Post by Rob W. Case on Sept 22, 2011 4:39:25 GMT -6
A highly acclaimed Disney Classic returns to the silver screen in 3-D.
Walt Disney Pictures is trying something that hasn’t been done since 2002 when they re-released The Lion King in IMAX theaters. Years prior, Walt Disney pictures would re-release its legendary animated feature films in movie theaters every 7 years, and thus introduce them to a new generation. Since 2001, Walt Disney Pictures has mainly re-released its timeless classics through special 2-disc DVD releases in a collector’s series known as “Platinum Editions.” Now, the Disney Company has done with a classic, something that is unique to traditional, old fashioned cel animation.
Since the arrival of 3-D technology to feature films, we have seen live action, computer animated, and even claymation films receive the 3-D treatment. Up until this release, I am not aware of any other cel-animated movie that has been ever been thoroughly converted and released in 3-D. More about that in a minute.
The Story:
The story of The Lion King is about a young lion cub named Simba (played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) who is born and destined to be the future King of the Pridelands (i.e. his father Mufasa’s kingdom). Scar, Simba’s evil Uncle (played by Jeremy Irons) is jealous of Simba because Simba is destined to become King and Scar isn’t. And so, Scar, thirsting for power, arranges a plan to have both Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones) and Simba killed within a wild wildebeest stampede. Barely surviving the stampede, Scar lays a guilt trip on Simba, convincing Simba that he is responsible for Mufasa’s death, a guilt that weighs heavy on his heart as he grows up. When Simba (voiced for the remainder of the film by Matthew Broderick) grows up, he finds that he must confront his past, overcome his guilt, and take back the Kingdom his Uncle stole from under him.
I love this movie. The story is fantastic and the music (written by lyricists Elton John and Tim Rice) is just as catchy as when I first saw this film. I remember seeing this film at the movie theater in the summer of 1994. I still have the VHS in my personal movie collection as well, but seeing it again in 3-D was an amazing experience. The quality of the 3-D for this movie was very impressive and surpassed all expectations. I went into the movie curious as to how they would convert a flat, two dimensional, hand drawn, cel-animated feature film into a 3-D experience that would come out really good and memorable. It did. Out of 4 stars, the movie of course deserves 4 stars, and its new conversion into 3-D also deserves 4 stars.
It is also worth noting that this film will also be released in a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack on October 4th, 2011, so the experience in seeing this film in high definition will also be an interesting one at that.
The film is rated G.
To view a trailer for the 3-D re-release, visit:
To view the original, 1994 movie trailer, visit:
This film is a limited two week engagement.
On another note, Walt Disney Pictures had set to release Beauty and the Beast in this fashion this year, but it has been bumped back probably into next year at some point. Hopefully, Disney will also do this treatment with Aladdin as well.
Walt Disney Pictures is trying something that hasn’t been done since 2002 when they re-released The Lion King in IMAX theaters. Years prior, Walt Disney pictures would re-release its legendary animated feature films in movie theaters every 7 years, and thus introduce them to a new generation. Since 2001, Walt Disney Pictures has mainly re-released its timeless classics through special 2-disc DVD releases in a collector’s series known as “Platinum Editions.” Now, the Disney Company has done with a classic, something that is unique to traditional, old fashioned cel animation.
Since the arrival of 3-D technology to feature films, we have seen live action, computer animated, and even claymation films receive the 3-D treatment. Up until this release, I am not aware of any other cel-animated movie that has been ever been thoroughly converted and released in 3-D. More about that in a minute.
The Story:
The story of The Lion King is about a young lion cub named Simba (played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) who is born and destined to be the future King of the Pridelands (i.e. his father Mufasa’s kingdom). Scar, Simba’s evil Uncle (played by Jeremy Irons) is jealous of Simba because Simba is destined to become King and Scar isn’t. And so, Scar, thirsting for power, arranges a plan to have both Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones) and Simba killed within a wild wildebeest stampede. Barely surviving the stampede, Scar lays a guilt trip on Simba, convincing Simba that he is responsible for Mufasa’s death, a guilt that weighs heavy on his heart as he grows up. When Simba (voiced for the remainder of the film by Matthew Broderick) grows up, he finds that he must confront his past, overcome his guilt, and take back the Kingdom his Uncle stole from under him.
I love this movie. The story is fantastic and the music (written by lyricists Elton John and Tim Rice) is just as catchy as when I first saw this film. I remember seeing this film at the movie theater in the summer of 1994. I still have the VHS in my personal movie collection as well, but seeing it again in 3-D was an amazing experience. The quality of the 3-D for this movie was very impressive and surpassed all expectations. I went into the movie curious as to how they would convert a flat, two dimensional, hand drawn, cel-animated feature film into a 3-D experience that would come out really good and memorable. It did. Out of 4 stars, the movie of course deserves 4 stars, and its new conversion into 3-D also deserves 4 stars.
It is also worth noting that this film will also be released in a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack on October 4th, 2011, so the experience in seeing this film in high definition will also be an interesting one at that.
The film is rated G.
To view a trailer for the 3-D re-release, visit:
To view the original, 1994 movie trailer, visit:
This film is a limited two week engagement.
On another note, Walt Disney Pictures had set to release Beauty and the Beast in this fashion this year, but it has been bumped back probably into next year at some point. Hopefully, Disney will also do this treatment with Aladdin as well.