What Would THE LION KING Look Like Today?

Generic, that’s what.

I was watching Jurassic Park last night and it was surprising to see how different it was to modern blockbusters. Spielberg deliberately took his time with the action and horror scenes rather than rushing through them with quick cuts, specifically when the T-Rex first attacks. He lets the tension build up and up over time; there’s no soundtrack so all we hear is the crushing of the car and the roar of the dinosaur. The slow nature of scenes like these is likely due to animatronics not being quick enough back in the day, but it adds to the effect.

Parallel that with my viewing of Kingsman: The Secret Service straight after. Quick, snappy, colourful; it was basically the opposite of the previous movie (although they do share an unlikely link in Samuel L. Jackson). They’re both two very different kinds of films which explains the difference in style, however it’s also down to changing times. The style of Kingsman is present in almost all Hollywood blockbusters, making it fairly generic. Jurassic Park would have been made in a similar way today – we know it would have been, because its sequel came out three weeks ago and it was quick, snappy and colourful.

Why am I ranting about dinosaurs and British spies in an article about happy Disney lions? Well, you’ll find out now. Unless as the article grows I realise that the rant was illogical and misplaced within the context. Whatever, I’m keeping it anyway.

Unemployed video editor (as he puts it) Ryan Shukis has taken it upon himself to create a fan-edit for a modern-day Lion King trailer. It’s suitably epic in traditional modern fashion and even uses an epic soundtrack (from the Pan trailer)!

This links to the earlier paragraphs because it illustrates how much Hollywood has changed. I suspect that if the movie itself were made today then it would be very different as well (it would be in CGI for starters). That isn’t necessarily a bad thing; sometimes it benefits a movie to be different from the past. However, it also means that sometimes the film becomes diluted with modern ticks.

In terms of an actual trailer, it’s not that great. It doesn’t do a good job of selling the movie and doesn’t really explain anything about the narrative. I suppose the editor’s mindset was that we all know the story of The Lion King his focus was instead on adding a modern spin to the movie. However, if he wanted to do it accurately then there should have been some story elements thrown in there. Regardless, it’s a fun little exercise.

The Lion King is in cinem- wait.