DisneyGigi
Well-Known Member
I LOVED it! My biggest fear was he would change it and he did not. Also don’t get people saying the emotion was not there. I still cried and laughed! Best remake yet IMO.
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Disney and Jon Favreau Joining Forces on “The Lion King”
- Thread starter ShoalFox
- Start date
Tony Perkis
Well-Known Member
It’s just CGI. It’s another tool available for the filmmakers to help portray their vision. It’s no different than traditional animation, stop motion, color, sound, and any other available piece of technology. Cheerleading it as if it’s the future helps further films as products, and not art.
Jedijax719
Well-Known Member
People complain that Disney isn't coming up with enough new stories and keep rehashing, remaking, and sequeling. But how is the "new stories" thing working for other studios? With the exception of the occasional successful horror story like US, Quiet Place, and Get Out other studios are being equally "unoriginal".
Truth is that with the Disney Animated and Pixar, they are putting out more original content than most that succeeds.
If studios want to get new material, hire the TV show writers. They are doing that with whatever SW movies come after TROS (Game of Thrones guys). There are plenty of writers out there.
In the mean time, these remakes are fun.
Truth is that with the Disney Animated and Pixar, they are putting out more original content than most that succeeds.
If studios want to get new material, hire the TV show writers. They are doing that with whatever SW movies come after TROS (Game of Thrones guys). There are plenty of writers out there.
In the mean time, these remakes are fun.
Tony Perkis
Well-Known Member
Disney is getting beat up more than rival studios for being unoriginal because they’ve seemingly replaced the entirety of their live action films under the Walt Disney Studios banner with remakes of their own animated films. All major studios are guilty of remakes and sequelitis, but even they still produce original content.
Disney just isn’t trying anymore.
Mike S
Well-Known Member
Which shot? The sunrise?
Emotion was there in their voices but most of the time the eyes were lifeless.
HoldenC
Well-Known Member
Could not agree more. This nonchalance isn't exclusive to the movie studio either, sadly.
Tony Perkis
Well-Known Member
As I’m getting a bit further away from the film, I think I’m solid on my final conclusion. It may actually be my least favorite of these Disney remakes (I haven’t seen Dumbo, and don’t plan to).
Is it the worst? Absolutely not. There’s too much good work in this film to put it anywhere close to the worst, but too many things missed the mark for me.
First, the animation is flat out gorgeous. It’s breathtaking how real the characters and the environments looked. It was also the absolute wrong choice for this film. For a film that’s supposed to be highly emotional, they missed the mark entirely, and a lot of that is at the feet of Jon Favreau. The characters showed no visual emotion on their faces, which is a clear benefit of animation, and the vocals plain and simply didn’t match the stakes of the scene nor the emotional impact experienced by the characters. The lack of expression around the eyes is also a big factor in this.
The animation looks great, but this style should not have been employed in this film.
Second, this was one of the lazier of the remakes in terms of storytelling. Nothing of substance was added to warrant its meandering and overlong running time. I’ve criticized these films, and Disney, for their lack of originality, but this was pretty egregious.
Thirdly, the art direction flat out sucked in this. Case in point, “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” was played 100% straight. Nothing creative visually, no surreal visuals, hue changes.....boring, visually.
Dumb nitpick: “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” played during the daytime.
Timon and Pumbaa were a blast, and were clearly the only ones allowed to play around with the script and their characters.
3/10
Is it the worst? Absolutely not. There’s too much good work in this film to put it anywhere close to the worst, but too many things missed the mark for me.
First, the animation is flat out gorgeous. It’s breathtaking how real the characters and the environments looked. It was also the absolute wrong choice for this film. For a film that’s supposed to be highly emotional, they missed the mark entirely, and a lot of that is at the feet of Jon Favreau. The characters showed no visual emotion on their faces, which is a clear benefit of animation, and the vocals plain and simply didn’t match the stakes of the scene nor the emotional impact experienced by the characters. The lack of expression around the eyes is also a big factor in this.
The animation looks great, but this style should not have been employed in this film.
Second, this was one of the lazier of the remakes in terms of storytelling. Nothing of substance was added to warrant its meandering and overlong running time. I’ve criticized these films, and Disney, for their lack of originality, but this was pretty egregious.
Thirdly, the art direction flat out sucked in this. Case in point, “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” was played 100% straight. Nothing creative visually, no surreal visuals, hue changes.....boring, visually.
Dumb nitpick: “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” played during the daytime.
Timon and Pumbaa were a blast, and were clearly the only ones allowed to play around with the script and their characters.
3/10
I agree with you that it was not the best of their remakes. However, it was the most real looking CGI I have seen. They will do better in the future but give them a little more time. I think you should actually see Dumbo. It was a good movie and not just a retelling of the same story. Was it perfect? No but it was enjoyable.
Tony Perkis
Well-Known Member
My issue with the film isn’t the technology on its own. The animation could actually get significantly better and my opinion of the film would be the same. The use of the technology was my issue; it was the wrong thematic choice.
Additionally, I thought the film was absolutely the same retelling as the original. There was very little that was different on a macro level.
It seemed to me that what distinguishes the LAR from the original animation is that the visual choice of "realism" translated into other choices. Of course, when I say "realism" it's with the conceit that you have talking animals...
So, the faces don't take on human expressions of emotions so as to be more realistic.
And this informs the musical numbers. Scar's "Be Prepared" is nothing like Rex Harrison's talk-singing which only hit like two notes. The spoken parts were spoken at the right notes in tune with the melody line. And it evolved into more and more singing until the end when it is full voice singing. Some people complain how with certain musicals the music seems to abruptly come in. It's a certain conceit which musical fans aren't bothered by or even look forward to. But here, you had an oration gradual turn into a song to ease you into the fact there's now singing and an orchestra just out of sight.
This was done so smoothly with the introduction to "Can You Feel the Love" where it's Timon who's speaking becomes more and more musical until he's singing full voice.
The plot's the same, so, if one doesn't like the repeat, that's understandable. But the art direction is not the same, and purposely so.
It seems weird for people to ding TLK19 for being too much the same as the original and then start complaining about all the ways it was different.
So, the faces don't take on human expressions of emotions so as to be more realistic.
And this informs the musical numbers. Scar's "Be Prepared" is nothing like Rex Harrison's talk-singing which only hit like two notes. The spoken parts were spoken at the right notes in tune with the melody line. And it evolved into more and more singing until the end when it is full voice singing. Some people complain how with certain musicals the music seems to abruptly come in. It's a certain conceit which musical fans aren't bothered by or even look forward to. But here, you had an oration gradual turn into a song to ease you into the fact there's now singing and an orchestra just out of sight.
This was done so smoothly with the introduction to "Can You Feel the Love" where it's Timon who's speaking becomes more and more musical until he's singing full voice.
The plot's the same, so, if one doesn't like the repeat, that's understandable. But the art direction is not the same, and purposely so.
It seems weird for people to ding TLK19 for being too much the same as the original and then start complaining about all the ways it was different.
Tony Perkis
Well-Known Member
I don’t think that’s fair.
Complaining because something is different on its own is dumb, and that I agree with.
But a lot of the different takes in these films are bad takes. Giving a dumb subplot to Jafar in Aladdin didn’t add to that film, and warranted the criticism. Just as an example.
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Mike S
Well-Known Member
Removing Jafar’s menace was another.
Jedijax719
Well-Known Member
I'd like to be optimistic and hope that Disney will make SO much money this year that they will have enough to risk on new material. You KNOW they must get hundreds of premises, scripts, screenplays, etc . every month from very creative folks who they don't give a chance due to the risk of loss. Maybe now they can take that risk.
But how many "new" stories haven't at least been based on comics or books? I can probably name a handful since the 1970's. This has been an issue for a LONG time. But, as I said, I'd like to be optimistic and hope Disney will have enough money from this year alone to take some risks.
Tony Perkis
Well-Known Member
I have a lot of problems with Aladdin.
RunningKoen
Well-Known Member
I must say, I haven't seen the LAR yet, and not sure if I want to see it. I cannot imagine some things to be ' realistic'.
Most humor of the original movie relies on facial (human) expressions, emotions and unrealistic situations that are only possible in the cartoons. Certainly songs like I just cant wait to be king and be prepared.
This formed the base for the (I think hilarious) second sequel mocking those bits of the first movie.
I still crack up when Timon and Pumbaa refer to the Hyenas during ' Be Prepared' as 'River Dance' while they exit the scene doing some Irish dancing themselves.
Jokes about all animals bowing etc. etc. work because it points out that those aspects of the original cartoon aren't realistic.
Edit: we could also discuss ' The morning report'.
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Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
"STEAM! Ha-ha! Steam is GOOD! Steam is... WATER! Gotta have WATER! You know, for the dream home! Steam home, dream home! Steam, steam, steam..."
Tony Perkis
Well-Known Member
Let’s not and just say we did.
Tony Perkis
Well-Known Member
I don’t think even Disney is cynical enough to go that route.