I've already endorsed the petition to release The Lion King: The Complete Score as an official Disney product, and I hope visitors to the site still sign that one if they're as interested in seeing that as I am.

However, there's a new petition being circulated, one which encourages Disney to produce a fourth Lion King movie:

http://www.petitiononline.com/lionking/petition.html

There are already more signatures for this signature than the soundtrack petition ever accumulated. Clearly there is some interest in seeing Disney produce more movies in this series. And even though John Lasseter, Disney's new chief creative officer imported from Pixar, has instituted a policy of avoiding the cheaply made direct-to-video sequels that have tarnished Disney's reputation for quality in the past, I think that under the right circumstances the TLK universe could benefit from another installment.

This is not something I say lightly. I was never much of a fan of TLK 2: Simba's Pride; I thought it was poorly conceived and poorly executed, with lackluster animation and an unimaginative, tawdry story—but more importantly (and more subtly), I thought it detracted from the unity and epic timelessness of the original movie by being a mere "continuation". There's a scene in the Kathleen Turner/Michael Douglas movie Jewel of the Nile where Joan Wilders, a romance novel author, is talking with her publisher, who has to admonish her that she can't keep confusing real life with a romantic novel—when your characters ride off into the sunset, that's The End. There is no "next morning", when the sun comes up and the characters have to make breakfast and go to work and argue over paying bills. Joan keeps falling prey to the urge to imagine what comes next, but her publisher knows that doing so ruins the story she's just told. And I feel it's the same deal with TLK: it starts and ends with the big "BOOM" of the title splash and the "Circle of Life" song, and that really ought to have been The End. "Simba's Pride" just told us that it wasn't epic after all, and there was a "next day" and a next and a next, with more and more generations of cardboard lion royalty that argue and fight and sing songs about Upendi, which to me deflates all the magic and majesty of the original.

On the other hand, I actually loved TLK 1 1/2, because it was precisely the kind of "sequel" that I did think would work with TLK: more of a parody than a continuation, something that kept the original story intact but looked at it through a cockeyed, tongue-in-cheek, yet affectionate way. The very fact that it was imagined in such a silly manner just made the original's epic scale all the more apparent by the explicit comparison it invited. Plus it was just plain fun, and better animated than TLK 2 to boot. The silhouetted theater scene at the end with all the gathered Disney characters was like one giant cast-and-crew screening of Disney's greatest achievement, and the retrospective "Digga Tunnah Dance" song over the credits gave the whole thing a feel of being sort of a wrap party, a celebration of the original. Nothing like the workmanlike, linear inevitability of TLK 2, which just felt like a preview of ever more mundane and tedious sequels to come. Small wonder, to me, that TLK 1 1/2 never even acknowledged TLK 2's existence.

Now, a lot of whether another sequel would be a storytelling and financial success depends on how it's framed. For instance, a prequel showing the lives of Mufasa and Scar before the events of the original movie has potential. Prequels are tricky things to do—as the Star Wars films proved, it's very difficult to present an engaging and surprising story when you already know how it turns out. But on the other hand you're working with characters you already know, rather than having to invent new ones to get the audience interested in; and unlike with Star Wars, there's no implausibility in asserting that all these well-known characters knew each other way back when. After all, in the case of TLK, they did.

In short, if there's to be another sequel, I'd want it to feel necessary from a storytelling standpoint to create it, a key part of the story that deserves to be realized—not something they did just because they couldn't come up with any better ideas.

Finally, I should point out carefully that signing a petition does nothing to legally bind Disney to sink millions of dollars into the business investment that is a new movie project. We all must keep in mind that every movie Disney creates—whether a theatrical blockbuster or a direct-to-video cheapquel, whether 3D, 2D, or live-action—is a fresh business venture that has to be carefully studied and approved from within the company. You can be sure that the subject of doing another sequel to the biggest cash cow in Disney's modern history is something that comes up in board meetings every other week; this isn't some brilliant new idea that nobody has thought to suggest to management before. Disney is constantly brainstorming story ideas of which we have no idea, and for every one that gets green-lit, dozens lie on the boardroom floor. The fact that no TLK 4 in in the works tells us that Disney has evaluated the proposal—probably numerous times—and determined that the potential rewards wouldn't be worth the investment. What's more, there are legal issues surrounding any story ideas that Disney uses from outside its walls; it has enough sidelong scrutiny from fans of Osamu Tezuka's Kimba/Jungle Emperor Leo and Richard Williams' The Thief and the Cobbler without having to worry about what happens if they use a story idea suggested by some fans in public and then don't mention where they got the idea in the credits and pay the originators a hefty sum. That's why Disney's official policy is to return unopened any unsolicited script or screenplay sent to them: they can't legally afford to even look at it without compromising their plausible deniability.

Disney has to make the decision to produce another Lion King sequel on its own. A petition can give them a sense for how well it would do in the marketplace; but that's about it. We shouldn't get our hopes up. There is a lot of internal resistance to the idea of pillaging the TLK war chest once more—potentially reducing the impact and value of the original in the interest of the short-term gains to be had from another sequel—and the Disney management under Lasseter might be dead set against it, in which case we have to accept that reality.

Yet a fan petition got Family Guy reinstated, so who knows?

That URL again:

http://www.petitiononline.com/lionking/petition.html

Ravi K. mails to let me know of a petition being circulated to ask Walt Disney Records to release The Lion King: The Complete Score as an official licensed product.

http://www.petitiononline.com/LIONKING/petition.html

This score has been available on the Internet for some time now as a bootleg, with some audio flaws and without the legal backing of Disney; fans of the movie and Hans Zimmer's masterwork have been forced to resort to using less-than-legal methods to obtain the tracks.

Online petitions are certainly no foolproof solution, not being legally binding and not addressing the business concerns that a publicly traded, profit-motivated corporation like Disney must weigh when deciding which products to sell and market; but adding your voice to the chorus might yet make a difference if Disney's team is listening to its fans and judges them to be representative of the market as a whole.

So: if you'd like to see the complete score of The Lion King emerge as a special-edition soundtrack with dozens of tracks of never-before-generally-available material, please feel free to sign!

IGN has an article outlining Disney's plan for movie releases on Blu-Ray format in 2008.

For the first time ever, Disney will begin releasing its animated classics on Platinum Edition Blu-ray Disc beginning with Sleeping Beauty in the fall of 2008. The classic animated tale has been revitalized to include exceptional high-definition picture and sound quality and compelling interactive content such as virtual games, full motion picture-in-picture and online shopping capabilities via BD-Live broadband connection. The transfer will also feature an all-new enhanced home theater mix in 7.1 surround sound.

There is no explicit word on when The Lion King or its sequels will appear in Blu-Ray, but if the DVD rollout plan of several years ago is any indication, it won't be the second in line. However, we can be pretty well assured that Disney will be taking full advantage of all that space available on the new format to throw in all kinds of new special features, to a level that will put to shame the DVD release and even the legendary old Deluxe Laserdisc Edition.

Fingers crossed...!

Via Ryan R.

According to Disney, a year of citywide celebrations will begin on November 9, 2007 to honor the tenth anniversary of the opening of The Lion King Broadway show.

The first such display, kicking off the string of festivities, is a special lighting scheme for the Empire State Building.

Ryan R. reports that on the new Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest DVD, there's a preview of upcoming Blu-Ray releases of Disney classics such as Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, National Treasure, and (third on the list) The Lion King.

This is interesting news for early adopters, particularly those who have gone the HD-DVD route rather than Blu-Ray; evidently Disney has thrown in its lot with the Sony/Samsung consortium and decided to back the technically superior but (possibly) less well-supported Blu-Ray. We shall see how it plays out, but Sony's track record with storage media formats is not good...

Italian reader "giagia" has alerted me to an issue with the Italian version of The Lion King and its voice recording tracks. In the interest of spreading awareness of this matter throughout the Lion King fan community and the Italian fan base in particular, I'm posting the message here in full.

As Disney fans will know "The Lion King" was the first (Disney) movie to have the voices of the charaters recorded on different tracks. If we go back to 1994 we see that "The Lion King"'s italian dubbing, made by the sons of Disney Legend Roberto De Leonardis, had a preliminary version that was refused by Disney Character voices. Then a new dubbing was made and the movie was released with the second one (this time approved by Disney Character Voices). A VHS was made in 1995, with the ufficial dubbing that went in cinemas. But a track of the first dubbing remained in London and it was labeled "Timon & Pumbaa Italy". When the new DTS track was made for 2003 cinema release (the movie went in just three cinemas here), the wrong track was used and nobody noticed it. Then the DVD was released and the audio used in it had the wrong voices of Timon and Pumbaa. When the DVD went in Buena Vista Italy from London, none saw it and the DVD was copied and sent in all the country. The funny thing is that in the end titles report the names of the dubbers of T&P was the original dubbing and was different from the voices you heard on the DVD. The wrong dubbing was used for "The Lion King Trilogy" too. The only items to have a correct version of the movie are the VHS and the soundtrack (that didn't need the new DTS track.) I protested very much in Buena Vista forum, but BVI closed it.

I hope that you publish this thing in your site to prevent any further error (you know, with your visibility it would help very much)and allow us to have the original film enriched by its original uffcial dubbing.

Let's hope Disney can be convinced to correct this error in a future DVD release.

My apologies for the ten days' downtime suffered by lionking.org during the first half of May. This was the result of the hosting company undergoing a physical move from one end of the country to the other, and the process ran far longer than the 24-48 hours originally estimated.

All services have been restored as of today, though there will likely be additional periods of downtime during the next few days as hardware is swapped and network adjustments are made.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

The Lion King Fan-Art Archive is currently being migrated to a new network at the hosting company. The ETA I've been given for restored service is midnight tonight, but we all know these things often take longer than anticipated.

Thanks for your patience.

Bernardo C. points us at the comprehensive page for Kingdom Hearts II at Wikipedia. Along with lots of information on the game's plot and world details, there's a complete voice cast list, which includes the following pieces of information (filtered by Bernardo):

Quinton Flynn as Timon
Cam Clarke as Simba
Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa
James Earl Jones as Mufasa (not listed as being recycled. And Mufasa does sound a bit different in KH2, IMO)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Simba (recycled from the movie)
Robert Guillaume as Rafiki
Cheech Marin as Banzai
Jim Cummings as Ed
Tress MacNeille as Shenzi

There is no English voice actor listed for Nala or for Scar. Because Wikipedia is a collaborative documentation effort, the listing is subject to change, and will become more accurate as people make changes to incorrect information.

Meanwhile, another cast listing is available at GameFAQs, though it lists Jim Cummings as the voice of Scar, and Nathan Lane as Timon, suggesting that this listing is less accurate than the Wikipedia one. However, it does have a name for Nala's voice: Vanessa Marshall.

Daniel Weisfield in the Yale Daily News gives a name to the people entering college right about now:

Our generation needs a name. The slacker generation got their X. Our parents got their Boom. We've been preceded by the Silent Generation, the Beat Generation and somewhere deeper down those marble halls, the Greatest Generation.

I've got a proposal for the narrow sample of kids currently attending Yale College. If you were born between 1983 and 1987, welcome to the "Lion King" Generation.

Hakuna matata.

Lots more nostalgia that people from that era will remember, as well as those from the first TLK generation (those people who were entering college and writing the first Web pages in 1994, when the movie came out—hey, that's me.)

The guy gets a few things wrong (Anastasia was not a Disney movie), but it's a good read nonetheless.

Bernardo C. sends this link, a comprehensive list of voice actors in Kingdom Hearts II.

The Lion King characters are voiced as follows:

Cheech Marin as Banzai
Jim Cummings as Scar (possibly Ed too)
Cam Clarke as Simba
James Earl Jones as Mufasa
Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Young Simba
Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa

So they couldn't get Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, or Whoopi Goldberg, and I'm unsure how Jonathan Taylor Thomas fits into the picture (surely he's too old to voice Simba convincingly anymore—after all, they got someone else for the "Morning Report" song). But they did get James Earl Jones, apparently...

The game is now generally available, Lion King world and all, and Gamespot has a positive review.

Via Bernardo.

The official U.S. website for Kingdom Hearts II has been updated with detailed information on the Lion King world and a lot of screenshots (though the dialogue subtitles are still in Japanese).

There is also detailed voice cast information on the main news page, in anticipation of the March 28 ship date.

Thanks to Ryan R.

KHInsider.com has an official list of the voice actors who will appear in this game; there are lots of big names from original Disney movies, including James Woods as Hades and Bruce Boxleitner as Tron, and appearances by Dan Castellaneta, Christopher Lee, Sean Astin, and others as well, reprising familiar roles or taking over for others.

Unfortunately, however, it appears that no original Lion King voice actors are present; but then, nobody else is confirmed for known Lion King roles, so keep an eye on this site for further updates.

Via Bernardo C.

The official press release from Square-Enix confirms that Kingdom Hearts II will be released in the U.S. on March 28, 2006. (Via Ryan R.)

In it, there's information about an "all-star" voice cast, which suggests that the original voice actors might be featured in the game. As Bernardo C. notes, the IMDB page for the game lists Jeremy Irons as the voice of Scar.

If you just can't wait to see how the Pride Lands sequence ends in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts II game, a lengthy video has been posted here showing the climactic battle with Scar (featuring a few additional characters).

Scar seems to be considerably harder to defeat than he was in the movie. (He also seems to have only one facial expression...)

Ryan R. notes that the U.S. website for Disney/Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts II has gone live. The game, featuring many licensed Disney characters and settings, will reportedly contain a full Lion King world; although the site currently doesn't have information about that world, it's expected that it will be added as more content is developed for the site.

The release date for the game is given by the site as "Spring 2006". The Japanese version (which requires a Japanese PS2) will be released December 22. The English version is widely expected to feature voice work by the included movies' original actors, in keeping with the previous game.

Earlier Kingdom Hearts II news and press materials here.

UPDATE: The exact release dates, according to GameSpot, are:

North America: March 1, 2006
Japan: December 22, 2005
Europe: Spring 2006

Thanks to Bernardo C. for the link.

Rolf DeWolf sent me a couple of rough construction model sheets for Adult Simba that were used during the production of the movie by Simba's animators.


The resolution isn't very good, but you can make out the notes—they're bound to be of interest to fan-artists, costume designers, or just anyone with an interest in the art of animation. Enjoy!

It's been circulating from hand to hand for a while now, but now it's been posted on an official page at Hans-Zimmer.com that a long-lost "Lion King Expanded Score" has appeared on several download sites and is achieving broad acknowledgment among fans of Zimmer's music and TLK alike.

This score contains 21 tracks, 16 of which consist of never-before-released instrumental music from Hans Zimmer's original masterpiece score. The linked site contains track information and a message discussion board, where more information can be obtained on how to find a copy of the score.

Ryan R. e-mails with this bit of info:

I think it should be mentioned that the sequel to Kingdom Hearts(which features Simba as a summon) will have a actual Lion King world. The creator of Kingdom Hearts II, Tetsuya Nomura, has told people in numerous interviews of The Lion King being featured as a stage in Kingdom Hearts II, whereas in Kingdom Hearts 1, the idea for Lion King to be a stage was denied. Hopefully this can get Lion King fans to check it out in the game which will be released this Winter.

Sounds like something to look forward to. Ryan mails in a follow-up (9/30/05) that it has yet to be officially confirmed by Square-Enix that the TLK world will be in the game, but it remains a strong possibility.

UPDATE (10/13/05): Confirmation of this development is reported; thanks to Zala, Ryan, and Seryi for forwarding the news!

UPDATE (10/23/05): High-res scans of the Japanese press material are available at RPGamer.com. An even better site, full of well-processed scans and screenshots, is at Kingdom Hearts Ultimania. Thanks to Simba B. for the links!

Simba B. alerts me to this information posted at UltimateDisney.com by Luke:

The Lion King 1½ took home five trophies at last night's DVD Exclusive Awards in Los Angeles. The direct-to-video "in-between-quel" earned the award for Best Animated DVD Movie Premiere, as well as Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing honors for a DVD premiere. One of the film's lead personalities, sarcastic meerkat Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane, animated by Alexis Stadermann), was commended as Best Animated Character Performance.

Congratulations on a job well done!

According to Amazon.com, all three Lion King movies are set to be discontinued on January 31, 2005. Get yours now while supplies last!

Thanks to Jess Walzak!

For those fans who still have the means and the desire to play vinyl records, Disney has now apparently released a Vinyl Record Version of the Lion King Special Edition Soundtrack. It's got a unique art overlay (which, I presume, doesn't interfere with the playback), and looks really hot. Might be worth collecting even if you don't have a vinyl record player! Price is $17.99.

Thanks to Roku!

UPDATE: Ugo Coppola, who bought a copy of this product, found that it's the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, not the Special Edition as reported above (even though it's seemingly marketed by Disney as the Special Edition). Be aware, potential buyers!

A forum at UltimateDisney.com has the box art for the upcoming TLK Trilogy collection.


Looks like it's little more than a bunch of pre-existing clip-art composited together. Too bad they couldn't have commissioned some new original art... but I suppose it could have been worse.

Thanks to Lindsay M. for spotting this!

Set for release on December 7, 2004, there's a new six-disc "Lion King Trilogy" set that you can preorder from Amazon.com or Circuit City. List price is $69.99, but the retail chains have lower prices than that.

Thanks to Lion Queen for the info!

UPDATE: Scroll down to the 5/5/2004 entry to see the box art for this set; also note that it's been out in Region 2 areas (such as the UK) since June 28. Thanks to Mark H. for pointing this out!

UPDATE: Best Buy has it too (thanks Bryan B.).

The Special Edition re-release of Simba's Pride is now available everywhere, including Wal-Mart and DisneyDVD.com.

Laura (aka "coolraptor") has submitted this review:

First off, the bonus lithograph pictured on the Disney Store website is the same one that came with the DVD. It comes in a large envelope almost as nice (maybe nicer than) the litho itself. I own the original DVD release of SP but this one actually looks clearer onscreen. I don't know if it's possible that the quality could be better than the original DVD release but I swear it looks better—for example, during the opening as the sun is rising I see details on the elephants I don't remember seeing before, such as the actual folds of skin whereas in the original DVD all I saw were silhouettes. The colors in general appear a little less intense than the original DVD release—in general the film is "not so orange".

I did see the aforementioned change in Kovu's facial expression during the one instant in the Crocodile Attack screen. Why that was done beats me...he gasps straight at the camera for a split second before turning his head to the left at which point the animation looks identical to the original release. Also I noticed how the screen fades a little faster right after the Upendi sequence so we don't see Kiara and Kovu going from walking to the beat of the song to a regular walk. I had to skim through most of the movie (a bit busy today :) so if there are any other miniscule changes I did not see them—it'll have to wait either until tomorrow when I get to actually watch the film and maybe for sharper eyes than mine.

Chapters are all the same except that the chapter entitled "Alligator Attack" is now called "Crocodile Attack". Menu pages are nice, not nearly as fun as TLK 1.5 but also no horrific 3D animation to deal with as per TLK:SE. The "Matter-Of-Facts" option is a bit annoying turned on—it supposed to be a pop up of interesting facts you can choose to have on while watching the film. A great idea, except for the fact the pop ups block virtually the entire screen!

"One by One" short is an uplifting sequence, using a longer, modified version of the song One by One, about kids escaping their rather depressing town to go to the surrounding veldt to fly kites. "Find out why" shorts are fun but there's only five of them—I recall quite a few more shorts existed during the One Saturday Morning run. The Timon and Pumbaa's virtual tour is possibly the least interesting of the three virtual tours and here we finally get subjected to some bad 3D animation, including the duo's new pet elephant Gertie (and yes, eventually she starts talking). Rafiki's challenge is a gourd shuffling game that plays for about five rounds. Pride Land Games consist of three games (two mathematical, one a shape game) that are extremely basic. Of all the bonus features, in fact, the Proud of Simba's Pride is by FAR the most interesting. We get to see some of the storyboards, character model sheets, and hear a few lines that never made the film, including one by Mufasa (or more accurately perhaps Mufasa's ghost) where he blames Simba for the war between the Pridelanders and Outlanders. Also, it made me respect what is still my least favorite of the TLK trilogy a little bit more when I learned how some of the things we see in the film were done intentionally to invoke a deeper meaning. For example, the animators explain how during the original we always see Pride Rock from the right but in the sequel it is nearly always shown from the left to cue in viewers that this is a different story to be viewed from a different perspective. They also try to explain some of Simba's behavior during the sequel that I had previously considered irrational. As I said, in all it made me respect TLK 2 just a bit more.

So in conclusion: the film looks a bit better and cleaner to me and the bonus features, with the exception of the Proud of Simba's Pride featurette, are disappointing. Which leads me to the question: Where are the deleted scenes? I could've sworn I had read somewhere that some of the pencil tests that have been floating around online for years (i.e., Vitani and Nuka's introductions, Zira's suicide) would be included here. I even played the games and did the safari in the hopes that maybe we would get them as rewards at the end. But there is no sign of these at all. So if someone else figures out that they are on the disc and how to get them, let the rest of us know, OK?

The soundtrack has also been re-released, according to DisneyStore.com; it doesn't contain all the songs from "Return to Pride Rock", the original edition of the soundtrack; the original (non-TLK-related) Lebo M. songs have been omitted.

A thread at UltimateDisney.com has screenshots of the menus on the new "Simba's Pride" Special Edition DVD, as well as shots of some of the bonus features such as the animated "One By One" short.

Thanks to Epesi, who memorably notes that Pumbaa, drawn again in the "Simba's Pride" style rather than the TLK 1.5 style, looks like "an asphyxiated beet".

Shoka and Thiago Medeiros send word of some scenes in the Simba's Pride Special Edition DVD that have been re-animated, as well as the whole film being recolored to bring out formerly drab and flat colors.

In the original VHS (and I'm assuming, the original DVD) version, Kovu jerks his head back and screams at one point. In the new DVD he turns and looks at Kiara, with the same backing scream. IMHO, it doesn't fit as well, but it's another one of those little odd changes that we'll never discover the purpose of. It's only about a second, so if you'd not seen the original recently, you'd probably not notice it.

(Screen captures by Thiago M.; commentary by Shoka)


The other change I noticed is right after Upendi. In the original, there is a short section right after the song where we see Kovu and Kiara walking back towards Pride Rock, singing "In Upendi" over and over, until they eventually finish, and their step, which was going to the beat, relaxes back into normal walking. In the DVD, the relax back into normal walking is no longer there, it's cut out. Before that happens, it fades off to the next scene.

There are reportedly a lot more scenes that have been redone, too.

Meanwhile, the official press release for the Special Edition DVD has been posted, thanks to Simba B; and Bryan Berlien points out the location of the official Disney site for the Speical Edition.

There is a new "Legend of The Lion King" show at the Disneyland Resort Paris, which by all reports is outstanding. If you're in the neighborhood, don't miss it.

Timduru has posted a first-hand report.

Steven recommends the movie "Pride", an original production by A&E that stars real-life lions with CG-animated mouth movements and star voices. As Steven summarizes:

The movie is live action and the story revolves around a group of lions, and two lion cubs, whose curiousity about the world outside leads them into a journey of discovery.

One of the lionesses, Suzuki, questions aloud about the purpose of being a lion, and her youthful mind leads her to make some unwise decisions about her life.

The movie aired on June 21, but you can buy it on DVD at the A&E website.

Simba B. reports that DisneyStore.com has opened up pre-orders for the Simba's Pride Special Edition DVD set; if you put in your preorder before August 31, you'll get a free lithograph. (The current litho shown is of Simba and young Kiara, though the site says it's subject to change.)

On June 14, I attended a once-in-a-lifetime event: ASIFA's "The Lion King" Tenth Anniversary Reunion panel and fundraiser. It comprised TLK's producer, directors, screenwriter, and animators, and was the most insightful two hours of in-depth discussion of the story of the production of TLK that I've ever seen, much less been a part of.

My write-up is here. Christian Ziebarth's is here. Both of us thought of different things to cover, so be sure to read both articles!

UltimateDisney.com has posted images of Disc 1 and Disc 2 of the Simba's Pride Special Edition box set. Via Simba B.

Here are the current box-art images for the Norwegian and Spanish (June 23) versions of The Lion King 2: Special Edition, in Europe:



I suppose I've seen worse Simbas, but that Zira is truly horrible.

But there's also information at DVDAnswers.com to the effect that there will be a "Lion King Trilogy" boxed set available on June 28, containing all three movies:



It's only for Region 2, though; no information yet as to a Region 1 (US) version of this boxed set. Looks interesting, though-- that's some very attractive box art.

Thanks to Simba B. and Xarmy for the links.

UPDATE: Xarmy sends this link too, which shows a Spanish box-art image very similar the the US design. I guess it's not officially decided yet which one they're going to use...

Simba_thelionking notes this story that cites the Australian release date for the "Simba's Pride" Special Edition DVD as July 21, 2004-- more than a month earlier than the US release.

Also, Simba B. has a newer and cleaner rendition of the DVD's truly foul box art:

I'm sure they could have made Simba look worse if they'd really, really tried...

Simba B. passes on the information published at DVD Empire regarding the upcoming Special Edition release of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. The release date is August 31, 2004; included on the DVD are the following features:

All New One By One Animated Short
From the Makers of The Lion King.

Find Out Why Game
Ever wonder why we sneeze? Or how an airplane flies? Timon has a few creative ideas, but Pumbaa has some more believable explanations for fascinating scientific phenomena.

Proud Of Simba's Pride
A Making-of featurette that highlights the seeds of the story, the development of the new characters, the African roots of the music and more!

Rafiki's Challenge
Rafiki's three gourd monty game, the classic shell game with a fun twist!

Lots About Lions
Learn more about "big cats," the animals that were the role models for Simba, Kiara and the rest of the pride.

Pride Land Games
Using their math skills, kids can help Timon and Pumbaa gather grubs for the feast and arrange rocks so Kiara and Kovu can get around the crocodiles!

Disney's Song Selection
Skip to your favorite song or play them all! Display the lyrics with the click of a button.

Music Videos
THX Certified
And More!

Video:
Widescreen 1.66:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
ENGLISH: DTS 5.1 [CC]
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Stereo
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Stereo

Also, the DVD of The Lion King 1 1/2 contains this poster image, presumably the working design for the Simba's Pride: Special Edition DVD box art. Thanks to Shoka for the scan!

The Australian (PAL, Region 4) release of the TLK DVD now has an official release date set: February 25, 2004. According to EzyDVD, the price will be $39.95 Australian.

Thanks to Jedd for the tip!

Harley Quinn reports that UltimateDisney.com is quoting Autumn 2004 as the projected release date for the Special Edition DVD of Simba's Pride. That, however, is as specific as it gets.

Simba B. forwards this LaughingPlace.com interview with Ellen Woodbury, the chief animator for Zazu (in the original TLK), which spends seven pages discussing her experiences on the project.

There's also a review of the TLK DVD by Kirby C. Holt.

Sarafina fans rejoice! The TLK DVD reveals all the rest of her character that has to this date only been the realm of speculation! ...Well, a little bit more of it, anyway. From ShakiraFuego:

I was watching Disc 2 of the Lion King SE DVD, more specifically The Story.  They showed clips of the director following the drawn storyline, and got to the part where Simba comes to tell Nala about the Elephant Graveyard.  I saw "Sarafina" in a caption underneath one of the pictures, so I rewound a few clips ahead and paused it.  It seems that she actually did have more lines before the movie was completed.  The two captions that I saw vividly (one right after another) are:

SARAFINA: Nala, you just had a bath!

and

SARAFINA: Try and stay clean for once!

I think these two lines alone let us see a little bit more of her personality, and Nala's as well.

Tanabi has noticed a number of other interesting things that have been redrawn or updated in the Special Edition DVD:

Apart from the alligators in the "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" sequence, there were several other changes I noticed. The waterfalls in the "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" scene are no longer blurs, they are drawn as running water. Don Hahn explained during promotional interviews for the IMAX release that they tried a special effect on the waterfall at the last minute, and it didn't turn out right, but it was so close to the release date that they didn't have time to fix it. Also, the ending credits no longer scroll by like a vertical marquee, they are shown in frames. The original end credits only showed stopped frames up until the "Busa" theme ended and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" began.

And here's some mistakes:

The book sleeve opening DVD cover lists the deleted scenes as "Bug Football", "Hakuna Matata" and "Warthog Rhapsody". There is no "Warthog Rhapsody" included on the disc; it was replaced by Timon and Pumbaa's version of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight".

UPDATE: The "Warthog Rhapsody" sequence is in fact present on the disc. Go to "North America", then "Burbank", and it's on the second page. Thanks to Wishkres and Julie Schroeder for pointing this out!
And in the "Making of the 'Circle of Life' Video" (by the Disney Channel "Circle of Stars"), Hilary Duff claims that the original song was so "perfect and wonderful" and she is glad that the new track stays true to the original but only adds "the flavor of their voices". Unless she is referring to the Elton John version of "Circle of Life", which I highly doubt, then she has never even heard the original song. The version in the new music video is the same as that in Elton John's version, with the same lyrics and beats, and it is not in any way like the original film version. And then she says that "Lion King is like her favorite movie"... sure, Hilary, whatever you say.

According to Tanabi:

The Disney Channel "Circle of Stars" music video will appear on "Disney Mania 2", coming out this spring. The original "Disney Mania" included "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" (by S-Club), "Circle of Life" (by Ronan Keating), "Hakuna Matata" (by Baha Men) and "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" (by Aaron Carter).

From Mário in Brazil:

I got my Lion King dvd yesterday, and i still haven't got time to watch everything (hey, there are more than 3 hours of bonus!), but I can give some opinions.

As spotted by many others before me, I noticed the new crocodiles on the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" sequence. I'd rather see the original ones.

On the Morning Report sequence, it's clear the voice difference between the 'old' and the 'new' Simba. Although it's not THE voice, it's still a great sequence. But, again, I'd stay with the original one.

Another slip I noticed, but not on the movie: on the 'international cd covers' bonus, there's no Brazilian cover. Since it's a Brazilian edition of the dvd, I think it could have been included.

When it comes to music, I just LOVED the new version of Circle of Life, sung by Disney's Circle of Stars. It was thrilling to hear a new version of the song of my life. Also, it was great to see Elton John (my fave artist ever), Hans Zimmer (one of the most talented composers I know) and Hakuna Matata by Jimmy Cliff.

The brazilian dvd comes with six postcards with some images from the movie. And man, they're beautiful. I think I'll put one of them on a frame and place it on my desk. If you want, I can scan them and send to you.

To say more, only compliments. The visual, the sound, the colors... everything is so great and beautiful and brilliant. Definetly, the king has returned!

Kirsten Gilson has found two more reviews of the Special Edition DVD:

http://dvdjournal.com/quickreviews/l/lionking_pe.q.shtml http://www.comingsoon.net/news/dvdreviewsnews.php?id=1774

Laura (aka "Coolraptor") writes with the following:

Well, I came home from school today and guess what arrived a day early from the Disney Store and was sitting on my doorstep to distract me from more important work this evening? Yup, the new TLK DVD and VHS. Here are just a few highlights people will soon be finding out on their own if you're interested...

*Inside BOTH the VHS and DVD is a small mini-storybook of TLK 1.5 including new screenshots--with animation that looks VERY similar to Simba's Pride.

*I ordered the collector's set DVD. Very nice. The "booklet" is actually 160 pages long! The first half summarizes the info you'll see on Disc 2 while the second half is the story from "The Art of The Lion King" once again, whough a few new pics in the background.

*The character sketches are nice: big Simba on a hammock, young Simba, Scar, Rafiki, Timon, Pumbaa, Mufasa and Simba, Simba and Nala, and Zazu. All signed by the original artists and come in an equally handsome case. And all come in a paper "frame" that would serve nicely as a mat if you really wanted to frame the sketches!

*Sneak preview of TLK 1.5 at the beginning of the DVD--it's the one with Timon and Pumbaa and the remote.

Now some dirt on the actual movie! First, the BIG question (at least for me)...

*As we all feared, the "Original" TLK version IS just the IMAX version with "The Morning Report" cut out. Meaning it's NOT the original version at all. There is one bright spot though--apparently someone at Disney listened to the fans and added the retreating clouds back into the scene with Mufasa's ghost in BOTH versions :)

*The Morning Report--not as jarring to the flow of the film as I imagined. A LOT of recycled animation and the new animation with young Simba actually looks decent. As with Simba's Pride, Zazu and his movements were exaggerated a bit too much...

*The new Home Theater Remix is AWESOME. 'Nuff said!!!

*The computer animated opening is actually OK, EXCEPT for Zazu. His feathers look like fingers and his head is little squashed. Oy, and is he annoying!

*Deleted scenes include Warthog Rhapsody, Timon and Pumbaa finding Simba, Bug Football, Timon's Hakuna Matata Verse, Timon and Pumbaa singing CYFTLT and the original opening scene. Still, not all the deleted scenes as on the CAV laserdisc...no original CYFTLT version (the one I like), no fight scene and no Scar's reprise. In way though, it's kind of nice that there's still something that makes the CAV unique. For die-hard fans only I guess ;P

*There's actually two ways to navigate Disc 2--by continent (you'll see what I mean) and by "journey"--music, stage, film, etc. The little map in the booklet inside the DVD is a BIG help in finding one's way around.

Some good news, some bad. Ah well.

Sichi sends word of this forum thread at Animation Nation, wherein it's observed that the crocodiles with the birds in their mouths in the "Just Can't Wait to be King" sequence have been redrawn.

Not particularly well, either. I mean, I can see how the old ones look wonky, but the new ones are stylistically jarring, looking nothing like anything else in the movie... and they're in both the Special Edition and the so-called "original theatrical cut" of the movie.

Grrr.

Simba B, as always, notes:

Bill Elliott was in the top 10 for 220 laps Sunday. He led 115 laps, more than anyone else. Elliott finished 2nd while Jeremy Mayfield finished 3rd.

Here's ahoto of Bill Elliott's number 9 Lion King Dodge intrepi on the race track:
http://www.nascar.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2003/10/05/cup_kansas/elliott.jpg

And later...

Here are some post NASCAR race articles from offical driver sites:

ROOOAAAARRRR!!!!! - Bill Elliott proves he’s king of the jungle with a second place finish at Kansas Speedway

http://www.billelliott.com/viewheadline.php?id=1849

Small photos are are at
http://www.billelliott.com/photos/2003/100503/index.html


ROOOAAAARRRR!!!!! - Jeremy Mayfield proves he's king of the jungle with a third place finish at Kansas Speedway
http://www.jeremymayfield.com/viewheadline.php?id=1850

Small photos are are
http://www.jeremymayfield.com/photos/2003/100503/index.html

Simba B. notes:

Target is selling the exclusive 2 disc set that includes The Lion King Special Edition Soundtrack and The Rythem of the Pride CDs for $12.99. This CD set includes "The Circle of Life" sung by the "Circle of Stars."

Some early buyers are happily reading the mini-storybook outlining the plot of The Lion King 1 1/2 that comes in the DVD pack. As expected, it covers the story of TLK, including the pre- and post- story, as seen from Timon and Pumbaa's perspective. "Ma" and "Uncle Max" appear late in the story, evidently taking part in the fight to reclaim Pride Rock by digging a tunnel under some of the hyenas.

More info (and a transcription) is available in the TLK 1.5 page.

Simba B. notes the following:

A technical glitch about the Lion King Platinum Edition has been mentioned on several DVD sites an a few forums. I am able to confirm the glitch.

It looks like the audio drop at the end of the pouncing sequence when I'm watching the original theatrical mix. In fact, the home theater system's text display goes blank, then redisplays [Dolby Digital 3/2.1] again. Weird huh? I only miss one short phrase from Mufasa: "That's" in "That's very good."

That's not very good.

Simba B. sends this link to publicity photos from the TLK DVD Premiere event at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.

Apparently it was quite an event. Evan Saucedo, the voice of Young Simba for the new "Morning Report" scene, writes with the following:

Went to the Premiere at El Capitain last nite.............
Was incredible,The whole outside red carpet was transformed with a rock backgroud and LK feel. A real lion cub, Simba, romped around our feet. The party was in a huge tent and was incridible but the highlight was the live giraffe outside the tent entrance and sitting in front of Chich Marin in the theater where Elton John performed 2 songs from the movie LIVE!!! Very cool....star studded....shook hands and hobnobed with Dennis Quaid, Forrest Whitiker,Blair Underwood, Jeff Bridges, Dan Hahn, Hilary Duff and a bunch of other kid stars like me and went home with the Special addition mag, platinum edition DVD & stuffed animal.
It was a memory of a lifetime I'm excited to be a part of.......
Thanks for all the great info....(More than my Publicist...hehehe)

And the TLK DVD season is off with a bang!

Nuka writes with the following:

Toys R us know has all The Lion King toys,figures and The Lion King sing along songs tape&DVD..The toys are: My Singing Simba,Cradleing Cub Nala,pride pals beanies with characters:Simba,Nala,Pumbaa and Adult Simba,Ready to Roar Simba,Circle of life Figures set,Simbas andventure figure pack,(i think thats what it was called) prices:Ready to roar Simba:$19.99,Singing Simba:$29.99,Soft purring Simba and Nala:$9.99 each,Feed me Pumbaa:$15.99, cradleing Cub Nala:$15.99, pride pals beanies:$5.99 each,figure packs:$9.99 each.
And they had a poster and a promo with DVD cover on it...and they where playing Lion King music...

The Man Room, which had a mostly glowing audio-oriented review of the DVD earlier (though lacking a thumbs-up on the "Hot Women" score), now is holding a giveaway contest of five copies of the Special Edition DVD. You can enter the contest once a day, as many days as you wish; you need to be registered with the site in order to win, though.

Benjamin points out that Future Shop, an electronics chain in Canada, is running a major TLK-based promotion selling "King Size" home theater systems as well as the Special Edition DVD set. The site's intro is totally TLK-themed now.

The Castilian Spanish version of the Special Edition DVD will be out in Spain on October 22, according to El Sitio del Cine and reader "Seryi". All the same extras as on the English version will be included.

Simba B. notes:

MickeyMouseboy at UltimateDisney.com's forum says: "the disney store is carrying the Limited Edition Lion King Soundtrack with lenticular cover like they did for the lilo & Stitch Limited Edition soundtrack :) $15.99"

Christian from my.lionking.org wrote on animated-movies.net: "the new soundtrack CD also includes a special edition of 'Rhythm of the Pridelands.' I'm not sure if all copies of the soundtrack have the extra CD so if you want to make sure yours does before you buy one just check to make sure it says '2 CD' on the front left spine. The whole thing is packaged very nice, with nice liner notes and new art on each disc and apparently the first CD also acts as a CD-ROM with special features."

Benjamin sends the URL to the Amazon.ca (Canada) page for the combined CD. (Although it appears that this is not the "Special Edition" soundtrack that was released on September 30, 2003, but rather the combined set featuring just a few RotPL songs, sold primarily overseas starting in September 2000.)

Via Simba B.-- DVD Empire has a scan of the back cover of the DVD case, which looks different from the samples we've seen so far...

Thiago Medeiros writes to note that the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Special Edition DVD will be hitting stores tomorrow, 10/01. Also...

Ah one last thing; All disny dvd (until now) released in brazil are all encoded for the region 1 too! (i know it because i have an american playstation 2 and it runs all dvds of disney, but all another it shows a mensage of wrong region)

This is apparently something special Disney's doing in Brazil because the VHS version of TLK was the best-selling movie ever in the country.

Simba B. says:

FYI, there will be a Worldwide DVD Debut of Walt Disney Pictures' THE LION KING Friday, October 3 at Hollywood's Historic El Capitan Theater

Here's a copy of the offical press release http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030929/lam092_1.html

If we're lucky, Yahoo and some other news sites should post some pictures of the event.

The reviews of the TLK Special Edition DVD (and attendant materials) have been coming in hard and fast. Thanks to the many readers who have sent me the links.

• DVD Town
• The Digital Bits
• Home Theater Forum (the video quality gets a 6 out of 5!)
• IGN.com (get a load of the quote about the "mini-storybook for The Lion King 1 1/2")
• The Man Room
• DVD Toons
• LaughingPlace.com (soundtrack review)

Also note this thread at DVD Talk that has pictures of the gift set.

On Wal-Mart's online catalog page for the DVD Gift Set, there's the following blurb:

Visit your local Wal-Mart Photo Center on October 11th to get a complimentary photo taken with a life-size cutout of characters from The Lion King.

Thanks to Simba B.

The Action Performance site dedicated to the TLK-themed NASCAR team with Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield has been updated with a more in-depth biographical look at the team.

Sent by Simba B.

In case anyone's worried about the TLKoB production in Toronto shutting down, never fear-- it's coming to other places. Zentina notes that it's been playing in St. Louis, Missouri since August 22 (and will continue through October 12) a the Fabulous Fox Theater.

Simba B. spotted some audio samples of the Special Edition Soundtrack at Buy.com.

Raymond Lee reports:

I have just been informed that The Lion King on Broadway in Toronto, Canada has been extended one final time until Jan 04 2004 The Lion King must close to make way for new productions. This is your FINAL opportunity to see The Lion King on Broadway at the Princess of Wales Theatre. For tickets and reservations call (416)-872-1212 or 1-800-461-3333 long distance toll free or order online at www.mirvish.com. THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY!!! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!!!!

Courtesy of a representative of Buena Vista Home Entertainment, we now have available several pieces of promo material for the DVD release-- photos of the DVD box and gift set, banners (in JPEG and Flash format), and an official title treatment to be used as the movie logo. There's also a PDF of Lion King activity-type games and puzzles.

I'll be adding these materials to other parts of the site in the next few days; for now, the official promo pictures of the DVD set (and the high-res look at the CD box art) might be of interest to readers. Release day is almost upon us!

Jess Walzak and Simba B. point out this review, which is a little more distressing to hear about:

"Disney has not restored the original theatrical version, per se; you can watch the film either with or without the new tune, but it is still the animation is still of the IMAX'd variety only."

"...where are the real trailers?" Apparently, both the Region 1 and UK DVD set don't have trailers.

Via Simba B: DVD Times (UK) has posted a great, long review of the TLK DVD set. Overall verdict: superb. Looks like this is really going to be something special.

Lots of inline screenshots, demonstrating what they mean by the transfer quality being "reference-grade".

Remember back on 3/10/03 when we learned that Enesco would be making TLK-themed seasonal ornaments and giftware in time for the 2003 Christmas season? Well, Caara writes with the following:

I thought I would let you know I was in Target tonight and there is a complete set of Lion King Christmas ornaments on the shelves by Enesco. I found four individually boxed "regular size" ornaments which include one mini ornament in the box. Price on the "regular" ornament with mini is $6.99. They also have a boxed set of all the mini ornaments and the minis can be purchased separately as well. Boxed set of minis is $5.99 and the individual minis were $1.99.

There is also a large water globe which plays "Circle of Life" priced at $15.99.

Via Simba B: Hasbro's Disney Portal page has been updated with all the new TLK merchandise.

ShakiraFuego has submitted a rundown of all the new food items currently in supermarkets with TLK marketing tie-ins on them.

Kellogg's is now selling The Lion King: Special Edition Corn Flakes boxes with both Young Simba and Big Simba in various grocery stores. Here is a scan of the Young Simba box:
http://www.shakiraholics.com/uyycornflakes.jpg (front)
http://www.shakiraholics.com/uyycornflakes2.jpg (back)
http://www.shakiraholics.com/uyycornflakes3.jpg (spoon offer - side of box)

Also, Blue Bunny now has Lion King ice cream cups called Mini-Triples. They're chocolate ice cream cups filled with fudge, marshmellow, and candy bits. They also sell the ice cream in single large tubs called Triplets. Here is a scan of the Mini-Triplets ice cream box:
http://www.shakiraholics.com/minitriples.jpg (box)
http://www.shakiraholics.com/minitriples2.jpg (an actual ice cream cup, yes it was a pain to scan!)

Blue Bunny's website has more information on the ice cream. Their Disney Ice Cream page can be found here:
http://www.bluebunny.com/products/disney_detail.cfm?cat=Disney%20Ice%20Cream

And, I've also scanned the cover of Disney Adventure's The Lion King special issue magazine. It can be found here:
http://www.shakiraholics.com/disadventures.jpg

Simba B. notes:

FYI: Amazon.co.uk is running a new promotion: order the Lion King Special Edition and recieve a FREE "Simba" soft toy.*

Fine Print:
*Offer for a limited time only and subject to availability. Information correct at time of posting. A limit of one soft toy per customer order. This offer is only available to customers who order The Lion King Special Edition on DVD (ASIN B0000AOWLW) or video (ASIN B0000AOWLX).

(new picture, product information page)

Lindsay Mayer noticed this at UltimateDisney.com:



Looks much better than previous shots; the character sketches are indeed originals, and there seem to be at least eight of them. This is looking better and better.

Reinald Snel alerted me to this offer at MovieGuide, a Netherlands movie site:

MovieGuide.nl biedt de echte DVD-liefhebber de unieke kans om de speciale uitvoering van Disney's bekroonde "The Lion King" op DVD nu al online te bestellen met een aantrekkelijke korting.

Voor slechts € 14,- (excl. €3,95 handlingverzendkosten) wordt de DVD op uiterlijk woensdagochtend 15 oktober bij jou thuis bezorgd worden.

In other words, you send them the e-mail addresses of your friends, and if they sign up, they get the DVD for about half-price. The downside? You're giving the site e-mail addresses for mass-marketing purposes. But it could be worth it to you if you...

As noted by Minna, Disney Adventures magazine has put out a commemorative TLK Collector's Issue, which includes a free poster and other items and DVD info.

Simba B. found that both Borders and Circuit City will be stocking vinyl LP versions of the Special Edition soundtrack. Borders shows an eleven-song track listing, though, whereas Circuit City lists the same 14 tracks shown below for the CD version.

Barnes & Noble has the following track listing, spotted by Simba B.:

1. Circle of Life / Carmen Twillie
2. I Just Can't Wait to Be King / Rowan Atkinson
3. Be Prepared / Cheech Marin
4. Hakuna Matata / Ernie Sabella
5. Can You Feel the Love Tonight / Ernie Sabella
6. The Morning Report / Jeff Bennett
7. This Land
8. ...to Die For
9. Under the Stars [Instrumental
10. King of Pride Rock
11. Circle of Life / Elton John
12. I Just Can't Wait to Be King / Elton John
13. Can You Feel the Love Tonight (End Title) / Elton John
14. Can You Feel the Love Tonight / Elton John

Spotted by Simba B; in addition to the regular Special Edition soundtrack, Amazon.com is apparently selling an alternate UK version in a lenticular sleeve, with different cover art-- featuring Adolescent Simba on that log during "Hakuna Matata". Release date is given as October 27.

Timecode Magazine, which serves video rental chain stores in the UK with industry news and new-release information, has a cover story this month on the TLK DVD Special Edition. click here and then click the "features" link to read the intro to the story. (The rest is available by subscription.)

Rob Jongmans, senior vice president with Buena Vista Home Entertainment Europe reiterates the importance of the special edition: "The Lion King created the biggest entertainment phenomenon ever in its initial release and we are confident that this success will be unsurpassed when it is released." Peet continues: "The Lion King is still the biggest animated film in terms of video sales and the intention with the Platinum titles is to make the biggest splash we can. We've genuinely tried to pull out all the stops to make this one of the best DVDs ever."

Whilst that might be considered to be quite a claim, it doesn't appear to be an unrealistic one. Certainly the DVD is far and away above what might be expected for most aniamted films, even most live-action classics. The disc comes with the original theatrical version of the film as well as a new, re-mastered edit that features The Morning Report, an all-new song composed by Elton John and Tim Rice, that arrives with a never before seen aniamted sequence featuring Zazu, the feathered emissary to the king. And as you will see, the list of extra features doesn't stop there.

Spotted by Elfasi.

Video Game News
Noticed by Simba B. and Simba's Lil' Lioness-- the Disney Store Online has been busily updating itself with "coming soon" and "new release" items for both the TLK DVD SE and the upcoming TLK3/TLK1.5. We already knew about the TLK 1 1/2 game for the Game Boy Advance; but news to me is that they're also bringing out a "The Lion King Classic Collection" CD-ROM, which (oddly) doesn't contain the old multi-platform TLK game, but instead has three learning-style games aimed at kids.

"The Lion King 1 1/2" for GBA
"The Lion King Classic Collection" CD-ROM

Spotted by Cass Wagner:

Exclusive Mail-in Offer from Keebler, Mini Talkin' Lion King Cookies Jars. Found on the packages of Keeber's Grahams ( Original ) Gramcrackers. You can buy Timon, Pumba or Simba for $4.99 plus 2 UPC symbols, or the entire set for $12.99 plus 4 UPC symbols. Each cookie jar is appoximstely 6" inches high, and designed to fit together as a set.

Simba B. forwards me this USA Today article which claims confidently that the version of the original movie that's on the DVD will be the real original theatrical mix, not just the new Special Edition with the "Morning Report" snipped out.

The original version of The Lion King, with no remixing, no tinkering and no new song, will also be included in the DVD.

"The purists out there can see the movie exactly as it was in 1994," Hahn says. "Those who enjoy seeing new innovations can sing a new song."

Ho thinks he knows which you'll choose.

"Nine out of 10 people will prefer the home theater mix," Ho predicts. "I mean, the wildebeests feel like they're stampeding over your head."

Maybe, maybe. But those 1 out of 10 of us might like to see the clouds retreating after Mufasa's ghost's appearance, for instance...

According to Amazon.com, the TLK Special Edition Soundtrack will carry the same visual design for both the UK and US releases.

Thanks to Simba B.

There's a DVD and VHS bundle/promotion being sold at the French alapage.com. It's a collectible bag with a plush Simba toy, an exclusive edition of the TLK book, and the complete original soundtrack.

Via Simba B.

Wal-Mart is stocking new TLK stuff to coincide with the DVD release, which coincidentally is right in time for back-to-school merchandising:

They're also at Wal-Mart and they're some back to school items for kids. The 3D rubber things are Backpack clips, and the big package in the middle are magnets that you punch out of a sheet. On the other image, those are (obviously) pencils with plastic, character tops. I have one of each and there's also a stationary set with a tin pencil case, a Simba note pad, pencils, erasers and sharpeners. They're products of Disney Hallmark, I've never heard of it yet but with at least the word Disney they seem like worthy-of must haves.

Submitted by Lindsay Gagnon.

Yipes-- they're not kidding around about this. From animated-movies.net:

Disney Places High Hopes on Lion King DVD

Brandweek reports that Disney is investing a whopping $200 million in overall marketing support in October for the DVD debut of The Lion King--a budget that eclipses the outlay for most theatrical releases, with McDonald's, Kellog, Hasbro and Wal-Mart in tow. Support will cover three DVDs, including the Platinum Edition and the spring 2004 launch of Lion King 1 1/2: Hakuna Matata and Lion King 2: Simba's Pride.

Via Simba B.

Amazon.com and Best Buy, according to Simba B., both list a release date of September 30 for the new Special Edition soundtrack CD.

The marketing blitz is officially in high gear: Simba B. has found a Karaoke CD full of TLK songs for sale at Wal-Mart's online store.

Things are really gearing up: Disney has officially opened its newly redesigned website for the TLK DVD, complete with Flash animation, online games, downloads, and ordering links.


You can get to the site at either www.lionking.com or the longer redirect URL, http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/lionking/. (lionkingdvd.com goes there too.) Thanks to all who alerted me to the news!

DVDoo, a Danish DVD info site, has an article on the TLK DVD set that includes the artwork for the case's back panel. Click the "Vis stor bagside" link to see it. It's in Danish, but entirely likely to resemble the English version.

Via Simba B.

Simba B. notes that Buy.com has a listing for the Special Edition Original Soundtrack CD, with a release date of September 23, 2003. You can pre-order it now.

DVDAnswers.com has posted several examples of the transfer quality of the upcoming TLK DVD. Very nice-looking images indeed. This will be a treat and a half.

Raymond Lee informs me that according to the Toronto Star, the engagement of The Lion King on Broadway in Toronto has been extended from Sept. 28 to Nov. 2, 2003 at The Princess of Wales Theatre. Tickets are available by calling (416)-872-1212, or by visiting www.mirvish.com. There's not much time left!

Spotted by UltimateDisney.com and Jake Lipson, this is a must-see interview with TLK producer Don Hahn and other Disney mucky-mucks. It covers a lot of ground that we haven't seen before outside the studio, surrounding the TLK production and what the studio originally expected of it. Definitely worth a read.

Ariel at UltimateDisney.com has this piece of useful information, relayed by Simba B.:

In a week, we can pre-order The Lion King Collector's Gift Set and recieve free lithos.

"the change should take about a week but they will now be offereing the Lithos with a preorder of the Gift Set"

   I don't know if this move only affects DisneyStore.com or if it includes the retail Disney Stores.  Either way, this is great news for folks who want to buy the Lion King Gift Box Set and the free lithographs.

UPDATE: The gift set can't be ordered at the brick-and-mortar Disney Stores; you can only get it by ordering online or through the catalog.

Tanabi informs me that The Disney Channel is premiering the "Circle of Life" All Star music video tomorrow eveningÂ(August 15, 2003) after "The Cheetah Girls".

Simba B. forwards this-- an article by Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits that goes into great detail about the design of the DVD presentation; it sounds like it's going to be quite a production. Don't miss this one, and jump on it early, as it might scroll off their main page before too long.

Simba B. reports that there are two new DVD menu screens posted at UltimateDisney.com.

Meanwhile, animated-movies.net has this article from the L.A. Zoo View:

Disney supervising animator Andreas Deja recently chatted with the Los Angeles Zoo View, explaining that "I go to the Zoo every other month. We learned this from the old guys. We all worshipped the old animators who worked on the classics, whether it's Bambi or Lady and the Tramp. In talking to them, we asked how they did it, and they all said, 'We went to the Zoo.' Walt Disney always said, if you don't know the real thing, you absolutely cannot caircature and animated it. I draw at the Zoo regularly, because you never know when you're going to be assigned a penguin or a hippo, so it's good to already have basic knowledge."

For the 1994 film The Lion King, Deja was assigned Scar, the villainous uncle to the adorable lion cub, Simba. "We start out drawing a lot of lions as we see them, and then add human elements to it. I had Jeremy Irons to work with, who did the voice of Scar. The dark eyes, dark rings on his eyes, the way his mouth is shaped, the nose, the thin upper lip--I was able to incorporate some of that into Scar." He did it well enough that when he first showed Irons video of Scar, Deja says the actor touched his own mouth and said, "My God, he looks like me!" Andreas Deja adds that it is vitally important for animators to correctly illustrate an animal's movements. "If you want to draw a deer that takes a step, you have to know what's involved, where the bones are. You have to analyze all that. When you look at a lion walk, there's all that weight. When he puts the weight onto one leg and then onto the other, that shifting of weight. That all has to be in the animation." Deja concludes that he is glad Scar was a lion, not a tiger. "We do 24 drawings a second. To get the stripes in the right place every time would be very difficult!"

No kidding.

Arild Berg provides the following interesting observation:

I couldn't find anything about this on www.lionking.org, so I just figured I'd alert you to this just in case nobody else has bothered to do so. I was just watching the recently released Scandinavian DVD version of The Jungle Book 2, and to my great surprise, among the "previews" (you know, the ones Disney always make you watch before the menu comes up) was an actual trailer for "The Lion King 3 - Hakuna Matata" (I guess this is the official title then, not TLK 1.5). New animation and everything. It consisted of footage from TLK (the _real_ TLK that is) with the silhouettes of Timon and Pumbaa popping up in front of it, talking about the movie. Then Timon picks up a remote control and fast-forwards to the part where they come in, and they get into a discussion (Pumbaa insists they have to watch the film from the beginning). Eventually Timon rewinds it and promises that they'll go all the way back to _before_ the beginning.

So it's TLK3 again, is it? Interesting.

Jess Walzak forwards this article from IGN:

The Lion King looks and sounds incredible. This could very well be the animated equivalent of FotR EE. There will be multiple audio mixes, something Disney is calling the "enhanced home theater mix," which I'm betting is Dolby Digital EX. The extras will be great, particularly the new scene, called Morning Report, and a great outtake.

Apparently Disney was going to give Elton John's Can You Feel The Love Tonight to Timon and Pumbaa, until John saw an early cut of the movie and said to the producers "I can't imagine what were you thinking having Timon and Pumbaa sing that song." They quickly agreed and shifted the song to the two lions. The outtake will show the original pencil drawings and have the audio of the two singing the song, very badly, I might add.

It was bound to happen; TLK's box-office record has finally been beaten, by Finding Nemo.

This past weekend, domestic box office receipts for Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo rose up another US$4.4 million, with totals now passing US$313 million. That makes Finding Nemo the highest-grossing animated feature film ever by about $200,000. The previous record has been held for almost a decade by another Disney feature -- The Lion King.

It's great news for Pixar Animation Studios, which also saw Finding Nemo open with the s