Disney usually loves to milk its loyal audience for all its worth by releasing special-edition copies of popular films before locking them back in their “Disney vault.” But what they’re doing with The Lion King is ridiculous. Not only is Disney shipping out a “diamond edition” Blu-ray on October 4, but the company is also re-releasing a 3D version of the film in theaters starting tomorrow for a limited two-week run.
There will always be a special place in my heart for The Lion King. I recall listening to cassette tapes (remember, it was 1994) of the soundtrack and jamming to “Hakuna Matata” and “I Just Can’t Wait to be King.” I’m sure most college-aged students share a similar memory of loving the film as a child and are ecstatic for this new theatrical run.
Unfortunately, when I first found out that Disney was doing this, my first thought was, “Wow. This is absolutely deplorable.” Disney has officially crossed over into George Lucas territory in terms of trying to steal every penny that its fans have ever made. Forcing folks who want to see The Lion King on the big screen to pay the excessively high 3Dticket prices is pure exploitation.
Also, consider this: anyone who has been following the 3D movie avalanche that Avatar started knows that the most successful 3D films are the ones that were originally shot that way. The 3D that Disney tacked on to The Lion King probably won’t add anything to the film, and might even hurt its picture quality. If you’re like me and you don’t wan to have your memories of this amazing film sullied, boycott it and show Disney that they’ll have to do better than that if they want our money.
Photo: Dottie Mae at flickr.com
