Who the blazes hasn’t seen The Lion King? It’s definitely one of those classic Disney movies that ushered them into a new era that made them a company not just solely for kids, but for adults alike with a Hamlet-esque storyline with darker tones and themes that kids would still enjoy and maybe not understand fully enough ‘til they were older (case in point: me). This past weekend Disney has released the 1994 hit in 3D for a swift two weeks in theaters across the company and the big question is: how different is this remastered release from the original version and is it worth the sixteen dollars to see it in 3D at the movie house?
The Lion King is about a young lion named Simba who becomes an outcast after the sudden death of his father and the quick ascenscion of his horrid uncle as the king of the Pride Lands, responsible for the ‘wellbeing’ of the other animals. He must decide whether or not to stay sojourned with his two friends, Timon and Pumba (a meercat and a pig respectively) and hide from his past or return to his kingdom and fix things to take his rightful position as the Lion King.
Full of vivid images and grandeur themes, The Lion King is by far one of the most adult Disney movies ever released this side of 1996’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (I still have no idea how they got away with that movie, but I don’t care).
The movie boasts some of the best songs of Disney’s arsenal with Hans Zimmer’s score being more than appropriate and breathtakingly beautiful in its execution to unsettle the audience and maybe even touch them. Coupled with the compositions by dynamic writing team Tim Rice and Elton John you’ll be singing along to all of your favorites like Circle of Life and Hakuna Matata all over again broadcasted through the tremendous speakers at your local theater in all of its glory.
Being that this movie is in 3D there are several really interesting sections where it is used effectively to give a grander depth of field to the images you see. Most of the 3D was added to give the film a subtle flair without overtaking the story and it actually worked quite well to be honest—especially during the finale of the film with Simba fighting with his dastardly uncle Scar. The Lion King is also available in 2D albeit with stricter show times (most theaters I’ve seen are only playing it once or twice a day in this format).
I think this release is very important because it could very well introduce a whole new generation to one of the best Disney masterpieces ever created. It’s also a great little bump in popularity for the incoming DVD/Blu-ray release of it from the Disney vault later this year. The remastered images all look clean and brighter, but I had some issues with how some of the lines looked and how refinished everything looked in contrast to the tradition hand-drawn properties from my old VHS.
Some of the animation looked a little sloppy to be honest, but it’s nothing too distracting if you haven’t seen the movie a hundred million times like I have. Overall, this is a worthy little movie to see on the weekend especially if you haven’t seen the movie in a long time and I was impressed with the presentation of it for the most part. The 3D is classy, the music is incredible, and I can guarantee the story and epic appeal will still hit your heart in the right place.
Overall Film: 5 out of 5 stars
3D Transfer: 4 out of 5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment