The Lion King: Animators Of The Original ‘Lion King’ Have [This] To Say About The Remake

Disney’s live action version of The Lion King has polarized both fans and critics. Most audiences have loved Disney’s take on the classic animated movie. But critics have been a lot more split about it. Many have called the film all visual with little substance. But one group which is even less thrilled with the movie are the animators of the original animated version of the movie.

What Do The Animators Of The Original Lion King Have To Say About The Remake?

In an interview with The Huffington Post, three (out of thirteen) animators who worked on the 1994 animated film offered their opinions on the remake. The animators- David Stephan, Alexander Williams and Dave Bossert basically weren’t fans of the remake.

Bossert first of all stated that:

“It not only showcases a great story again, but it’s an homage to the original film.”

But this doesn’t mean that he and his fellow colleagues love the movie. Stephen felt that the voice acting on the film was weak, ultimately calling it “wooden.”

Stephan also said regarding the photo realism that:

“It would jar me out of the film, literally. Especially with little Simba walking around. It was too real. And then he would talk, it reminded me of those old nature films where they would dub over the voices over and the lips would move. I thought, ‘Oh , this is really cheap.'”

Photorealism is a issue which many critics of the movie also brought out. Like the animators, they also felt that the photorealistic lions lacked emotion in their performances.

Bossert says regarding the photorealism that:

“I wish they had a little bit more emotion in the characters’ eyes. If you’ve got animals talking, you can take more liberties with facial expressions. Really with the eyes more than anything else.”

What Other Animators Are Saying About The Remake?

The Huffington Post also talked to three other animators for the movie. They weren’t planning to see the movie and were also not named.

One, who is now employed with a different studio said:

“I will only get myself in trouble if I comment on the ‘other’ version.”

One of their former colleagues said:

“There is a huge resentment against these 3D remakes from the original 2D crews. Maybe if we got any kind of royalties it would be different.”

The Lion King is currently in theatres. It is directed by Jon Favreau and features the voices of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Alfre Woodard, John Kani and more.

Before you decided whether to watch the movie or not, check out the trailer of The Lion King here:

(Source: cbr.com and techcrunch.com)