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Disney is once again tapping into our nostalgia. Following on from its re-release of Toy Story a few years ago, the studio is giving one of its most beloved franchises the three dimensional treatment. Now you'll be able to transport yourself back to 1994 and watch Simba, Scar and Mufasa amble around Pride Rock in glorious 3-D. More importantly, it'll guarantee Disney a boatload of money.
If you were born in the late eighties or early nineties, you were born with a heart of stone if you didn't fall in love with The Lion King. It had great songs, great visuals and a Hamlet-inspired plot that gave us the best Disney villain since Shere Khan. It's widely considered one of the greatest animated films ever, and stands alongside Mickey Mouse and Snow White as Disney's most enduring icons. So is it worth seeing it again on the big screen, or is it destined to the (elephant) graveyard with all the other lazy 2D-to-3D conversions?
There's certainly a thrill in seeing The Lion King on the big screen. It looks as beautifully drawn as ever, a sharp contrast to the synthetic, rubbery look of modern day CGI animations. But good luck trying to find anything that the 3D substantially improves on. Simba sticks out slightly during the famous stampede scene, but that's as three dimensional as you're going to get. In fact, the 3D often works against the film's favour: converting it from 2D to 3D has resulted in a substantial loss of colour, dulling the usual bright and bold visuals into a dark, mushy mess.
Usually there's a point to re-releasing films, whether it's an important anniversary or anticipation for a new instalment. There's no point to The Lion King re-release, unless you count a seventeen year anniversary as a significant milestone. We're living in a post-Avatar world where most major blockbusters and re-releases are telling us to fork out the extra cash and don the silly glasses, seducing us with promises of ground breaking visuals and revolutionary technology. But it's nothing more than a cynical money grab. The Disney empire has both a creative and a ruthless business side to it, and here the latter has definitely trumped the former.
In all honesty, you don't need to see this film. Sure, there's a novelty in watching Simba on the big screen. But it wears off quickly once you realise how minimal the 3D is, leaving you with nothing but a hole in your wallet. Save your money and get a copy of it on DVD (or the Limited Edition Legendary 17th Anniversary Diamond Blu-Ray).
See The Lion King 3D at Reel Cinema. Visit http://york.reelcinemas.co.uk/ for more information
Having been to see Lion King 3-D in the cinema, I loved it for two main reasons:
1) It's great to watch in the cinema. There's nothing better than when that "NAAAANTS INGONYAMA" at the beginning of 'Circle of Life' opens the film in full surround sound. The movie is great and works on adult humor levels as well for the kids. You can't beat watching something on the big screen, and I don't think I saw this in the cinema as a kid, so it was good to get the opportunity!
2) The 3D is fascinating, particularly when you consider the history of Disney animation. Walt Disney was the first to use what was known as a 'multi-plane camera', which not only revolutionized cartoons by allowing the viewer to see a deeper effect on a 2D screen, but paved the way for 3D movies (there was a 3D movie theatre in Disneyland when it opened in 1957). The Lion King 3D allows you to move inside that multi-plane in a way that the traditional 2D cinema never could. For geeks like me, it's a really interesting look at the history of cartoon film, as well as a great movie. This is quite an interesting video about the multi-plane camera, narrated by Walt himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d4-AUwkKAw.
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