The Lion King will likely always hold the record for the movie I’ve seen most in the theater (11).  If Disney is interested in luring me to the next generation to purchase a 3D Blu-ray player, plucking at that nostalgia might do it.  Earlier this year, Disney announced they would release a number of films on Blu-ray in 3D, including two of the classics: Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.  The Beauty and the Beast re-release has been on the agenda longer, but The Lion King will be the first one we see.

Disney has just released a trailer for the four-disc Blu-ray that promises a Fall 2011 release.  Moreover, /Film informs that the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood will host a limited theatrical engagement from September 2 to October 6, which gives me the opportunity to shoot for viewing #12.  (You and I can buy tickets here.)  Watch the trailer after the break.

While the 3D format continues its move towards home entertainment with more and more titles being released on 3D Blu-ray every month, it looks like Disney is getting in on the action as well. The Walt Disney Company announced today that it plans to release at least fifteen films on 3D Blu-ray throughout 2011. Titles set to hit 3D home video include The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Nightmare Before Christmas, TRON: Legacy, and Tangled. Not only will the films be presented in 3D, but the special 3D Blu-ray release will come complete with 3D menus, 3D trailers, and an introduction to the world of Disney 3D from The Lion King characters Timon and Pumba. Executive Vice-President and General Manager of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Lori MacPherson had this to say:

As our contemporary library of 3D content continues to grow, and the original artists and filmmakers meticulously ‘dimensionalize’ their work for release on the Blu-ray 3D format, we will be offering movie-lovers the most incredible in-home entertainment experience they will ever have

Hit the jump for more, including the other Disney titles planned for a 3D Blu-ray release. [We've updated this story with the official press release]

Disney will follow up Beauty and the Beast 3D with The Lion King 3D.  Speaking with producer Don Hahn in London, Empire got some quick info about upcoming Disney projects.  While there’s still no release date for the 3D version of 1991′s Beauty and the Beast (it was originally slated to open in February before it was pulled from the schedule; it’s now projected to open sometime in 2011), the studio is already working on giving the 3D treatment to The Lion King.  Said Hahn, “I’m actually trying to work out a 3D conversion of The Lion King. I’ll be doing that when I go back to the States in a couple of weeks.”  However, he added that we shouldn’t expect to see the final product any time soon.

He also provided a brief update on Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2—which hired the original writers to pen a script back in November—saying that while there hasn’t been much news on the project, it’s still moving forward.  “If you’re a fan, pretty soon you’re going to be very, very, very happy.”  Roger Rabbit 2 will be, unsurprisingly, in 3D.  Hahn also provided an update on the adaptation of a classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Snow Queen.  Hit the jump for what he had to say on that project.