Mufasa: The Lion King brings a fresh perspective to the classic tale with stunning visuals that are a feast for the eyes. However, the movie doesn’t quite reach the emotional depth and originality of the predecessor.
Continue reading “Flawed ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Still Has What it Takes to Be King”
Mufasa: The Lion King is a photo-realistic animated prequel that explores the origins of the title orphan lion cub destined to be king. Directed by Barry Jenkins, he emphasizes the importance of honoring the original film’s legacy while adding depth to Mufasa, Taka, and Sarabi. During a virtual press conference, the cast talked about their personal connections to the film and the impact the original had on generations of fans.
Continue reading “‘Mufasa’ Cast and Crew on the Legacy, Comedy, and Music of ‘The Lion King’”
Actor Gerald Ramsey has had quite a year of milestones. After nearly a decade of playing Mufasa in the North American touring production of The Lion King, he bowed out of the Pride Lands back in September. In November, he made his voice acting debut in Moana 2 as Tautai Vasa; the ancestor of Moana who summons her on her new mission to reunite the people of other islands.
Continue reading “Gerald Faitala Ramsey on Voyaging from ‘The Lion King’ to ‘Moana 2’ and Beyond”
Jon Favreau’s photorealistic animated retelling of of 1994’s The Lion King was one of the highest grossing Disney live-action adaptations of an animated classic. Of course, earning $1.6 billion would be more than enough to get the studio’s interest in pursuing more stories. But rather than a direct sequel, the studio has tasked director Barry Jenkins helm Mufasa: The Lion King, a photorealistic animated prequel that chronicles the young lives of orphans and outsiders Mufasa and Scar, the former of whom would be king. And Disney has released the first trailer for the upcoming film.
Continue reading “‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Trailer Chronicles an Orphan’s Rise to Becoming a King”
Walt Disney Studios Animation and Lighthouse Immersive Studios — the same production company behind the Immersive Van Gogh experience, among other light-projected shows — have announced that they would be teaming up to launch the Disney Animation Immersive Experience.
Continue reading “Disney Animation Immersive Experience Launches this December”
Though Jon Favreau’s The Lion King may have been a visual wonder, it didn’t do anything to differentiate itself from its animated predecessor. As such it was a poor telling of an animated classic. That being said, the photo-realistic technology what characters and world visual artists can create. And now, we will get to see that all over again as the D23 Expo teased Barry Jenkins‘ Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel that will be told in two different time frames.
Continue reading “D23Expo: ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ To Explore How Title Lion Becomes A Great King”
The long anticipated, photo-realistic animated version of The Lion King comes out this week, but the soundtrack was released last Friday. Most of the songs from the original 1994 film are on the list, with the exception of a few additions; one of them being, arguably, one of the most underrated songs to come out of Disney: “He Lives In You.” Continue reading “The Circle of Life of “He Lives in You” from ‘The Lion King’”
This week, Dominic and Keith bring honor to us all by breaking down all of the developments in Nerd Pop — specifically, Disney’s live action remake phenomenon.
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: Reflections on Disney’s Live Action Remakes”
The Lion King roars back into cinemas on July 19th–this time painstakingly brought to life by Iron Man, Chef, and Jungle Book maestro, Jon Favreau. Are we feeling the love tonight? Or is this one stuck in the elephant graveyard?
Find out by watching our NOC’s review of the movie here:
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘The Lion King’ — Slimy or Satisfying?”
Disney’s live action film The Lion King‘s press conference kicked off on Wednesday afternoon in Beverly Hills with a live performance of ‘The Circle of Life’ by original 1994 singer Lebo M and Clydene Jackson (who replaces Carmen Twillie for the new soundtrack). They were accompanied by the choir who were also part of the film’s soundtrack.
Continue reading “Things We Learned From Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ Press Conference”
This week, Dominic and Keith break down the midpoint of the 2019 summer movie blockbuster season.
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: Do Summer Blockbusters Matter Anymore?”
“The Lion King. Disney. Safe bet,” I hear my mom say in the other room. And with that, my family is off to the movies.
Movies seem safe. An escape, a way to forget about everything that has just happened.
The Lion King opened in June, but it’s now October. Only one small theater near us is still playing it, but tickets are only a couple of dollars. The theater is empty except for my mother, my brother, my sister, and me. My sister has just turned six. My brother is seven. I am thirteen.
The lights dim and the film begins. Everything is fine. This feels good; it’s a nice escape. The colors are bright, the music pleasant.
And then…
So yeah. That happened.
If you haven’t heard, the Oscar-nominated actor has been cast as Lex Luthor in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel. Oscar winner Jeremy Irons has also been tapped to play Alfred Pennyworth in the film (which has been pushed to Summer 2016). Best know for portraying Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, Eisenberg’s name wasn’t on anyone’s radar for the role — those names belonged to folks like Bryan Cranston and Joaquin Phoenix, to name two. So this news was definitely… unexpected.
Continue reading “Jesse Eisenberg is Lex Luthor… Wait… Wha?”
