Lion King 3D & Second Screen App

I just got back from a weekend in California where I was lucky enough to attend a press/blogger event for the Lion King 3D premiere. I was only there for a short amount of time but it felt like that time was packed with oodles of Lion King information, all of it fascinating.

The majority of this event consisted of presentations from the folks at Disney. We were able to hear from Don Hahn, the Lion King’s Producer, and Niketa Calame the voice of young Nala. My favorite line from Mr. Hahn’s presentation was when he spoke about how no one had any faith in this movie. As he put it, they felt no one would want to see a movie about a lion cub framed for murder. How wrong they were! One of my favorite presentations was with Mark Henn and Tony Bancroft. Mr. Bancroft was the animation supervisor for Pumba and Mr. Henn for young Simba. It was fascinating hearing how they got their starts with Disney and what the process behind bringing a character to the screen. They sketched while they spoke and I can now say I’ve seen a Disney animator in action. I also learned that Mr. Henn is the “ladies man” when it comes to the animation. He’s surpervised Belle, Ariel, Mulan, Jasmine and Tiana. My girls would have been seriously impressed!

Now to be completely honest, I’m not normally a big fan of 3D movies. When we have the choice we usually pick the regular movie so I wasn’t sure how I’d like seeing this classic redone. Friday afternoon we had a chance to hear from Robert Neuman, the 3D Stereographer in charge of converting the Lion King into 3D and after hearing what it took for the team to convert the Lion King I have an entirely new respect for the medium. A “3D Script” was created for the entire film and it mapped out how the 3D would be used to bring out the emotions and aspects of the story. After that the team went to work breaking down the layers of the film, creating depth and then putting things back together again. As part of his presentation Mr. Neuman explained why Disney decided to convert the Lion King into this type of film. I was so glad he addressed this because it was something I’d been wondering myself. Why fiddle with a classic? He explained that they wanted to “create a way for the public to enjoy a beloved classic again, as if they were seeing it for the first time. To introduce a brand new art form that has all of the character of hand drawn animation yet the tangibility of CG animation. Finally, because we were able to do it in a way that would enhance the story.” I think that last one is so important.

The final presentation that I attended is the one that applies most directly to this website and the things that I focus on. This was the Disney Second Screen app that will be released for the Lion King. It will be a free iPad app that will be released around the time the Blu-Ray is released. The app will also work on the computer. I had a chance to watch a demo for the app and then play around with it myself. It’s very, very cool. Apparently Disney has two Second Screen apps already available, one for Bambi and another for Tron Legacy. I’ve not tried either but we were told that the developers have learned quite a bit and the features are improved. The app works with your Blu-Ray movie and it syncs up to the movie as it is playing. The app can sync wirelessly but it will also sync by sound, listening and then identifying your location. It will then pull up animation sketches, flipbooks and other goodies that correspond to your location in the movie. In addition to the content that directly corresponds to the movie there are also activities that stand alone. You’ll find “Scene Scramblers”, screenshots taken from the movie that have been turned into slide puzzles. The “Ink and Paint” feature is also fun. In Paint mode you get to paint in a character from the movie. In Ink you can trace over an outline of that character as if you’re a Disney animator yourself. In addition to all of this the app has a social aspect with virtual location check ins. You’ll be able to check into places like Pride Rock and unlock “tickets” that look like the old ones you used to use at Disneyland. As I mentioned the app will be free. It does have a mode where you can explore on your own but you’ll have a richer, more full experience if you sync to the Blu-Ray. I’m excited to try it out fully in October after the movie is released so I can do a proper review.

After our day of presentations our group was lucky enough to have dinner with  Moira Kelly, the voice of Nala. She was a delightful and down to earth woman. The next day we were be able to attend the actual movie premiere for Lion King 3D. The movie will be released in theaters on September 16th and will play for two weeks. After that it will be released in October in Blu-Ray and DVD packs. As I mentioned earlier I’m not normally a big fan of 3D movies but watching this after learning what it took to get the movie made was fascinating. When I saw something onscreen I now knew a little bit of what had gone on to get it there. The movie looks fantastic and I was sold from the opening sequence. There was cheering after the Circle of Life at the beginning of the movie and even more cheering when the credits rolled at the end.

My thanks to Disney for inviting me to be part of this event. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and such a treat to get a glimpse into what it took to create the first movie as well as re-imagine it in 3D. Be sure to watch the site in the coming weeks for additional information and a review of the Second Screen app!

The Lion King 3D will be in theaters September 16th. It will be available on Blu-Ray 3D & Blu-Ray Hi-Def Combo Packs October 4th.

Disclosure: Disney & Click Comm provided all of my travel, hotel and food for this event. I was definitely given a once in a lifetime opportunity with this trip but the opinions expressed are my own.