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Is Disney’s The Lion King animated or live-action? It’s complicated, says the director

  • The remake of the hit 1994 Disney animation uses cutting-edge techniques to create photorealistic images
  • The director, Jon Favreau, talks about mixing traditional filmmaking and computer technology to come up with a unique film

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Director Jon Favreau says Disney’s The Lion King blends live-action and animated filmmaking. Photo: Disney via AP
In the run-up to last weekend’s release of the highly anticipated remake of The Lion King, the film was generally referred to as a live-action reinterpretation of the 1994 animated classic, the latest in a string of such films Disney has released in recent years, including Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Dumbo.
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But if you think about it for more than two seconds, that can’t possibly be an accurate description, because – the last time we checked – lions, hyenas, meerkats and warthogs don’t actually talk. Or dance. Or burst into song.

So The Lion King should actually be categorised as an animated film, albeit one using cutting-edge digital tools in pursuit of photorealism instead of the original film’s stylised hand-drawn animation, right?

Well, that’s not exactly it either. Yes, The Lion King  was made entirely using computer-generated imagery. But at the same time, the movie’s creative team also used a range of live-action filmmaking tools and techniques – from lighting to camera movement to set dressing – that have been around for more than a century, as well as a few that are entirely new.
Zazu (left) and young Simba in a still from The Lion King. Photo: Disney via AP
Zazu (left) and young Simba in a still from The Lion King. Photo: Disney via AP
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So … it’s both. Or neither. Or something else altogether. Even director Jon Favreau isn’t sure what exactly to call it.

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