Disney showcased many high profile releases in their recent CinemaCon panel. One that got many people curious was footage of their upcoming remake of The Lion King directed by Jon Favreau. According to reports, two clips were shown of the upcoming film, one of them being the Circle of Life sequence that has been so iconic with the original film and a small moment with Simba and Mufasa.
The Circle of Life moment has already been glimpsed in the past few trailers, however, this new clip of Mufasa and Simba has yet to surface online. What has been described is essentially very similar to the same moment in the original film, with Simba waking his parents up and Mufasa giving him the “Everything the light touches is our Kingdom” speech. It also ends with them encountering Zazu, voiced by John Oliver, and having the same conversation in the original film with Zazu giving the morning report (however, no song sequence this time, unlike in special editions of the film).
In regards to how the footage was received, there was a lot of positive feedback but coupled with some negativity. Many praised the look of the film, being amazed by how far CGI has come. Audiences were describing the footage as lifelike as the animals looked so realistic in both texture and movement. However, while the effects are praise-worthy, some are still critical of the footage, mainly of remaking such a classic film. Some described the footage as too similar to the original movie with nearly every single line from the original being spoken in this one. While some are questioning the film’s unoriginal script, many are still curious about what this Lion King remake has to offer just on an effects level alone and will surely be one of the most talked about films of 2019, regardless.
The Lion King is set to release on July 19, 2019.