Category: Cartoons & Animation - Feature Film Family - Movie
Availability: This item is currently not available.
List Price: $29.99 Our Price: YOU SAVE $29.99!
Buy it
DVD The Lion King (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
Not an ideal choice for younger kids, this hip and violent animated feature from Disney was nevertheless a huge smash in theaters and on video, and it continues to enjoy life in an acclaimed Broadway production. The story finds a lion cub, son of a king, sent into exile after his father is sabotaged by a rivalrous uncle. The little hero finds his way into the "circle of life" with some new friends and eventually comes back to reclaim his proper place. Characters are very strong, vocal performances by the likes of Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, and Whoopi Goldberg are terrific, the jokes are aimed as much (if not more) at adults than kids, the animation is sometimes breathtaking, and the music is more palatable than in many Disney features. But be cautious: this is too intense for the Rugrat crowd. --Tom Keogh
How good-looking is the DVD restoration of Disney's popular animated film? Take a look at the serviceable but dull film clips incorporated in the plethora of extras and compare them to the vivid gorgeousness of the film presentation. This "special edition" also adds a 90-second song ("Morning Report") that originated in the lavish stage musical. To Disney's credit, the original theatrical version is also included, both restored and featuring two 5.1 soundtracks: Dolby Digital and a new Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix, which does sound brighter. As with the Disney Platinum line, everything is thrown into the discs, except an outsider's voice (the rah-rahs of Disney grow tiresome at times). The excellent commentary from the directors and producer, originally on the laser disc, is hidden under the audio set-up menu.
The second disc is organized by 20-minute-ish "journeys" tackling the elements of story, music, et cetera, including good background on the awkward Shakespearean origins at Disney where it was referred as "Bamlet." The most interesting journey follows the landmark stage production, and the kids should be transfixed by shots of the real African wildlife in the animal journey. Three deleted segments are real curios, including an opening lyric for "Hakuna Matata." Most set-top DVD games are usually pretty thin (DVD-ROM is where it's at), but the Safari game is an exception--the kids should love the roaring animals (in 5.1 Surround, no less). One serious demerit goes to the needless and complicated second navigation system that is listed by continent, but just shows the same features reordered. --Doug Thomas
Review(s): DVD The Lion King (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
LION KING NO LONGER PRESERVED IN HISTORY!
I am a great fan and admirer of Disney animation. As a child, I would watch the movies of the new generation (starting with The Little Mermaid) religiously and enjoy the songs and characters. As an adult, I appreciate them even more for their moving storylines and deep meanings. To preserve these movies in my collection, I re-purchased certain limited edition DVD's even though I already had all of the VHS. The Lion King was no exception. However, I doubt that I will ever watch the DVD release again...
Many viewers may not notice this, and some may not even care, but I cringed when I found this out: When The Lion King was released to IMAX theatres a couple of years ago, the animators decided to "enhance" the film experience, partly because the film's dimensions would now have to accomodate a larger format screen. What started out as a few color touch-ups and brush-ups ended up a RE-ANIMATION of some of the scenes.
Let's start with the opening castle logo: It used to be blue/white, and now, it's black/orange. OK, Disney is constanly changing its image and wanted to match it to the color scheme of the IMAX release. That's understandable...
What about the "Just Can't Wait to be King" sequence? The CROCODILES with the birds in their mouths have completely been re-animated! This may sound stupid, but I never forgot how the original crocs looked; that image was imprinted in my mind all this time. When I saw the ugly green things with the deformed noses they put in now, I was surprised.
But that's not all...Watch the "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" sequence. Remember the part when Nala and Simba are climbing down to the waterfalls to get a drink? That whole background is now completely changed! Everything from the waterfalls, to the rock, to the colors is different.
The part where Mufasa re-appears in the clouds has been re-animated, though that's not as butchered as the other parts I just mentioned. When Simba falls down in despair and blows away the petals and moss in the wind, they fly to Rafiki. The movement and patterns of that has been re-drawn.
Supposedly, the Disney team thought these would make the IMAX experience better. At least they promised us the original theatrical version on the DVD, so rest assure, you'll see the first animation... Oh no, wait, that's gone too! Their idea of the original version is the same re-animated scenes minus the "Morning Report" song. Everything that you remember about the movie is now gone.
I think that when a movie is released and experiences as big of a success as The Lion King did, it goes down in history and should be respectfully preserved. It's one thing to change something for a re-release and call it a "Special Edition" version, but it's another to tamper with the original film in terms of its animation and exclude the first animation altogether. It's not so much what they changed, but the principle of the thing.
FINAL THOUGHT: The original 11-year old film is now gone! The only way you can see the actual animation is to watch your old VHS tape or laser disc. Both the Special Edition and the Theatrical are the changed versions on the DVD. When the Lion King comes out many years from now as a 25th edition or whatever, it's hard to say if that will mean 25 years after the 1995 release or the IMAX re-release. History has now been altered!
Best Disney film in the world!!!
I remember when I was little when saw The lion king in theatres and was amazed at watching the animals and the Disney part of it. Now that I'm 18 however It is now an even greater film to me because of what's contained in this story of father and son love, revenge, tyranny, friendship, childhood romance, and ultimately all out war. Lately I was able to get my hands on the new platinum edition that was put back in the Disney vault some time ago and it is just beautiful. This movie I've always thought was awesome as a kid, but now that I'm older I feel it is a work of art and genius from the makers of Disney of how they were able to make the main character Simba into a type of Hamlet figure and chief villian Scar into a lion version of Adolf Hitler. I have word to the parents and thats to let your kids watch this film. They will forever remember the awesome and entertaining chracters such as: Simba, Mufasa, Timon, Pumba, rafiki, and above remember the deceivingly evil Scar and his army of hyenas. This is simply put my favorite Disney movie.
"Hakuna Mattata"
I was a rather big fan of "The Lion King" when I was a kid. I saw the movie a couple of times in the cinema, I'm pretty sure, I had the comic, and I used to draw the characters in a notebook or two. I saw it on DVD just now, for the first time in quite a while, and its still as good, I think.
The story is set on the African plains, where Mufasa the Lion King rules over the beasts. He has just had a son, an heir to this throne, Simba. He is an energetic and curious one, this cub, and his uncle Scar intends to take advantage of this. He wants to be the King of the beasts, and to do so he'll need both Mufasa and his son killed. He has a plan, and forging an unnatural alliance with the hyenas of the neighbouring territory, kills Mufasa and drives Simba out into strange and distant country, where he is rescued by Timon the Meerkat and Pumbaa the Warthog. As he grows older, Simba learns a lot of things, unlearns a lot of it, and eventually faces his destiny, that he is King of the beasts and that order and balance must be restored to the savannah. Will he be able to confront his uncle Scar and take back his Kingdom?
I quite like the look of this film. It's traditional animation for the most part, with a hint of computer effects in some scenes (the wilderbeest stampede, for instance). It's colourful, it's details, and the bad guys are curiously angular looking. As for the plot, it holds together nicely too. There is a tiny hint of pop culture-isms, (Timon and Pumbaa dressing up in Hawaiian gear as a diversion, a few of the hyenas jokes, etc) and it's all right in small doses. It's handled better than a lot of kids features these days, which are often just wall-to-wall impersonations of suburbia and media. There are a few songs in the film too, penned by Tim Rice and Elton John, including the hit "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". I'm not the biggest fan of song and dance numbers in animated features, but they're done in such a way that it never gets too sickly. I don't think so, anyway.
Worth a look for kids and fans of Disney.
Related DVD's The Lion King (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
Disney's 1992 animated feature is a triumph of wit and skill. The high-tech artwork and graphics look great, the characters are strong, the familiar story is nicely augmented with an interesting villain (Jafar, voiced by Jonathan Freeman), and there's an incredible hook atop the whole thing: Robin Williams's frantically hilarious vocal performance as Aladdin's genie. Even if one isn't particularly moved by the love story between the title character (Scott Weinger) and his girlfriend Jasmine (Linda Larkin), you can easily get lost in Williams's improvisational energy and the equally entertaining performances of Freeman and Gilbert Gottfried (as Jafar's parrot). --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Director(s): John Musker - Ron Clements DVD Release Date: Released the 05 October 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $20.49YOU SAVE $9.5!
Buy it
It always comes up when people are comparing their most traumatic movie experiences: "the death of Bambi's mother," a recollection that can bring a shudder to even the most jaded filmgoer. That primal separation (which is no less stunning for happening off-screen) is the centerpiece of Bambi, Walt Disney's 1942 animated classic, but it is by no means the only bold stroke in the film. In its swift but somehow leisurely 69 minutes, Bambi covers a year in the life of a young deer. But in a bigger way, it measures the life cycle itself, from birth to adulthood, from childhood's freedom to grown-up responsibility. All of this is rendered in cheeky, fleet-footed style--the movie doesn't lecture, or make you feel you're being fed something that's good for you. The animation is... More Info about this DVD Director(s): David Hand - Wilfred Jackson DVD Release Date: Released the 01 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $21.49YOU SAVE $8.5!
Buy it
Worry not, Disney fans--this special edition DVD of the beloved Cinderella won't turn into a pumpkin at the strike of midnight. One of the most enduring animated films of all time, the Disney-fied adaptation of the gory Brothers Grimm fairy tale became a classic in its own right, thanks to some memorable tunes (including "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," and the title song) and some endearingly cute comic relief.
A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventure Finding Nemo. When his son Nemo is captured by a scuba-diver, a nervous-nellie clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast--and astonishingly detailed--ocean to find him. Along the way he hooks up with a scatterbrained blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who's both helpful and a hindrance, sometimes at the same time. Faced with sharks, deep-sea anglers, fields of poisonous jellyfish, sea turtles, pelicans, and much more, Marlin rises above his neuroses in this wonderfully funny and nonstop thrill ride--rarely does more than 10 minutes pass without a sequence destined to become a theme park attraction. Pixar continues its run of impeccable artistic and economic success (their... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Albert Brooks - Ellen DeGeneres - Alexander Gould Director(s): Andrew Stanton DVD Release Date: Released the 04 November 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $20.49YOU SAVE $9.5!
Buy it
From the moment that Prince Eric's ship emerged from the fog in the opening credits it was apparent that Disney had somehow, suddenly recaptured that "magic" that had been dormant for thirty years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to "spend a day, warm on the sand," Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel can only succeed if she receives true love's kiss in a few day's time and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull, and a flounder. The lyrics and music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of "Under the Sea"). Mermaid put animation back on the studio's "to do" list... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ron Clements - John Musker DVD Release Date: Released the 03 October 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $17.99YOU SAVE $12!
Buy it
