying anymore. They're going to have Star Wars and marvel as their only money makers soon, the park's are alienating customers with their price changes too it seems.
 
Wes R said:
Disney isn't even trying anymore. They're going to have Star Wars and marvel as their only money makers soon, the park's are alienating customers with their price changes too it seems.
Click to expand...

The parks are what are alienating customer with their price changes? Anyhow, if that is indeed happening then they've succeeded since, from what I've read, their recent price increases has been to try to control the crowds and make the parks less crowded. On the one handed, less crowds are a good thing, but on the other hand, high prices for admission is no fun, esp. when you live fairly close to Disneyland but can't afford to continue buying annual passes.
 
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I've been a passholder at Disney World for years and I can assure you that the price increases have done nothing to dissuade people from coming nor has it thinned out the crowds at all. The parks are as busy as they ever have been.
 
its just another way to reboot existing catalog titles. They need to keep the interest alive So they can keep selling the toys. It's kind of like the direct to video sequels of the animated features they did for a few years.

That being said, Jungle Book was a good film. And my wife and daughter are ready for Beauty and the Beast.
 
I'm still waiting for a live action version Aristocats.

I was going to include Lady & the Tramp, but I think someone else did that one.;)
 
I recently saw the new Jungle Book and i liked it a lot. John Favreau was on his game.

In the wrong hands a Lion King remake would be a disaster though.


My question is, who will do the voices? The animated LK movie was only 20 years ago so the old voices are still around. They will need to either try to keep most/all the old cast or (more likely) replace them all. Doing something in the middle and replacing only half the cast would probably be too jarring.
 
Mektar said:
Well its not like its our money plus jungle book was actually a nice film and seeing as all the other classics are getting the live action treatment ,it is no surprise that one of the biggest is next.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly. Who does this hurt? No one. The original is still there to enjoy.

Jon Favreau is one of the most trustable directors around at the moment. The man kick started the MCU, still does great independent films, and smashed Jungle Book out of the park. We need to stop being so friggin cynical all the time.
 
I don't disagree. These live actions are definitely not for me. The originals are some of my favorite movies, no need to remake.

But at the same time, some people do seem to really enjoy them and it doesn't hurt the originals so... More power to em.

As long as they also keep making original animated, and that doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon.
 
CG is animated. There's nothing particularly holy about pencils. When I got my degree in computer animation, most of my teachers were animators who worked on those old hand drawn movies because the principles of animation don't change just because you use a different tool.

A lot of those old animators just learned how to use a computer and kept doing what they have always done: create art.
 
I'm just wondering what they are going to do with the musical numbers. All that dancing and stuff like in "I just can't wait to be king". I just don't think that will fly in this kind of movie.
 
I posted this in the funny pics thread a while back, seems appropriate for this thread.
IMG_20190331_194121.jpg
 
Now that I've seen a trailer or two...

Okay, the realism of the models and animation is stellar. But one would hope it would be.

But aside from the fact that they're talking, there is no caricature, no anthropomorphism, no exaggeration.....NO ACTING. All of the acting is in the voice. These characters have no expressions! They look just like a real animal would look like if they could move their mouths to match human sounds coming from a speaker somewhere nearby.

I don't know if Uncanny Valley is what's happening here, but there is no life there on screen. Muppets have more expression than this. There's a brief clip from the recreation of the shot during "Hakuna Matata" where they're strutting across a log in front of the Moon (as Simba ages), except they aren't strutting! They're just animals walking.

And the designs themselves don't help. You look at a still, and okay, a lion. But you don't see nobility in Mufasa, you don't see spunky rebellious innocence in Simba, you don't see evil in Scar.

They're relying way too much on the Kuleshov effect. That is not what the animation art form is about.
 
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