Whether fans call it live-action
or otherwise, nothing is going to stopped the updated animation remake of
Disney’s “The Lion King” from premiering this month, mere weeks from now. With
its photorealistic computer-graphic animals that really fuel the argument for
classifying this film as “live-action” the Jon Favreau-directed future
blockbuster is sure to continue the Disney box-office streak with its
alternating Disney-Pixar-Marvel-Lucasfilm 2019 lineup. The fact that “Lion King”
has quite the all-star cast (and one returning from the 1994 animation) is
another bonus. Yet how to market the seemingly-live-action movie where all the
viewers would see are talking animals?
The answer, according to People, comes in a series of promotional
stills uploaded by Disney to their official Twitter page for “The Lion King.”
In two tweets the studio unveiled seven images of the actual cast, photographed
in profile, staring face to face with their respective animal character to which
they lend their voices. The contrast with the actors and actresses, dressed in
black with the dark background, to the more brightly-colored animal
counterparts makes for some images that will remain stuck in fans’ heads in
anticipation for the film finally arriving in cinemas worldwide.
— The Lion King (@disneylionking) July 2, 2019
First in the batch are the
head-to-head images of Donald Glover and the main character Simba the lion as
an adult, followed by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter staring down the
lioness Nala, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as the treacherous antagonist Scar. Rounding
off the four photos is the trio of Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and John Oliver,
who respectively play Pumbaa the warthog, Timon the meerkat and Zazu the
hornbill. On the second tweet are three images: Alfre Woodard as Simba’s mother
Sarabi; another trio of Keegan-Michael Key, Florence Kasumba and Eric Andre as hyena
minions Kamari, Shenzi and Azizi; and finally the duo of J.D. McCrary and
Shahadi Joseph Wright as Simba and Nala when they were cubs. Notable however is
the absence of James Earl Jones as Simba’s father, King Mufasa.
Around the same time as the
unveiling of these promotional pictures for “The Lion King,” Disney also
released a new featurette called “The King Returns” on their YouTube channel.
Here, director Jon Favreau talks of the elements that were assembled during
production, from cast to special effects, in order to create a familiar yet new
experience for the Disney animated classic in an advanced form. It also
included interviews with the cast, particularly Donald Glover.
“The Lion King” is set to
premiere on July 19.
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