Remember that one time when it was 1994 and Disney gave us a surrogate father in the form of the wise and powerful Mufasa and then just as quickly shattered our little hearts into a million pieces by throwing him off a cliff and stampeding him with hundreds of wildebeests thereby forever scarring us while cementing us 90’s kids with an adamant distrust of all things corporate? well, good news…you get to relive it all in live-action!
So we’ve recently enjoyed a resurgence of Disney releases in the form of live-action, beginning with Maleficent, which was a retelling of the original animated Sleeping Beauty, followed by the live remake of Cinderella. 2017 has Beauty and the Beast scheduled to premiere starring Emma Watson as Belle, and so far trailers indicate that it’s a remake of the animated film as well. But the most notable example is the recent Jon Favreau film The Jungle Book, which was also crafted as a remake of the animated film (as opposed to being based directly off of the original source).
The Jungle Book was so successful, in fact, that Favreau has set his sights on another massive Disney franchise.
This new Lion King film is expected to use the catchy soundtrack from the original 1994 movie. There isn’t any word yet on whether they plan on bringing back original cast members such as Matt Broderick (Simba), James Earl Jones (Darth vad- er, I mean, Mufasa) or Whoopi Goldberg (Shenzi). Favreau has admitted that The Jungle Book was filmed entirely on green screen, with only one child actor (Neel Sethi) acting alongside the CGI animals. It’s likely The Lion King will follow the same formula, minus the human element. To call it a live-action film would be a little far-fetched, as it will really just be an all-CGI movie, but I’m sure Disney will try and make us believe that it’s all live-action (challenge accepted, Disney). Reactions to the news have divided fans into two camps.
How the first camp took the news
How the second camp took the news
Lion King purists claim that the story cannot work in a live-action(ish) setting due to certain story elements. Still, others feel that Favreau did right by The Jungle Book, proving that The Lion King may be in good hands. Until we learn more about the release date, we’ll be rocking out to that theme song that helped usher in every weekend morning of 1994 and 1995. To the purists, I say, remember who you are, and to the haters, I say, BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA SOWENYAAAAAAAAAAA MAMABEAT SSEEBABBAAAAA!
Written By: Michael Gonzalez.