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Lion King Blu-Ray Quick Review

I was on the fence with the remake of Disney classics being a childhood classic for me. Just something about seeing a classic remade I don’t like. The Lion King did not disappoint at all with a new all-star cast voicing the film with Mufasa Voiced by James Earl Jones and Simba by Donald Glover. So many more great voices in the film like Nala Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Pumbaa by Seth Rogen made for a great film. A true classic reborn for a new generation of fans. No need in going in the story it will still pull on the heartstrings and require a box of tissues.

Check it out on digital and Blu-ray

Bonus features include*:
PRE-SELL BONUS:

  • Perfecting the Pride – Join the filmmakers on their research trip to Africa as they immerse themselves in the real world of “The Lion King.”  From the animals in the pride, to the smallest of insects and the grasslands in the savanna, experience the attention to detail that brought the film to life.
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE:
  • Pride Lands Pedia —Dung beetle shares the importance of his “roll” in the African Savanna in a fun, bug’s eye view of the land and its inhabitants.
BLU-RAY & DIGITAL BONUS:
  • The Journey to “The Lion King”
    • The Music – Go inside the studio with the cast and crew as they work to honor and elevate The Lion King’s beloved music.
    • The Magic – Discover how the filmmakers blended the traditional filmmaking techniques with virtual reality technology to create amazing movie magic.
    • The Timeless Tale – Filmmakers and cast reflect on the story that has moved generations and share how this Lion King carries a proud legacy forward.
  • More to Be Scene – Recording studio and layer-by-layer progressions of some of most iconic moments in “The Lion King.”
    • “Circle of Life” – Peel back the layers of effects and go behind the scenes of this iconic musical moment from the film
    • “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” – See all the effects, talent and fun that went into creating this vibrant version of “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” for the movie
    • “Hakuna Matata” – Join Donald Glover (Simba), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa) and Billy Eichner (Timon) in the studio for the making of this memorable scene.
  • Music Videos
    • “Never Too Late” (lyric video) by Elton John
    • “Spirit” performed by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
  • Filmmaker Introduction
  • Audio Commentary – By Director Jon Favreau.
  • Song Selection
    • “Circle of Life”
    • “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”
    • “Be Prepared”
    • “Hakuna Matata”
    • “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
    • “Spirit”
    • “Never Too Late”
  • Protect the Pride –Director Jon Favreau, the Lion Recovery Fund and conservationists highlight efforts to protect the majestic lions and their home.
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS:
Product SKUs:                         4K Ultra HD (4K UHD+Blu-ray+Digital Code),
Multi-screen Edition (Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Code),
DVD, Digital 4K UHD, HD, SD and On-Demand
Feature Run Time:                 Approximately 118 minutes
Rating:                                          PG in U.S. (bonus material not rated), PG in CE, G in CF
Aspect Ratio:                            1.78:1
Audio:                                           UHD Blu-ray = English Dolby Atmos; English 2.0 Descriptive Audio; Spanish, German, Italian                                                            and French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
Blu-ray = English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, Spanish and
French 5.1 Dolby Digital
DVD = English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio
UHD Digital = English Dolby Atmos (some platforms); English, Spanish and French 5.1 & 2.0                                                               Dolby Digital; English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital (some platforms)
HD Digital = English, Spanish and French 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital; English Descriptive Audio 2.0                                                          Dolby Digital (some platforms)
SD Digital = English, Spanish and French 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital; English Descriptive Audio 2.0                                                           Dolby Digital (some platforms)
Languages/Subtitles:           UHD Blu-ray = English SDH, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish and Spanish
Blu-ray = English SDH, French and Spanish
DVD = English SDH, French and Spanish
Digital = English SDH, French and Spanish
Closed Captions:                      English (DVD and Digital)
“THE LION KING” CAST AND CREW:
“The Lion King” stars Donald Glover (“Atlanta,” “Solo: A Star Wars Story”) as future king Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (“Dreamgirls,” “Lemonade” visual album) as Simba’s friend-turned-love-interest Nala, and James Earl Jones (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Field of Dreams”) as Simba’s wise and loving father, Mufasa, reprising his iconic performance from Disney’s 1994 animated classic. Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave,” Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange”) portrays Simba’s villainous uncle Scar, and Alfre Woodard (“Juanita,” Marvel’s “Luke Cage”) plays Simba’s no-nonsense mother, Sarabi. JD McCrary (OWN’s “Tyler Perry’s The Paynes,” Apple’s “Vital Signs”) voices Young Simba, a confident cub who can’t wait to be king, and Shahadi Wright Joseph (NBC’s “Hairspray Live!” Broadway’s “The Lion King”) brings tough cub Young Nala to life.
John Kani (Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther,” “Coriolanus,” Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: Civil War”) is the wise baboon Rafiki, and John Oliver (HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”) was tapped as hornbill Zazu, Mufasa’s loyal confidant. Seth Rogen (“Sausage Party,” “Neighbors”) lends his comedic chops to naive warthog Pumbaa, and Billy Eichner (“Billy on the Street,” FX’s “American Horror Story”) delivers the know-it-all meerkat Timon. Scar’s hyena allies include Florence Kasumba (Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther”) as Shenzi, Eric André (Adult Swim’s “The Eric André Show,” FXX’s “Man Seeking Woman”) as Azizi, and Keegan-Michael Key (“Predator,” Netflix’s “Friends from College”) as Kamari.
“The Lion King” is directed by Jon Favreau (“The Jungle Book,” Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man”) and produced by Jon Favreau, Jeffrey Silver (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Edge of Tomorrow”) and Karen Gilchrist (“The Jungle Book,” “Chef”). Jeff Nathanson (“Catch Me If You Can,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”) penned the screenplay based on the 1994 screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton. Tom Peitzman (co-producer “Kong: Skull Island,” “Alice in Wonderland”), Julie Taymor (director “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Broadway’s “The Lion King”) and Thomas Schumacher (“The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast”) are executive producers, and John Bartnicki (“The Jungle Book,” “Chef”) is co-producer. The award-winning team of artists tapped to bring the African savanna and its animal inhabitants to life includes visual effects supervisor Robert Legato, who conceived the virtual production on “Avatar,” won Academy Awards for his work on “The Jungle Book,” “Hugo” and “Titanic,” and was nominated for an Oscar for his work on “Apollo 13,” and Oscar-winning animation supervisor Andrew R. Jones (“The Jungle Book,” “Avatar,” “World War Z”). MPC Film’s VFX supervisors are Adam Valdez (“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”), who won an Oscar for his work on “The Jungle Book,” and Elliot Newman (“The Jungle Book,” “Fast & Furious: Supercharged”). MPC Film was instrumental in bringing each character to life and building the movie’s full CG environments, as well as working with filmmakers to develop the virtual production technology.Five-time Oscar nominee Caleb Deschanel, ASC (“Jack Reacher,” “The Patriot”), is director of photography, and James Chinlund (“War for the Planet of the Apes,” Marvel’s “The Avengers”) serves as the production designer. Oscar winner Ben Grossman (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Hugo,” “Star Trek Into Darkness”) is virtual production supervisor, and Mark Livolsi, ACE (“The Jungle Book,” “Saving Mr. Banks,” “The Blind Side”), and Adam Gerstel (“Transformers: The Last Knight,” “The Jungle Book”) edited the film.

This film features unforgettable music by an award-winning team, including Oscar- and GRAMMY®-winning superstar Elton John and Oscar- and GRAMMY-winning lyricist Tim Rice, score by Oscar- and GRAMMY-winning composer Hans Zimmer, plus African vocal and choir arrangements by GRAMMY-winning South African producer and composer Lebo M (“Rhythm of the Pride Lands”). Oscar-nominated and GRAMMY-winning singer, songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams (“Hidden Figures”/producer, “Happy”), produced five songs on the soundtrack.