The Lion King is still tops at the box office, which I feel handcuffs me a little bit from a joke perspective. I don’t know why. I could have made a Moneyball joke, I guess. But I know nothing about sports. So why pretend?
I was trying to kick around comic ideas on Twitter last night for The Lion King and several people recommended a play on it’s central theme – The Circle Of Life. I kind of intentially avoided it last week because I was certain other people have made those kind of jokes and done it better. But then I hit on something that I thought was authentic and kind of bittersweet at the same time.
I think we all know that Disney will release and re-release their films into infinity. They’ve done it in the past and they’ll continue to do it. But what does that mean to me, the consumer, over the long haul.
A lot of people my age were THRILLED that The Lion King was back in theaters because it meant they could take their kids. Stands to reason these same people will probably take their grandkids when it rolls around again. After that, we’ll be worm food. So… y’know. Get in as many screenings as you can before Disney puts their film BACK IN THE VAULT!TM
Heartfelt and cynical at the same time. See what I mean? Bittersweet.
Take a moment to reflect on your mortality and then leave some comments below, why don’t you?
Or, even better, share this comic with your friends! See the ShareThis app at the bottom of this post? You can share this comic ALL OVER THE PLACE now. I think it’s gonna ring true with a lot of people and you can be the one to introduce it to them. Facebook it, Twitter it and more!
I would appreciate it.
Thanks, all.
2011: Disney re-releases The Lion King.
2044: Disney re-RE-releases The Lion King.
2068...
BRAZELTON
1977 - 2068
REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LION KING IN 2069.
I went with my little brother to see it yesterday. We caught an early 2D screening, as I saw no reason to shade my eyes from the beautiful colors of the film. My brother had only ever seen it on VHS and DVD before, so he really enjoyed seeing some of the scenes on the big screen in all their glory (such as the stampede, or scar leaping through the flames at Simba at the end).
I wonder if the next release will be in holographic form instead of 3D? hah! And I’ll still seek out the 2D version. 🙂
I made a sports joke last week. The local baseball team made the playoffs. “So there’s only, what, 40 games left, right?” And it turns out there actually are potentially almost 40 games left. I need to up the number.
Well played, sir.
Yeah…I’m not thrilled because I can take a kid to see it. I’m thrilled because ~I~ can go see it again in theaters. I LOVE this movie. Screw the kids. I’m stoked it’s back in theaters. A friend and I are going to try to see it this week before it’s gone.
And oh yeah, I know it would have exceeded your panel limit there, but it was rereleased several years ago in IMAX theaters, too.
I’ve never seen The Lion King…
Have you no faith in Head-in-Jar technology?
I sunk all my money in cryogenics.
Good news everyone. The 3D was actually pretty well done. As soon as Zazu flew onto the screen during the intro, where he looked like he was flying over the seats in the theater, I decided it was worth the extra bucks.
Really? It looked like that to you? For whatever reason, 3D screens always look like one of those shadow boxes you might see in a nature museum. The action isn’t popping out of the screen; it’s sinking into it. It’s a great effect, to be sure. But there’s still a window there, something that the effect can’t seem to get past. I much prefer the original version of the film. Now, Disney, release this thing on Blu-Ray with as many extra features as you can possibly toss in there, and I’m a happy camper.
Well, there were only 3-4 parts of the entire film where the effect was that good. And that was one of them. I thought Zazu was right in front of my face. The dander flowing through the air from Simba to Rafiki also popped off the screen, but was a little dizzying. Nature effects like that happened a couple other times. Nothing else really popped off the screen.
Hi, Tom. Gotta say this is one of my favorite Theater Hopper comics. Love the evolution of feeling: youthful enthusiam in the 1st, relaxed nostalgia in the 2nd, enjoyment of a grandson’s enjoyment in the 3rd, punchline in the final. One of your best. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks, Ben. I appreciate the compliment. 🙂
It was great to go see this movie on the big screen. 3D was neat, but it was nothing spectacular. The worst part about going to this movie was the guy behind me, who thought he was better at voice over work then the original actors.
But it was still great to see it on the big screen, I missed this one the first time around.
Are we all erasing the 2002 re-release from history? I know I’d like to.
The 3-D was just OK, but man does the actual film still hold up on the big screen. The opening scene was stunning.
I’m also very, very happy they didn’t add the stupid scene they added to the DVD… if they had Lucas-ed it up, I would have been mad.
Then there’s also the 2019 remake. That was great.