Back in 1994, I took Amy and Adam to the premiere of the Disney film, The Lion King at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. This was obviously before Lucy and Jonathan were born. We all loved the film so much that we couldn't wait to own it when it was released on VHS. (Yes, this is waaay back in the day.)
A few years later, when we added two more little ones to our family, our love for The Lion King never diminished.
When my son, Jonathan, was very little, he loved watching Disney's The Lion King on our VHS player. He's almost 16 now and I imagine that like most of his generation, they grew up watching Simba grow from cub to king and knew every moment of the film and every song by heart.
In the first scene, when all the animals come to the presentation of Simba, Jonathan would stretch his arms out for someone (usually me – Wait! Would that then make me the monkey??) to pick him up and "present" him. He would usually signal his older siblings to bow down, and to my endless astonishment and to their everlasting credit, they always did.
We've also enjoyed watching the live musical production of The Lion King. Seriously, so much love for this movie and show.
Last week I had the opportunity to attend a preview screening of The Lion King 3D at the Walt Disney Studio Lot with my friend, Jana (The Summer House).
We were wide-eyed and amazed and feeling sooo accidentally cool to be visiting the Walt Disney Studios. You can imagine what that was like for a Disney-uber-geek like myself. (Pinch me!)
First of all, the film itself (even though I knew every line by heart) stands the test of time. It's completely as fresh and funny and poignant as it was so many years ago. The 3D effects make the scenes just that more thrilling (particularly the wildebeast stampede, but that's not important right now).
Having the privilege of seeing it at the Walt Disney Studios just gave me another thing to put a checkmark next to on my Bucket List. (I'll have to tell you all about it in great detail, but that's a post for another day.)
Do yourself a favor and GO. SEE. THIS. FILM. It's only in theaters for the next two weeks. In 3D, people! (Not the roller-coaster-stomach-churning 3D, the very cool-modern-the-characters-look-so-real 3D.)
Take your kids who were so little when it was released in theaters the first time, so they can enjoy the full effects. Encourage your teenagers and young adults to go see it again on the big screen so they can relive the magic. Seriously. You'll thank me.
As for Jonathan, who wants to one day be a film maker, well…..he just can't wait to be king. 😉
Do you have some good memories of The Lion King? Please share.
I think The Lion King is my favorite Disney Movie! When it originally came out I don’t remember taking the kids to see it. I don’t know why, except they were a little older. But this time we were very excited to take our grand daughter, CJ, to see it! I really appreciated that the theater had kid size glasses for her. (thank you Disney!) Even though we know the story, it was amazing to see it on the big screen! I truly wish they (general “they”) would put more old movies out in the theater…but I guess that is not important right now…(hint Disney….please re-release your movies on the big screen!) We couldn’t wait to pick CJ up from school last Friday and rush her off to the movies! We just made it for the showing and she was truly thrilled! (as were we!) We love the music and I especially…ahem….SCAR! I know, I’m always so DARK! I can’t help it, Scar is my favorite! Of coarse, I don’t let my 5 year old grand daughter know that. Anyway, I love the movie and LOVE that they put it out again. We shared a bucket of popcorn and had a magical afternoon! Thanks Disney for the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful, thank you Marti for sharing that they were re-releasing it! Do it again real soon!P.S. We really love talking in movie language! “What’s going on here?” “You know her…she knows you…and she wants to EAT him….AND we’re ok with that?” LOL
P.P.S. We saw Nightmare Before Christmas a year or so ago in Downtown Disney. They and turned it into 3D. This movie was a big improvement over that one! The 3D didn’t give me a headache and it seemed to be a natural feel. I forgot I was watching 3D! It looked beautiful and realistic as opposed to TNBC which was not as fun to watch. (just my 2 cents)
Our Camille was only 5 when the Lion King came out in 1994. We also went to the El Capitan Theater to see the movie. She was sitting on my lap, her M&M bag in hand, whispering questions to me, as she always did at the “movieshow” as she called it. When Mufasa falls to his death, Cami became SO upset and whirled around to face me. “Is Simba’s daddy alright!?” “Just watch, and hold onto me” says I. “NOOOO!” she shouts, as Simba realizes his father is gone. Both of us shed some tears as we held on tight to each other in the dark. The audience went absolutely silent. Disney stories can be intense as they teach The Big Message, which they all have. That’s one of the things I love about them.I couldn’t tell her, at age 5, that The Lion King is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet set in the animal kingdom. But our 13-year-old Laurie recognized the plot right away.
Both my girls were very impressionable as children. Daddy says they get it from Mommy, who sometimes forgets that the story on the screen is made up and never actually happened. My emotions have always resided directly beneath my tear ducts. It can be embarrassing.
Long live the Disney classics. 100 years from now, they will be the fairy tales parents tell their children, as ours told us Mother Goose, the Grimm Brothers and Dr. Seuss.
I’m so glad you went to see it! I agree that the new 3D just makes everything more realistic and is not so headache-inducing.I love this movie, too. =D
Debbie,What made me the happiest about this 3D release is that it gives an entire new generation the appreciation for the fabulous story and songs.
Thanks for sharing about taking your girls and about how they reacted to the movie originally. You made me smile.
As you said, “Long live Disney classics.”
xoxo,
M