Lion King Remake (Jon Favreau)

pixelburp · 10-04-2019 3:38pm

FunLover18 wrote: »

It's almost as if life-like animals can't emote the same way humans or cartoon animals can. Haven't watched the trailer yet but I just can't bring myself around to being excited about this.

I wonder if somewhere in the pre-production offices, there's concept art of more ... cartoony designs, that allowed for greater expression in the 'cast', but got nixed by management in favour of more digital verisimilitude.

GavRedKing · 10-04-2019 3:50pm

It will be a huge movie and play on the nostalgia of the first but I can see this being a really poor film.

It will stay make Disney massive, massive amounts of money though and thats all that really matters.

johnny_ultimate · 10-04-2019 4:27pm

It's The Lion King, but looking like it's zapped of all the vibrancy and energy of the original.

I mean, Aladdin looks pretty awful in its own way, but it at least is full of colour based on the trailers so far. The more subdued colour palette of this makes it look infinitely blander than the film it is based on.

El Duda · 10-04-2019 4:37pm

I hope all these Lions get poached, Cecil style.

icdg · 13-04-2019 10:54am

Seems to be fairly near to a “shot-for-shot” (er, in so far as animation has shots, should I say frame-for-frame!) remake of the original. Which is slightly pointless.

Agent Coulson · 27-06-2019 5:12pm

Disney will be raking in more money.

This expected to have a recording breaking July opening weekend touching €170m mark.

jaxxx · 09-07-2019 11:06pm

This is going to be sh*t. Will make a bucket ton of $$$ alright, but it's gonna just be pure crap compared to the original. Apart from the two lads cast as Timon and Pumbaa, and the return of Jones as Mufasa, everyone else's voices are just bad. Beyonce as Nala is alright, but the rest are horrid. Scar sounds about as menacing and conniving as a bunny rabbit, and Rafiki sounds about as wise as Trump and flat as f*ck. Not in the video below, but the scene where he says "he lives in you", omg it makes me wanna slice my ears off. The original was one of my favourite movies as a kid, still is to this day, despite the controversy with Kimba. Irons wasn't even asked to reprise his role as Scar you know, he says he would have loved to do it but wasn't asked.

First time I heard Glover as Simba, 0:44. Just no..... Then again at 0:52. Ugh..... No way in hell am I throwing a single cent at this. I'll wait till its available next year on Sky.

TheIrishGrover · 10-07-2019 11:23am

Well, I think the whole idea is pointless... Actually, it has ONE point: To make as much money as possible. For me, The Lion King is Disney's crowning glory (No pun intended). It was them operating at their peak.

I also wish they would stop calling it "Live action". Ask one of the many MANY animators and effects artists how "Live Action" it is. It is another form of animation.

Initially I thought the casting was spot on but, having hears Scar in another trailer, I agree. I don't find him menacing at all. I was stoked when I heard about Glover doing adult Simba but that clip did seem quite flat (I agree, Beyonce and Jones sounded good). It may be taken out of context (Behind-the-scenes footage delivery always sounds flat).

The one thing I have noticed is that there is VERY little footage of them actually speaking. You can hear them and maybe get a word of footage but it is a bit of a worry: How do you make photo-realistic animals speak without their mouth movements becoming distracting. I know Babe did it years ago but it remains to be seen if it will be a distraction with this.

Maybe I'm just a bit precious about The Lion King - it is my favourite. I have no problem with them doing things like Mulan (Which could be very good). What's next? The Little Mermaid?...... Oh.

It is unfortunate that Disney has decided to go down this path as opposed to creating new and interesting animation. Now is the time when Disney could experiment. People are more open to trying new animation than ever before. Previously if a "cartoon" wasn't Disney it just died a death. Now, as well as the farmed-out Dreamworks tosh like "Boss Baby" and the like, you have people watching the stunning "Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse" movie. You have "Your Name" hitting mainstream cinemas. Non-nerds (:) ) have even heard of Miyazaki or at least know Totoro or Spirited Away or Mononoke. You have the heartbreakingly beautiful "Song of The Sea" made right here at home.

Disney need to dig something out of their archives that was abandoned for being too out there and do it. A whole new animated Disney movie like nothing we have seen before. Not Pixar - Disney! What's the worst thatcould happen? They have all the money in the world and own every movie property out there. I think I heard that in 2021 or something 60% - 75% of ticket sales are predicted to be for Disney-owned properties

branie2 · 10-07-2019 11:39am

Disney are doing a lot of remakes

FunLover18 · 10-07-2019 11:43am

The social media embargo has lifted so their are some "reviews" on Twitter. They all seem to agree that the animation is amazing but that animals not being able to emote the same way humans can is a problem (I don't know how they'll get around Zazu speaking given that beaks just don't move that way). Very few though are focusing on the story though so still unclear how much of a frame for frame remake it is. My prediction is that the animation will be something else and it will dominate the conversation but this won't have near the cultural impact as the original.

johnny_ultimate · 10-07-2019 12:18pm

The photorealistic animation breaks my heart. All respect to the undeniably talented artists who’ve put countless hours into this. But the shift away from expressive, colourful animation to photo realism to me is a bleak symbol of the direction mainstream blockbusters have gone.

El Duda · 10-07-2019 1:05pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The photorealistic animation breaks my heart. All respect to the undeniably talented artists who’ve put countless hours into this. But the shift away from expressive, colourful animation to photo realism to me is a bleak symbol of the direction mainstream blockbusters have gone.

Hook up Spider-Verse to your veins! You'll feel better in no time.

TheIrishGrover · 10-07-2019 1:29pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The photorealistic animation breaks my heart. All respect to the undeniably talented artists who’ve put countless hours into this. But the shift away from expressive, colourful animation to photo realism to me is a bleak symbol of the direction mainstream blockbusters have gone.

Yeah, this is exactly my point. The quality of the animation seems to be stunning. Nobody is questioning the technical prowess of the movie but these days I think people would be much more open to different animation types. We have Frozen 2 coming out which, no doubt, will look very pretty, Moana, Zootopia,Frozen 1 also looked very very pretty. But, c'mon Disney. Go crazy. Don't make another safe fairytale movie. Go nuts! Studios can do both: Look at Ghibli: The Wind Rises AND The Tale of Princess Kaguya both released the same year with WILDLY different animation styles. Look behind the sofa for a spare 100 million, give it to Tiaka Waititi and say "OK. We'll be back in 3 years. Do whatever....."

kerplun k · 10-07-2019 3:04pm

Me: SIGH, yet another unnecessary Disney remake that prays on peoples nostalgia.

Disney: oh, I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over all that money.

El Duda · 10-07-2019 4:24pm

I don't really have a problem with these remakes in principle. Some of them have added little updates and done a decent job.

My problem is the way they churn them out on a conveyor belt like there's no tomorrow. Make a few remakes, coin in the profit, then have a break use that money to fund some original projects. If the originals flop hard, fall back to making another remake.

But at least TRY and vary up your product from year to year.

pixelburp · 10-07-2019 4:55pm

kerplun k wrote: »

Me: SIGH, yet another unnecessary Disney remake that prays on peoples nostalgia.

Disney: oh, I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over all that money.

I wouldn't mind so much if these remakes got middling, respectable box-office takings. But these redundancies keep making INSANE money, I don't get it. Well, I do, but don't at the same time.

kerplun k · 11-07-2019 9:09am

pixelburp wrote: »

I wouldn't mind so much if these remakes got middling, respectable box-office takings. But these redundancies keep making INSANE money, I don't get it. Well, I do, but don't at the same time.

Yep, me neither. One guess is that Disney have really cracked the promotional and marketing for their films. They are getting so good at hyping their movies. They don't always land, à la Solo, but more times than not they really nail it.

pixelburp · 11-07-2019 5:21pm

kerplun k wrote: »

Yep, me neither. One guess is that Disney have really cracked the promotional and marketing for their films. They are getting so good at hyping their movies. They don't always land, à la Solo, but more times than not they really nail it.

Holy crap, you know I thought I was imagining it, but these films really ARE on a conveyor belt. The US release dates:

Dumbo: March 29, 2019
Aladdin: May 24, 2019
Lion King: July 19, 2019

That's a remake every 2 months; obviously people are going to these things, but Disney aren't even trying to disguise how industrialised their nostalgia gouging has become.

Always Tired · 11-07-2019 5:25pm

pixelburp wrote: »

Holy crap, you know I thought I was imagining it, but these films really ARE on a conveyor belt. The US release dates:

Dumbo: March 29, 2019
Aladdin: May 24, 2019
Lion King: July 19, 2019

That's a remake every 2 months; obviously people are going to these things, but Disney aren't even trying to disguise how industrialised their nostalgia gouging has become.

It's true but it works. The Lion King was my sisters favorite film as a child and now we'll definitely be taking her daughter to the remake. But I don't think the remakes will ever have th classic status as the originals, the artwork in The Lion King was phenomenal. You can really tell they studied how the animals move and the performances by the voice actors were amazing too.

FunLover18 · 11-07-2019 5:39pm

Someone on Twitter did a side by side comparison of Hakuna Matata and i just don't understand how anyone would prefer the new version. It's so much less vibrant and fun.

https://twitter.com/cartoonbrew/status/1149108647676522497?s=19

PressRun · 11-07-2019 7:44pm

It looks seriously lacking vibrancy and emotion. That side by side really highlights how poor it looks next to the original.
Yet, I've seen some critics saying it's very good?

CastorTroy · 12-07-2019 1:43am

Yeah the mouth movement didn't match the words too well.

Though I'm just thinking about the stampede scene with the realism.

johnny_ultimate · 12-07-2019 2:57am

Just look at the direction of the clip as well. A jaunty, OTT musical number, full of energy and colour, dynamic editing and fun transitions... reduced to a couple of CG characters walking in a straight line. Distressingly bland. Like The Lion King (original) isn’t exactly the height of either cinema or animated art, but it sure as hell looks like it compared to this.

Reviews are mixed so far, but there’s some magnificent pans of it emerging already:

We’re watching a hollow bastardization of a blockbuster, at once completely reliant on the audience’s pre-established affection for its predecessor and strangely determined to jettison much of what made it special.

https://film.avclub.com/be-prepared-for-the-photorealistic-cruddiness-of-disney-1836271258?amp-IAb07XqYXQkp_M51vS35TFRtoczMS27_hg4Dyfsi8qaN9NAoUi4vY0df24QP19vn

Optimalprimerib · 12-07-2019 6:09am

What was the last truly original Disney production? Everything is either a sequel, franchise or remake.

Tipsy McSwagger · 12-07-2019 8:16am

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

What was the last truly original Disney production? Everything is either a sequel, franchise or remake.

Moana, which was brilliant and way better than the overrated Frozen.

TheIrishGrover · 12-07-2019 11:04am

Moana is very underrated. Art style is a little bit bland but it's a fun ride and anything that Jermaine whathisname in it as a giant crab is automatically improved by 25%.

Frozen was OK. Some of the characters were a little forced (Sven and Hans). But it looked spectacular and the voice acting was great. Never clicked with any of the characters but kudos for trying something new. No WAY did it deserve the oscar that year though: Song of The Sea! Tale of Princess Kaguya! Boxtrolls, (And how to train your dragon 2 - the weakest of those films) all nominated that year.

Again, I applaud the animation team behind this but I do believe that the Lion King is Disney's Masterpiece and that certain things should be left alone. Stick to your human stories: Your Disney Princesses. Update them and make them more relevant to today's young girls. Remake... I don't know, some of your "lesser" movies: The Black Cauldron. The Emperor's New Groove (Also underrated). Atlantis. Song of The South...... Maybe not. But what's next? Bambi?

CastorTroy · 12-07-2019 12:18pm

Still have Mulan and as seen in the Disney Plus announcement, Lady & the Tramp and Sword in the Stone

razorblunt · 12-07-2019 1:28pm

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

Moana, which was brilliant and way better than the overrated Frozen.

Agreed.

To give Empire magazine they called "Let It Go" as more than likely to be a showstopper of a song.
But Moana beats it hands down.

El Duda · 12-07-2019 4:15pm

Robbie Colin has given it 4 stars and says its totes brill. The same Robbie Colin gave Alien Covenant 5 stars. This is so far, the most damning indictment on this new remake.

I am surprised that the reviews are so negative tbh. I thought this one would easily be the best of the remakes so far. That said, a full grown, adult male lion does not look right singing joyful songs lol.

I've booked iMax tickets for this. Damn you Disney!

FunLover18 · 12-07-2019 5:30pm

El Duda wrote: »

Robbie Colin has given it 4 stars and says its totes brill. The same Robbie Colin gave Alien Covenant 5 stars. This is so far, the most damning indictment on this new remake.

I am surprised that the reviews are so negative tbh. I thought this one would easily be the best of the remakes so far. That said, a full grown, adult male lion does not look right singing joyful songs lol.

I've booked iMax tickets for this. Damn you Disney!

I really enjoy Robbie when he fills in for Kermode but I definitely wouldn't agree with every review. I'm looking forward to hearing what Kermode thinks, he was lukewarm on Aladdin but I suspect even though the same criticisms will apply to this, he'll probably love it.

Lion King Remake (Jon Favreau)

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