Ragesh Dipu
Disney’s ‘The Lion King‘ drops its first official full-length trailer. The reboot of the animated classic seems to be an epic return for Simba and Mufasa. The trailer is stunning with jaw-dropping VFX spectacles that look so original on animals and leave the viewers literally stunned. Even though Disney’s upcoming adaptation of ‘The Lion King‘ is a live-action version, the makers lavishly employ dazzling and realistic VFX. The clip features the lush African savannah with all its grandeur of giraffes, antelopes, zebras, and many more.
And most importantly, the vicious uncle Scar delivers some free advice to Simba in the trailer. ‘Life’s not fair is it, my little friend?’ asks Scar. ‘While some are born to feast, others spend their lives in the dark, begging for scraps,’ he adds in his cryptic tone to a visibly intimidated Simba. Mufasa is seen offering a piece of wisdom to Simba in the trailer. ‘You must take your place in the circle of life, says the sagelike Mufasa. ‘Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance,’ Mufasa continues, ‘while others search for what they can take, a true king searches for what he can give.’
The trailer also gives a test dose of the musical number as it ends with Timbon and Pumbaa singing ‘A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh,’ borrowed from ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight.’ Directed by Jon Favreau, ‘The Lion King’ features an ensemble voice cast including Donald Glover as Simba, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, Beyonce as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, and James Earl Jones as Mufasa.
‘The Lion King’ is the third remake of a Disney classic this year. The studio released Tim Burton’s ‘Dumbo‘ this month and Guy Ritchie’s ‘Aladdin‘ reboot is due for May release. The movie is the second collaboration between director Favreau and Disney after the 2016 movie ‘The Jungle Book.’ Favreau directed the child actor Neel Sethi along with VFX animals in ‘Jungle Book.’ But for ‘The Lion King,’ he relies completely on animated characters created using advanced photorealistic computer visual effects. The mindblowing live-action sequences of ‘The Jungle Book‘ earned the movie an Oscar. When Disney revealed exclusive footage from ‘The Lion King’ at CinemaCon earlier this month, critics welcomed it with overwhelming praise.
‘The Lion King‘ also marks some of the key changes in Disney’s strategic framework for the coming months. The movie is produced by Walt Disney Pictures, and not by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Walt Disney Pictures is the Disney film studios’ arm that produces live-action Disney films. ‘The Lion King’ is a part of Disney’s live-action remake bandwagon. When Disney CEO Bob Iger introduced the movie as ‘our upcoming live-action Lion King,’ at a 2018 shareholders meeting, the message was clear. The Disney CEO’s words contradict with the not-so-live look of the official trailer of ‘The Lion King.’ But Walt Disney Motion Pictures President Sean Bailey added a bit of clarification in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He said the movie is kind of a hybrid, a new form of filmmaking. And that’s it, ‘The Lion King’ is a hybrid of not just technologies, but of memories and nostalgia from our childhood. ‘The Lion King’ official trailer promises the viewers that hybrid cinematic experience at the cost of the pure live-action feel of Disney’s other reboots.
Watch ‘The Lion King’ official trailer below.
The Lion King hits theaters in the U.S. on July 19, 2019.
