There were two prevailing reactions when Disney released the first teaser trailer for the Lion King live-action remake on Thanksgiving. One of pure elation, and one of puzzlement. Those enthralled by the trailer were excited to see one of the best animated films ever made translated to a photo-real environment, in the spirit of the 1994 2D animated film. Those puzzled, however, questioned why we need a shot-for-shot remake of The Lion King in the first place.

It’s important to note that we don’t know for sure whether this new Lion King is, in fact, a shot-for-shot remake, but Lights, Camera, Pod on Twitter went ahead an made a comparison video showcasing just how similar specific scenes from the new film are to the original. It’s pretty breathtaking, and it’s clear that director Jon Favreau is indeed recreating certain scenes exactly as they’re presented in the 1994 film.

But it’s also possible that Favreau only took this “shot-for-shot” approach to specific sequences, like the iconic Pride Rock set piece that’s teased in this debut trailer. We may be in for brand new twists and turns thanks to Jeff Nathanson’s (Catch Me If You Can) screenplay, and while Favreau recreated certain shots in 2016’s The Jungle Book, the film wasn’t a 1:1 remake of the Disney original.

So yes, there are a lot of questions. But I think we can all agree that the visual effects on display in that trailer are stunning, and the attention to detail is all the more prevalent in this handy comparison video. It’s abundantly clear that Favreau and his team at Disney are crafting a Lion King remake for devoted fans of the original film, and it’ll be interesting to see A. How far they stray from the storyline of the iconic film and B. In what ways this story is different.

For now, check out the Lion King comparison video below, followed by another YouTube video that compares the trailers for the film.The film stars Donald Glover as Simba, Beyonce Knowles-Carter as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Bill Eichner as TImon, Seth Rogen as Pumba, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Kani as Rafiki, and James Earl Jones reprises his role as Mufasa. The Lion King opens in theaters on July 19, 2019.

https://twitter.com/LightsCameraPod/status/1065747231607795712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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