Disney is Rebooting The Lion King

[Neverhoodian]

Well, at least they're rebooting an IP they came up with instead of buying the rights from another company or plundering the public domain yet again. Also, I'd rather see a separate reboot than changing the original while refusing to preserve the unedited version (aka "pulling a George Lucas").

That said, I'm getting deathly sick of this trend the industry is currently on. I know remakes and reboots are par for the course for Hollywood, but in recent years the sheer quantity of them has increased at an alarming rate.

I suppose the silver lining in all this is that they'll eventually run out of films to reboot, forcing them to try something new.

Unless...oh God, what if they start rebooting the reboots?!

 

[Tanis]

Either way if it doesn't have James Earl Jones' voicing Mufasa it's doomed, you cannot re-cast James Earl Jones, it's simply not possible.

Morgan Freeman or Ron Perlman could work.

 

[Saltyk]

This is a wait and see moment.

Though, I find it hard to believe this can be good. The fact is that the original movie was one of Disney's best animated films (and that is saying a lot in all honesty). Trying to recapture that magic is going to be a difficult task. The original still holds up well today, and a reboot can only be compared to it.

And therein lies the problem. If we say the original was a 9/10 movie, that leaves very little room for improvement. If it's even a 8/10 movie, it will be seen as a failure by the audience.

As others have suggested in the past. Rebooting/remaking a good movie is stacking the deck against yourself. Reboot/remake a bad movie.

 

[Marter]

Can we stop using the word "reboot" when what we really mean is "remake"? Because I'm getting tired of words not meaning anything anymore.

How isn't it a reboot? It's an established franchise that is ignoring its previous continuity in order to establish a new one and is being made with an entirely new art style. It's restarting a series and is doing so in a different and unrelated way.

That's reboot to me.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I'm also curious to see whether or not it awakens another generation of latent Furries to the world

Wasn't that supposed to be Zootopia?

OT: I'll wait to reserve judgment. Chances are the animals will look similar to the Jungle Book. I didn't find that tooo uncanny.

No no no you mean My Little Pony

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I know I sound like a broken record here but can we, or at least you, please stop referring to every remake as a "reboot" as if it was some ongoing franchise up to this point?

Also I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss Michael Eisner and I want him back. Can somebody remind me why we decided he was the spawn of Satan?

Hey Eisner at least green lit this film:

 

[Hawki]

Can we stop using the word "reboot" when what we really mean is "remake"? Because I'm getting tired of words not meaning anything anymore.

How isn't it a reboot? It's an established franchise that is ignoring its previous continuity in order to establish a new one and is being made with an entirely new art style. It's restarting a series and is doing so in a different and unrelated way.

That's reboot to me.

Not that Lion King needed remaking, but I can't call this a reboot in the traditional sense - the Lion Guard is still going after all, and will still be going likely by the point this film airs. By the same criteria, something like Sonic Boom would be a reboot of Segaverse Sonic, despite that both continuities are still ongoing, along with Archiverse continuity, and every other continuity that isn't going anymore, but did in the past.

If the new film is intended as a replacement for the old canon (films, novels, cartoons, etc.), then yes, I'd call it a reboot, but right now, it's more of a remake or "re-imagining." Which is semantics I know, but it's a battle of words that had started before I jumped in. I'd only consider this a reboot if the old continuity came to an end.

 

[Marter]

Not that Lion King needed remaking, but I can't call this a reboot in the traditional sense - the Lion Guard is still going after all, and will still be going likely by the point this film airs. By the same criteria, something like Sonic Boom would be a reboot of Segaverse Sonic, despite that both continuities are still ongoing, along with Archiverse continuity, and every other continuity that isn't going anymore, but did in the past.

If the new film is intended as a replacement for the old canon (films, novels, cartoons, etc.), then yes, I'd call it a reboot, but right now, it's more of a remake or "re-imagining." Which is semantics I know, but it's a battle of words that had started before I jumped in. I'd only consider this a reboot if the old continuity came to an end.

So ... it might be a reboot, then, according to you, I guess. Because we have no idea if the TV show will still be around by the time it gets released. We know it's been renewed for one more season - it'll need to get to season 4 or 5 (for a projected 2018 or 2019 release) and statistically speaking most shows don't make it that far.

I don't like that sort of contingency, personally - it's a reboot to me regardless of whether or not the previous continuity is ongoing (and as long as it's actually starting from the beginning, not acting as a diverging timeline) but I guess I can understand that rationale.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Funny, I just saw this last week. Was gonna watch Aladdin next but I might skip out on it for fear of a remake of that.

I pity whoever has to fill the giant shoes of Robin William's Genie.

Unless...oh God, what if they start rebooting the reboots?!

I wouldn't mind if they rebooted ReBoot. The CGI doesn't hold up well anymore.

But that's not what you meant, ain't it? Too late though, since they kind of already are rebooting the reboots. Raimi Spiderman > Amazing Spiderman > MCU Spiderman. Or perhaps Burton Batman > Schumacher Batman > Nolan Batman > Snyder/DCMU Batman. Although I must admit I do like the latest versions better overall

 

[MCerberus]

Funny, I just saw this last week. Was gonna watch Aladdin next but I might skip out on it for fear of a remake of that.

I pity whoever has to fill the giant shoes of Robin William's Genie.

Unless...oh God, what if they start rebooting the reboots?!

I wouldn't mind if they rebooted ReBoot. The CGI doesn't hold up well anymore.

But that's not what you meant, ain't it? Too late though, since they kind of already are rebooting the reboots. Raimi Spiderman > Amazing Spiderman > MCU Spiderman. Or perhaps Burton Batman > Schumacher Batman > Nolan Batman > Snyder/DCMU Batman. Although I must admit I do like the latest versions better overall

We need to Bat deeper.
Zoro > Shadow > Radio > Serial > West > Burton

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Is the main Disney company ashamed of their roots as an animation studio?

They aren't, however 2D animated films don't sell in the US anymore and they stand to make more money on a completely 3D animated version, rather than a digital remaster (which they've already done). For some reason being 3D and "realistic" in the US somehow makes this stuff socially acceptable for adults to enjoy. Just look at the popularity of the Transformers movies. A lot of the adults watching those films wouldn't be caught dead watching the cartoon, because cartoons are for kids.

Disney still supports 2D animation, they have several, well done, 2D animated TV shows (Gravity Falls, Wander over Yander, Star vs the Forces of Evil) and they localize all the Studio Ghibli films, they just... don't believe in it for their own feature films. Princess and the Frog was their last hurrah.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Is the main Disney company ashamed of their roots as an animation studio?

They aren't, however 2D animated films don't sell in the US anymore and they stand to make more money on a completely 3D animated version, rather than a digital remaster (which they've already done). For some reason being 3D and "realistic" in the US somehow makes this stuff socially acceptable for adults to enjoy. Just look at the popularity of the Transformers movies. A lot of the adults watching those films wouldn't be caught dead watching the cartoon, because cartoons are for kids.

Hey I like Realistic CG like this:


I don't like 3D CGI that looks like this:

Giving such cartoony looking designs such realistic features like Hair strands and skin texture to me is like turning Mario from this:

To this:

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

This feels a bit sacrilegious. There's no way they can make it better. The Lion King is by far the best Disney animated movie as far as I'm concerned. It's an instant classic.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

This feels a bit sacrilegious. There's no way they can make it better. The Lion King is by far the best Disney animated movie as far as I'm concerned. It's an instant classic.

No Fantasia and if we are judging by the Renissance alone The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

 

[Jingle Fett]

Sheesh, Disney really is pushing those member berries hard....
Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty/Maleficent, Star Wars, Beauty and the Beast, Jungle Book, Lion King, MEMBER THOSE??? OOH I MEMBER!

 

[Ukomba]

I wonder how this movie is going to effect their Lion Guard: Friendship is Magic cartoon.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Sooooo... what I'm getting from this is that Disney has run out of ideas for new animated movies so they're just remaking their old ones.

 

[TelosSupreme]

Is the main Disney company ashamed of their roots as an animation studio?

They aren't, however 2D animated films don't sell in the US anymore and they stand to make more money on a completely 3D animated version, rather than a digital remaster (which they've already done). For some reason being 3D and "realistic" in the US somehow makes this stuff socially acceptable for adults to enjoy. Just look at the popularity of the Transformers movies. A lot of the adults watching those films wouldn't be caught dead watching the cartoon, because cartoons are for kids.

Disney still supports 2D animation, they have several, well done, 2D animated TV shows (Gravity Falls, Wander over Yander, Star vs the Forces of Evil) and they localize all the Studio Ghibli films, they just... don't believe in it for they own feature films. Princess and the Frog was their last hurrah.

See, this is what continues to blow my mind. This notion that 2D doesn't sell seems to only come from Disney themselves. Everywhere I've gone, people talk about how much they loved the classic 2D films and would love to see that style come back. At the same time, Princess and the Frog sold very well, but just not as much as they wanted. If they can't have it all, then they won't have it AT all, apparently. I really hope this trend ends soon. At least Europe is willing to take those kind of risks.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Why do they feel the need to "reboot" this?
The original still holds up and always will because good 2d animation is timeless and the reboot can only get worse.
Are there no more new stories to tell?

Welcome to the modern movie industry.

Because most people in the industry are closet furries who brainwash kids to like sexualized rabbit girls

Maybe you should join us... O_O

 

[distortedreality]

Either way if it doesn't have James Earl Jones' voicing Mufasa it's doomed, you cannot re-cast James Earl Jones, it's simply not possible.

Morgan Freeman or Ron Perlman could work.

I really don't want Disney to abuse the memory of what was a brilliant movie......

.....BUUUUUT I'd totally pay some form of currency equivalent to hear Morgan Freeman as Mufasa.