Disney are becoming the centre of attention when it comes to the third dimension. Having recently released Toy Story 1, 2 and 3 in 3D they have started to turn their attention to the older classics with the likes of Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and even the hand-drawn animation masterpieces Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. I feel that the company should strongly consider changing their famous mouse ears logo to a pair of 3D specs, such is their fondness for the technology.
A film that I thought I would never see in the cinema (at least in relative memory) is the Lion King, and what I really didn't expect was to see the Pridelands come to life in jaw-dropping 3D. Simba has always held a special place in my heart, as is the case with most 90s kids, so I went to the flicks with astronomical expectations. But were they reached?
In a word, yes. Actually, most yes. Most definitely yes. From the opening sequence of the African sun rising to the thundering rain of the finale, I had chills shooting through my body. The beauty of the animation is as intact as ever, in fact, bar a few moments where double-vision occurred due to some outrageous attempts to throw bones in your face, it was arguably enhanced. Disney know how to utilise the new technology that they have at their disposal and further proof of this come from the surround sound which was top-notch. Simba's paws pounded your ears from every angle and atmosphere of Timon and Pumba's jungle was captured with the sound of grubs ringing out from every direction.
As you'd expect, the story is true to the original, which is lucky because the tried and tested 'Hamlet' formula is timeless. With the inclusion of lions Disney were always on to a winner.
The Disney of old managed to perfect musical numbers and they did themselves a huge favour by removing Zazu's cringe-worthy 'Morning Report' song that somehow found it's way on to the special edition version. It just felt out of place. The colours of 'I Just Can't Wait to be King' were as vivid and glorious as ever, and the sequence itself benefited from the subtle 3D, with Zazu flying in and out of the screen. Other musical highlights are obvious: 'Hakuna Mattata' was perfect. There's simply no other word for it. 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' has won many, many awards in the past and I can't see a reason why it shouldn't win many more. The emotion runs high and then suitably gets slashed down at the end when Simba and Narla have a lovers tiff about him returning to Pride Rock, or something like that. The daunting 'Be Prepared' was as harrowing as ever, and one thing I didn't notice when I was three was that the march of the hyena's past their 'Fuhrer', Scar, is very close to the gooses-step of the Nazis.
I mentioned one flaw with the 3D conversion earlier, but I honestly couldn't point out any more. The Pridelands are given an incredible amount of depth; the greatest example being the opening montage where the animals march towards Pride Rock to welcome Simba, their future king, into their world. The elephants stomp as they slowly trudge out of the background and the small birds are forced to dart out of the screen to avoid getting trampled. The montage closes with Zazu seemingly flying over the audience's heads before perching on the momentous cliff face. What a spectacle. Mostly though, the 3D effect is kept subtle meaning that it doesn't become too intrusive and for the most part, when the animators decided to throw things at the audience, it wasn't to showcase the effect in a cheap way but mostly to emphasise what was happening. 3D displayed the way it should be.
Obviously, the glory of the film stems from the characters as much as the story. Simba, a lion with a heart of gold, who's young naivety lead him into danger forced on him by his Uncle Scar, who as the name suggests, isn't a very nice piece of work, is the perfect protagonist. Nala, his playful companion. plays a much more subtle role, yet her characteristics still manage to match Simba's ambitiousness. Timon and Pumba, the unlikely heroes, manage to share a screen 20 times their height with pure ease. They ooze personality and the hoola distraction is kids comedy gold. And adults. The voice actors put in a performance that cannot be matched by any animated film. They are the ones responsible for bringing the characters out of the screen and into your life, not the 3D.
Whether I'm looking at this film with great amounts of nostalgia or not, it's evidently clear that anyone with a family or looking for some nostalgic thrills should catch this as soon as they can. It's the same film that they've always loved, only with an environment that is brought to life in a way that it couldn't but should have been 17 years ago. The Lion King in 3D not only does the original justice, but also gives it an entirely new lease of life.
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