The Lion King (1994) (Diamond Edition)

I've got to say that Disney's 1080p presentation of 'The Lion King' is probably the best I've ever seen a hand-drawn animated feature look on Blu-ray. Yes, 'The Princess and the Frog' was immaculate, but 'The Lion King' looks that much better. Perhaps it's because of the movie's awe-inspiring scope. Whatever it is, it looks downright fantastic in every frame.

Colors are intensely vivid. They leap off the screen. I was drawn to the orange-to-red gradient on Zazu's bill. The finely shaded gradient is wonderfully colorful. The 2D animation flourishes in HD. Edges are perfectly concise and easy to discern. Lighting is carefully placed giving the animation a very 3D feel.

There isn't a speck of dirt or grime here. This is an immaculately clean transfer free from any technical flubs or mishaps that might detract from the viewer's experience. What is even more amazing is that the very early computer animation that was used during this film doesn't jump out at you. Even though the technology was still in its infancy, it's hardly noticeable here. The stampede looks natural and flows perfectly. Even with the added high definition, you'd never be able to strain your eyes and say, "Yeah, that's early CG." From start to finish, this is one of the most splendidly colorful, and demo-ready discs out there. Its 2D presentation is spectacularly amazing in every way.

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.