Amazing New Images for Jon Favreau's The Lion King

Disney may be setting everyone's sights on the release of Aladdin next month, but July will bring us Jon Favreau's CG-action take on The Lion King. Just in we have some new images courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, and they give us a look at some classic characters from Timon and Pumbaa, to Zazu the bird.

Check them out:

While there are some fans who are apprehensive to this approach of remaking classics, I have no doubt that Favreau will manage to make this film its own kind of impressive. Talking to EW, Favreau explains his approach:

"It feels like we're restoring a classic historic architectural landmark — how do you update it without changing the personality of it? How do you take advantage of all the new technological breakthroughs but still maintain the soul and the spirit of the original Lion King… I think this film is a culmination of all the live-action adaptations that Disney has done of their animated classics. The idea of taking these characters and this music, just as the stage play took it, sticking closely to the story but reinventing it for a different medium… I thought that this technology would be separate enough from the animated film that it felt fresh and new, yet completely related to the original. And by the time Jungle Book was done, we had a lot of facility with this technology, so you're hitting that part of your stride where you're saying, ‘Now, what can I really do with this?'"

While Favreau and his team certainly did some great CG work with animals in The Jungle Book, he says that Lion King offers a lot more freedom this time around since the film is fully animated. Unlike the first film, TLK doesn't require any green screens or camera work since there aren't any humans in the story.

When it comes to these Disney remakes, I don't really expect them to surpass the original movies, but you can still find something to love about them in your own way. Production value is always impressive, and I'm always up for watching the new interpretations of classic musical numbers.

Hopefully Favreau manages to deliver again with this film. Catch The Lion King in theaters July 18.

See Also: Disney Head on Why Their Live-Action Adaptations Succeed