BVHE February 2004 Presentation
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After a version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", Sharon Warren from Disney Toon Studios was introduced to talk about The Lion King ½, First she thanked Don Hahn, the producer of the original Lion King, for letting her have a job. Then she introduced Ernie Sabella, the voice of Pumbaa. The Lion King is one of the most popular Disney franchises. The recent DVD release sold over 11 million copies in North America. They felt that after The Lion King II: Simba's Pride there were no more stories to tell, so they decided to tell the original story from a different point of view. You go back to before the original movie to meet Timon and his mom, voiced by Julie Kavner from "The Simpsons" and Uncle Max voiced by Jerry Stiller from "Seinfeld" and "Disney's Teachers Pet". Timon wants more from life than digging tunnels and hiding from hyenas so he leaves looking for more. This movie that features the original vocal cast and music from Elton John, Tim Rice, and Lebo M. is hilarious. It might be the funniest Disney movie ever. I can't wait to see the whole thing. I don't want to spoil any surprises, but I will tell you that even though you didn't see them, Timon and Pumbaa were present during most of the original film. With the Lion King 1/2, you see the events of the original movie from Timon and Pumbaa's perspective, and the results are hilarious especially if you are very familiar with the original.
This movie has some neat bonus features as well. There are twenty hidden mickeys throughout the film, and you can watch the movie in "Hidden Mickey Hunt" mode to try and find them all. Disc 2 feature Peter Graves hosting "Timon: Beyond the Legend", this mock-umentaty is a Biography of everyone's favorite meerkat and features all-new animation created especially for the bonus feature. Before the Beginning is the making of featurette and includes the only interview Nathan Lane has ever done for a Lion King movie. There is also the "Grazing in the Grass" music video featuring Raven from Disney Channel's "That's So Raven"(which had Ernie Sabella as a guest star.) The DVD includes three games. The first is "Who Wants to be King of the Jungle?" featuring Meredith Vieira from the daytime version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" This game is a blast and is considered Disney's most complex DVD game yet. There are over 80,000 question combinations. Another game is Timon & Pumbaa's Virtual Safari 1.5 which is a new version of the safari featured on The Lion King: Platnum Edition DVD. This time take a ride with Timon, Pumbaa, Ma, and Uncle Max through a theme park based on The Lion King that Timon built. Walt Disney Imagineering did give him a hand though. The final game is "Find the Face" where small children can match the silhouette over a famous Disney character with their picture. I can't say enough, that this DVD looks hilarious. Even the menus had me laughing. Ernie Sabella loved it and said he wished they showed it on a big IMAX screen. Even Don Hahn said he loved it. Kirby will be doing an official review of the film with its release on Tuesday, but Doobie and I were in stitches when they showed us some clips. This is not your typical direct to video sequel.
It was neat to be able to see some of the neat Disney DVDs coming soon. DVDs really do allow you to have fuller experience than just watching the movie. Seeing the creative forces behind the films talk about the DVDs, I realized that they now view the DVD as part of their creative work. From the menus to the bonus features, the individuals behind the movie put their own touches on the DVD to enhance the experience of viewing their film. Whether it be a DVD premiere or a home version of a theatrical film, the new Disney DVDs offer hours of fun beyond the movie. I can't wait to see what BVHE has coming up next.
Discuss It!
-- Story by Benji Breitbart
-- Posted February 5, 2004
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