ANIMATED FILM, LIVE-ACTION OR MOTION CAPTURE?
In recent years, the great classics 2019 version of Disney have amazed us: “Dumbo” by Tim Burton, “Aladdin” still available in certain cinemas or even “The Jungle Book” a digital feat.
Here's how Disney decided to renew its image: rework all these great animated classics into films made on computers.
The distinction between animated film, live action or motion capture is becoming more and more precise. Neel Sethi was for example the only real actor in The Jungle Book, he interacted with animals made entirely of computer-generated images.
But it is with The Lion King that Fairview Entertainment studios once again push the limits by offering a film created entirely on a computer and hyper realistic.
During an interview Jon Favreau, chief producer of The Lion King himself admitted to not knowing whether it was an animated film or a "live action", he even added that it was not of neither. He wanted to offer us images worthy of a BBC animal report and which in no way resemble visual effects made on computers even if the animals speak and behave humanly. The trailer available here:
No scene in the film was filmed in real life. Jon Favreau scouted Kenya, Africa, collecting images of natural landscapes so that they could serve as a source of artistic inspiration. Once in the box, these live shots were undoubtedly digitally retouched, in order to match the graphic style of the rest of the scenes. But be careful, this is not “performance capture” or “motion capture” either.
In fact, the actors and artists recruited only lent their voices: James Earl Jones plays Mufasa, Donald Glover is Simba, Beyoncé Knowles, Nala… A great casting which adds to the impatience of the fans. In addition, no animals were actually filmed, the artistic and design team only took inspiration from nature to make the animals seem as real as possible. Some behind the scenes images available here, English subtitles available:
So we were impatiently waiting for July 19 to finally be able to appreciate the results of all the efforts of the design teams! In the meantime, we offer you 3 new facts about the cartoon from our childhood:
- The Lion King was originally going to be called "The King of the Jungle" until the team realised that lions don't live in the jungle...
- Simba, Sarabi, Rafiki and Pumbaa are Swahili words. They mean lion, mirage, friend and stupid.
- For the scene involving Scar and the hyenas, Disney took inspiration from Nazi photos. Who would have thought!
And you, do you have anything new about The Lion King? Write us all about it in the comments.