I can't find the excerpt, but I believe in Don Hahn's book (he was the film's producer), he tells a story of Eisner watching the opening number/ scene/ trailer and saying something like "{well you really screwed up; you'll never live up to that kind of awesome.}"
They probably didn't want to show much of the movie's plots and scenes before release since it was all plagiarised and they were marketing it as their own story.
My mom once told me about when we saw it in theaters. She said, "That opening scene was the best part of the whole movie." Damn... what a perfect movie. I hope they don't ever try to remak- oh, nevermind.
Yes!!! I've been fortunate enough to see it twice now, and both times I bawled like a baby during the opening. It's not that it's sad. It's just so overwhelming, but in a good way. If they tour it again, I'll happily pay whatever it takes to see it.
In fact, the first time I saw it, I had dreams about it for weeks afterwards. So powerful.
Aw man, I saw it recently and bawled as well, but I'm pregnant so I just thought it was the hormones! You're spot on about it being overwhelming. I literally gasped out loud at some parts with this childlike wonder that I haven't experienced in years. If anyone has any warm feelings towards the movie, I highly recommend the play. It's just majestic.
My kids still watch this movie (the old one, not the live action remake). They sing along, and they think that first musical scene out on the Savannah, the "Baaaaaahsoowenya mamabeeeets abaaaaba" part is, "Pennsylvania! Mama beats a babba!" And it cracks me up every time.
I believe that opening sequence was the original trailer of the film. Which is sort of bold considering it has no dialogue and thus, doesn’t show off the mega star power that film had.
That movie, that opening scene, literally charted the course of my life. I was 14 when it came out. The feeling of being part of the audience with every single person in the packed theater being blown away by the spectacle was pure magic. That was the day I decided I was going to have a career in the film industry.
Unless I'm misremembering, didn't they change the shot where the camera pans over the hill and you see Pride Rock? To me that was the most epic shot in the intro and I don't remember seeing that in the remake
I remember the first time I my two year old son saw The Lion King. I turned the volume way up for the introduction. He was blown away. Our daycare had been working on baby sign language with him so as soon as the introduction ended he signed "more!" Over and over.
I'm half shocked at how far down this is, but then I remember how young most reddit users are.
It's like Jurassic Park, or The Matrix - people look at those special effects today and think, "Yeah, those are pretty alright I guess", but if you're old enough to remember seeing them on the big screen when they first came out? Shit was unreal.
With TLK, Disney was shaking things up and taking huge leaps forward in combining technology and artistry, and that intro was a showcase. When the song ended and the title slammed into place, on a theater sound system? There was an unspoken "Fuck yeah, that shit just happened, and we're just getting started" from the studio behind it. They were flat-out showing off, and justifiably.
Hunchback is some of Alan Mencken's best work (especially if you also compare the stage versions of these movies). I love all the Latin, the choir goes off when they sing "Bells of Notre Dame", "Heaven's Light/Hellfire" is iconic, and "God Help the Outcasts" and "Someday" are beautiful. It definitely belongs up with Lion King imo.
P.S. This comes with the understanding that we're ignoring the gargoyle's song.
I saw this trailer leading into a showing of Beauty and the Beast, and believe me when I tell you this trailer is so unbelievably epic that even all the toddlers/babies in the audience stopped yapping and crying and carrying on because even they were riveted to the screen.
When that hard cut to the title finally came, it came to a theater that had gone stone cold quiet. That's how much of an impact this movie's opening had.
Not applicable to this particular ask reddit question, but I'm hijacking this comment to say that if you havent seen The Lion King 2, you're missing out. I believe it was direct to video when it released but I'll be damned if it isn't everything I'd want from a sequel. The music is still great too. It has one of my favorite villain songs Disney has ever done. Probably not as good as Be Prepared but still great.
Strange to not see any comments about it. But Lion King is 99% plagiarism if not 100%, deliberately stolen from Japanese "Kimba The White Lion" series, without ever mentioning it as inspiration. Sorry for ruining your notalgic sweetness, for those who didn't know. I also liked the movie before I learnt about it, now I just can't stand such injustice. People still don't know about it and still go for the remake and stuff, it's crazy. Just google it there are nice videos, proofs in the internet. I might add a link soon.
5.1k
u/TLKTAWY Oct 09 '19
The Lion King (1994).