Jon Favreau Discusses “Surprising” The Audience In THE LION KING

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The biggest criticism for Disney’s live action remakes of their animated classics is “Why?” Movies don’t need a reason to exist other than an artist wanting to express themselves. But a lot of general audiences want the answer to “Why should I watch this version, when it’s exactly like the version I already love, and own?”

The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau is directing a photorealistic CGI version of The Lion King for Disney, and while the trailers are quite beautiful, they do have some very similar shots to the classic animated movie. In an interview with USA Today, Favreau comments on that issue.

“The humor’s been updated and the iconic moments are still there, although it’s not a shot-for-shot remake. The original holds up incredibly well, so the challenge here was to tell a story in a different way but still deliver on people’s expectations while surprising them somehow.”

It’s funny. The biggest criticism of the latest trailer was how different Scar looks from the cartoon. Yet the biggest criticism of the project as a whole is that it’s too similar to the animated film. So pick one. Is it too different or too similar? I know this will sound completely crazy, but it’s almost like people enjoy complaining on the internet!

The same thing happened with Star Wars. The Force Awakens was criticized for being too similar to A New Hope. Why did the franchise return if it had nothing new to say? Then The Last Jedi was released, and that one was criticized for being too different, and not staying in line with the franchise.

Favreau is a masterful filmmaker. If anyone can find the balance between nostalgia and fresh takes, it will be him. Let’s face it, Disney was going to make this movie no matter what, so it’s good that it is in such talented and passionate hands.

The Lion King hits theaters July 19th.

Source: USA Today

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Matt Vernier

Lifelong geek who is passionate about movies. I review things on my blog: https://www.GeekyRegards.com. Find me on Twitter! @MattV525 - Inquiries: Mavern519@gmail.com

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