The Lion King (1994) - 3D

While it bowed in theaters a few weeks prior to the release of this Blu-ray, it's unlikely what's seen here is any different than what was seen on the big screen for a limited time.

'The Lion King' is a revelation in 3D. In fact, revelation may not be a strong enough word. One of, if not the, first hand drawn animation titles to hit Blu-ray 3D, 'The Lion King' proves there is a place in the market for conversions. For 88 minutes, this disc stuns. Critics will be silenced. Reviewers, like myself will be stunned into a mute state by the simply amazing work found here.

The opening moments of the film, with the animals gathering for the unveiling of the future king, my goodness are they superb, informing viewers what they're in for. Depth is almost infinite. Grass layers perfectly between animals, in front and behind, with fantastic clarity. Backgrounds have superb detail and clarity, while brightness levels have to be the highest, most capable of bringing jaws agape that I've ever seen on this format. The colors on display, their complete lack of banding in any sort, their clarity and boldness, it's a sight to behold. And just wait, there's still a whole film to go!

Textures on painted background/foreground objects are wonderful, never failing to impress. The stray/odd lines that sometimes move as cels don't match up perfectly, the way even they have a 3D pop as they shift a tad, it's a miracle, as the film hasn't been tampered with in such a way that ruins its little quirks and imperfections. Even in the darkest of scenes, like the elephant graveyard sequence, the 3D is still always visible, always discernible, as this isn't just a subtle corner of depth here and there. The entire picture has been masterfully layered to create one of the most impressive 3D discs to date. The shots of the wild bugs in the second act of the film? Brilliance. Beautiful, beautiful brilliance.

Pay very, very close attention to the stampede sequence to see how perfectly the 3D work is performed. The way the somewhat brainless beasts roar from the higher, deeper layers towards you and those in their path, it easily usurps any sequence as the go-to for 3D brilliance.

Now, yes, there are a few odd issues here and there. The pan on the zebras in the opening creates some light aliasing (an effect that is not repeated in any future appearance of the creatures), while some outlines have a tiny jagged feel to them, particularly rocks. Ghosting also popped up on a few occasions, but it was all minimal. The moon was probably the worst effect, while a single rock here and there would have the error. The darker moments don't bring a giant leap in ghosting, though, thankfully, as there are a few very minor, very brief, insignificant "blink and you'll miss them" type ghosts in these sequences.

This film is one of the best looking on the format. The small issues are never overly distracting, never too in your face, and never enough for me to even consider dropping the score down.

'The Lion King' deserves its title as the alpha in the pack of Blu-ray 3Ds released to date. 3DTV owners, this is the disc you've been waiting for.

The inclusion of the film on DVD is a great, great bonus feature. Gotta stress the sacrificial disc, the one the kids can destroy so they don't grub up the Blu-rays!

Blu-ray 3D Disc

The only extra to e found on the 3D disc, aside from a 'Cars 2' pre-menu trailer (and "sneak peeks" inclusion, which is a load of bull considering the use of the word peeks, as in plural, yet the lone trailer again playing) is an introduction by Don Hahn. At the end, he puts on a pair of rechargeable Panasonic glasses, just like the ones I used for this review. That Hahn guy and I just have so much in common!

Blu-ray Disc

Not everything from the Platinum DVD made its way here, sadly, tough most did.

• The Morning Report: Extended Scene (HD, 2 min) - An alternate take on a scene in the film that is somewhat important to the film is shown, adding music to the sequence. It's an odd mix.
  
• Disney's Virtual Vault - Yikes! More, more, more extras, presumably those from the 2003 DVD. The videos here are letterboxed and very small on screen with a unique player mode (that can go bigger, though only in 480p), presumably to save disc space. It's really innovative. Numerous features have their own little sub-features. The big problem? Buffering... Included are The Making of The Morning Report (3 min), Deleted Scenes (6 min), Musical Journey (25 min), Stage Journey (18 min), Film Journey (23 min), Story Journey (12 min), Storyboard Film Comparison (4 min), Early Concepts: Timon & Pumbaa Find Simba and Simba's Presentation (7 min), and Abandoned Scene: Warthog Rhapsody (4 min). The concept for this feature is great, but it's a pain to get out of unless you use the Top Menu cop out.
  
• Sing-Along Mode - A subtitle track for the songs, and songs alone.
  
• Audio Commentary - With Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff, and Don Hahn. This track can be found after pressing the play button as an extra set of play options for the film, not in the setup tab. You learn a lot about how the animation was made for some of the complex shots, learn about the actors (how young Simba was cast due to the covers of Tiger Beat...that sounds about right...), some jokes that should have made the film, the peculiar casting and changes due to voices and ethnic plans for the characters, ad-libbing and alternate lines, themes, and special effects that integrate in the film that most won't recognize or notice. A superb track that is highly technical and informative, not just descriptive.
  

• Interactive Blu-ray Gallery - Cutting edge! The wealth of information in these galleries is nuts! Check out character designs, visual development, storyboards, backgrounds and layouts here, but be sure you have a good hour or so to do it! Be sure to check out an alternate take on Simba that is straight creepy...no other word works to define it. The alternate Scar? Goodness is it hardcore! Some of the drawings here represent what would have been the film if it were the battle story one of the extras in this set makes it out to be. It would have been great if the details on how to exit this feature would have been included, though. Press the home menu (that operates differently on various screens) to get back to the main menu. 
  
• Backstage Disney: Diamond Edition (HD) - This extra has three sections. Pride of The Lion King (38 min) reassembles the crew for the creation of the film, to reminisce. We find out the politics behind the film, the competing films that were drawing manpower away, the original drafts and themes that are dramatically different from the final version. We then move on to a reunion for Lane and Broderick, though they've worked together many times since 'The Lion King.' This one runs a little long, but it is full of great information, great comments, a ton to learn about behind the scenes of this epic film. The Lion King: A Memoir: Don Hahn (20 min) is a great compilation of 1994 video footage to bring the audience into the room for the creation of the film, to meet the people involved, a behind the scenes memoir. Deleted/Alternate Scenes (14 min, with introductions by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff) compiles five scenes that didn't make the cut. They're interesting, but really are wise exclusions, as they really don't fit the atmosphere and mood of the finished film. The Mufasa song is really offputting, while Scar discussing reproducing is...creepy, creepier than normal talk from the character. 
  
• Bloopers & Outtakes (HD, 4 min) - Outtakes from the voice recordings now given animations to match. I have never been a fan of these types of artificial bloopers. The animation, especially on Simba, can be pretty poor. Jeremy Irons' failures are pretty funny, but the rest seem forced. Of course, the most obvious, most needed alternate take for the film is included. Let's just say they save the best for last, and that monkey has some butter fingers! 
  
• Second Screen - Watch the film in different ways with connected devices. I hate the idea of this feature as much as purists hate the idea of 'The Lion King' in 3D.