The Lion King on DVD!

[Shinmaru]

How many of you are eagerly awaiting for October 7th to finally arrive so that you can buy the Platinum Edition of Lion King? I know I am.

The Lion King is definitely my favorite Disney movie of all time and what I consider to be the last great Disney movie (I don't really count the Pixar stuff as Disney). I loved this movie so much, I saw it six times in theatres and bought the VHS the minute it came out. I even went so far as to memorize every line of dialogue in the movie (I am not making that up...I really did memorize every line in the movie).

The reason I love The Lion King so much is that it's a lot darker than most Disney films (especially the later Disney films). It's not "I love you, you love me, so we'll be together at the end!" kind of thing. There's a lot of self-discovery and treachery and such and I think that's really cool.

Plus, I just love the characters in The Lion King. Banzai, Shenzi and Ed always make me laugh. Timon and Pumbaa are the epitome of cool and Scar...best...Disney villain...ever.

Plus, isn't it worth it just to hear James Earl Jones?

[Angelus_Necare]

I SO hear you on that!

I can't wait for the movie to come out on dvd so I can watch it as many times as I did the VHS, and I learned every line of the movie too!

ROTFL!

I do also understand what you mean by it being a darker movie, it's basicaly Hamlet on safari or so I see it now.

My favorite characters would have to be Timon and Banzai, Nathan Lane and Cheech Marin (where was Tommy Chong???) the the same movie!

I don't believe it gets any better than that.

[Semjaza]

I love Disney movies on the whole, but I always thought that Lion King was overrated. That isn't to say it's not great, but I just never got into it as much as I did a lot of their older stuff. I do think Disney has made some great things since then too, but obviously not as frequently. That's another thread, I guess.

I will be getting it though, because I do like the movie. I can't wait to see it in progressive scan, should be gorgeous. I still have to pick up Sleeping Beauty too, which is one of my favorites.

I need more money... heh.

[Guest Magdalena]

Because of the Lion King, I had horrific recurring nightmares when I was small. So I won't buy it. Plus, I don't have a DVD player.

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]October 7th? All I'm looking forward to is the release of the final Chobits manga! Finally!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yes, I love the Lion King. But I wont spend the money that I don't have on it. Maybe Nanna will. :D[/color][/size]

[Vash's girl]

Lion King! I remember the first time I saw it, I was in the first grade. I fell in love with it! I had the simba shirt, every action figure of the characters, all the burger king toys, all the play sets, and more. Lion King was a huge influence in my life. It helped me get a better grasp on death, I think. Plus, that was made back when Jonathon Taylor Thomas was hot (I was even boy crazy in first grade) so it was a must see for all the girls. You know, whatever happened to JTT?

[Semjaza]

Jonathan Taylor Thomas's voice never matured past that of a twelve year old and so he was effectively ostracized from the "cool" section of teen stars, where he henceforth faded into mediocrity.

That's my theory anyway.

[TheShinje]

[size=1] The Lion King was undoubtedly my favourite Disney movie, Hamlet on Safari sums it up I think,
At that time, I had never watched a movie in which treachery and murder was so prevailent, come to think of it, I hadn't seen a movie in which a character died before that point. I don't think I'll get the DVD however, unless it has some cool added extras.
[/size]

[Semjaza]

From IGNDVD:

[quote]Before getting into the extras, I want to gripe a little about all of the wasted time on this disc. First up is the numerous commercials, even after you select the movie to play. Yes, I know it's a Disney DVD, I didn't need that promo. Also, when you first select menu, there's 1:20 of a CG Zazu flying around before you can make a selection. Just let me at the movie, please.

Disc one has some extras of its own. First up is an audio commentary track with directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff and producer Don Hahn. They offer a lot of insight into the film, from its origins as "Bambi in Africa" to the final product.

Under the Grasslands menu is the The Making of The Morning Report featurette, running three minutes, along with The Lion King Personality Profile Game. What do you know, I'm Simba.

Under Tree of Life is the music video for Circle of Life sung by kids from Disney shows. It must have been done several months ago because Hilary Duff is among the crowd and she split from Disney earlier this year. Then there's a making-of and a sing-along track. This is a total waste.

Under Jungle is Timon's Grab-a-Grub game and Pumbaa's Sound Sensations game. Grab-a-Grub gets old after five seconds, while the Sound Sensations isn't as flatulent as you'd think, it's a game for kids to match animal sounds to the animal.

Elephant Graveyard has three deleted scenes, the best being Timon and Pumbaa singing Can You Feel The Love Tonight. Disney originally gave it to those two and Elton John objected, so they gave the song to the lions. Hearing them sing it does indeed make it utterly silly and frivolous, which is what makes it funny.

There are also four sneak peaks at upcoming DVD movies, and under the Setup menu there is an option to register your DVD and also a THX tuning and optimization utility.

Disc two was a real disappointment, and quite frankly, I could live without it. If you bought The Lion King: Masterpiece Edition laserdisc box set, you better hang on a little longer. Stuff like the documentary hosted by Robert Guillaume didn't make it to the DVD. My experience with these omissions is it is often a legal problem, not a matter of the material being blown off.

Disc Two is where most of the extras are located, broken down by topics called Story, Film, Stage, Music, Animals and the game Virtual Safari. The safari game, where you drive through the Serengeti at night in a jeep, will likely scare the poo out of any kid under the age of ten. It's loud, jarring and very upsetting, with things like a hippo stampede.

Story digs into the storyline, Film discusses the pre-production, including a trip to Africa. Music is just that, talking to Tim Rice and Elton John and also discussing the African singers who really added so much to the soundtrack. Animals is an Animal Planet-like look at the animals featured in the film. All are voiced by the same guy who does VOs for Animal Planet in that same annoying voice as though he's talking to a five-year-old.

The annoying part is everything is broken up into two to three minute segments (none are longer than seven minutes), and even though there is a play all option, it's still too scattered. One or two well-structured and organized documentaries with some decent editing and filming could accomplish all this and more.

And with all the behind-the-scenes materials, not one voice over actor appears, except for some early footage of Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the recording studio. Broderick, Jones, Irons, Guillaume, everyone is missing in action. While I am a regular critic of making-of featurettes where the cast all sit around and kiss each other's asses, a director with just a little foresight could get these people together to talk about this film without boring us.

You may watch the second disc once, and probably never again. It's entirely expendable. But the first disc is a treat, and is all you will ever need.[/quote]

That's enough extras for me. I rarely watch them as it is.

I'm just interested in the much improved picture and sound. Progressive scan and DTS, yay!

[future girl]

I used to love this movies, but then my nephews killed that love by engraving every line of dialogue into my brain and replaying it day after day, watching it at the very least 3 times back to back. Their fervor for it has died though, recently. I thought about buying it for them, but I'm not sure yet if I want to waste money on those little ones...I think the best disney villain ever is Malefecent, btw. Scar was good, but she started it all really, imo...

[Japan]

YAY!!!! I love the Lion King. It is my most favorite movie ever!! I memorized all the dialogue including the songs. I like how it has a darker side than all other Disney movies. Yeah, the part about Mufasa is very sad, but it is still good. After the soundtrack came out, I bought it. I still listen to it. It is starting to ware down from me listening to it about a billion times. I've seen the movie so many times, I think I lost count. I think about over 200 times. Anyways, I am so looking forward too it. Pumba is the best!

[YakkoChan]

The lion king was my most favorite disney movie in the world........I remember it comeing out on theators.......in March, i went with my friend to go see it...we got there late and we came in as soon as the big boom came in and it said "Lion King" I thought that was kind of freaky thing myself.. LOL. I got the soundtrack to it.. I dont know if it still works though i got a t-shirt and a plushie of Nala and Simba kissing as cubs. I had the game board set which i only played like once.. LOL....I had two pillows of the lion king.. some lion king stamps. When I herd about the movie comeing on DVD i was like mom you gotta gt that for me!! for Christmass.. then I said the same thing to my brother...
one thing I will remember though.. the vhs came out like on my b-day which is march 12........

[Omar Harris]

Despite allegations that it is a rip-off of Tezuka Osamu's "Kimba, the White Lion" I have always been a huge fan of the "Lion King" and indeed consider it the best Disney project outside of their various Pixar collaborations (almost nothing from the House of Mouse beats "Finding Nemo" though").

I hope to get this and the "Sleeping Beauty" special edition as soon as possible. I hate the whole "Disney Vault" thing, but I guess they have to be perfectly preserved before Disney decides to send them out to leech money again;)

[Semjaza]

I recently got this and Sleeping Beauty on DVD. Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorites, and they did an excellent job with the DVD. The picture is as great as could be expected, even after the restoration.

However, it still pales in comparison to how great The Lion King looks on DVD. It's [i]perfect[/i]... I feel like I'm looking directly at the animation cels. No visible grain, very little - if any - edge enhancement, no jittering... nothing. It just looks amazing. I'm sure me using an HDTV helps, but I've watched it on older, smaller TVs as well... and it still looks awesome.

The new sound mix rocks too. Anyone that can take advantage of that "Home Theater Mix" thing Disney advertises on the box definitely should.

I've not really bothered with the special features... but I have watched the so-called "Special Edition", claiming to have a new song. I figured this would be along the lines of the one in Beauty and the Beast, which was a pretty substantial addition.

In the Lion King, it's not. Zazu does a song called "The Morning Report." It's not really a new scene, it's just fitted in where Zazu flies up to Mufasta and Simba and tells them what's going on. The same scene where he shows Simba how to pounce.

So instead of Zazu simply talking, he does this really goofy song that seems out of place. However, it does make Simba's pounce ten times more satisfying, since it shuts Zazu up... but then Simba sings it too, blah.

In any case, both DVDs are worth the cash.

[Shinmaru]

I've got the DVD but I have yet to watch it because I don't have the time right now, bleh. However, both my brother and sister have seen it and have assured me that it is fantastic and more than worth the money.

I hate Zazu in general. That was one of my favorite scenes in The Lion King because Zazu actually shut his beak for a few moments.

[Charles]

I tried picking this up, but it was sold out. Which wasn't too surprising considering how well it's been selling. So, I got [i]Hollywood Homocide[/i] for now since it's easily one of the best movies I've seen in the past year.

[i]The Lion King[/i] though, is one of my favorite animated films of all time. It came out during the Disney renaissance and compared quite well considering the company's other efforts at the time. Such as the aforementioned [i]Beauty and the Beast[/i] which I also adore. Timeless movies.

I particularly like these movies because they're not dumbed down. Their themes are very mature. So, in that respect they give kids credit. Especially in the case of [i]The Lion King[/i]

Hopefully I'll be able to come across a copy this week. I'd love to hear the "Home Theater Mix."