Lion King 1 1/2 (DVD)
2-Disc Set
APPROX. 77 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 2004 - MPA RATING: G
" Fart gags, belch jokes, and slug-eating contests abound. To me, the filmmakers have dishonored the memory of a treasured classic.
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Everything about "The Lion King 1 1/2," from its vapid dialogue and characters to its unengaging melodies, is a mystery to me. Its only purpose appears to be to keep kids occupied for a very short time (it's only seventy-seven minutes long) while Disney makes more money. Seems a tad mercenary, if you ask me.
Video:
The THX-certified video and sound are fine, very clean and very clear, as expected, in a 1.74:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen. But the image is unusually soft and slightly veiled, too, the colors never really coming to life. While the animation is mostly done in traditional 2-D style, there is some assistance from the CGI department as well, yet neither approach seems very convincing or lively. Well, at least we have few or no moiré effects, grain, or haloes to contend with.
Audio:
The sound is available in either Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1, so you can look forward to crystal-clear sonics. Frequency response, dynamics, and dynamic range are all appropriately strong and wide, and the surround channels are fed enough information to make experiencing the film more fun to listen to than to watch. Musical ambience enhancement can sometimes be a bit overpowering, but things like birds twittering, water rippling, wind blowing, crickets chirping, and other jungle noises abound, making the audio, at least, a pleasure to hear.
Extras:
To be sure you notice it and think it's special, Disney executives have fitted out the movie in a deluxe, two-disc set. Disc one contains the widescreen presentation of the feature film and several extras. First, there is a series of seven deleted scenes, all done in rough sketches and drawings. Next, there is a "Hidden Mickey Hunt" that attempts to get children to watch the film all over again by hunting down the Mickey ears and such. Then, there are Sneak Peeks at ten other Disney titles the studio shamelessly flogs on kids, a THX Optimizer set of audiovisual tests for parents to play with, sixteen scene selections, and even a preview of what's on disc two, in case the little ones don't notice the second disc in the set. English and French are provided as spoken languages, with English captions for the hearing impaired.
Disc two contains the longer bonus items, divided into two categories, "Featurettes and "Games and Activities." The most important featurette is "Before the Beginning: The Making of The Lion King 1 1/2," fifteen minutes with the producer, George Mendoza, the director, Bradley Raymond, and the cast and crew. The next featurette is "Timon: Behind The Legend," four minutes narrated by "Biography's" Peter Graves. And the final featurette is a music video, "Grazing in the Grass," performed by Raven. The games include "Timon & Pumbaa's Virtual Safari 1.5," an amusement-park ride in which you choose your own routes, with the film's characters traveling with you, chattering on all sides. The surround sound is well utilized, the graphics are colorful, and the whole thing is more entertaining than the main feature. Then, there's a mock TV game show, "Who Wants To Be King of the Jungle," hosted by the real show's Meredith Vieira; and a children's game called "Find the Face" that asks you to identify famous Disney animated characters from their silhouettes.
The discs are housed in a slim-line keep case containing a booklet insert, the whole thing further enclosed in a colorful cardboard cover jacket. Like Disney's opening logos, credits, previews, and menus, which take the user a hunk of trouble to get through to reach the film, the cover jacket (or slipcase) serves little purpose except to announce the set's self-importance. But I suppose such things add a certain prestige value to the product, since all the studios do them.
Parting Shots:
Why is the movie called "The Lion King 1 1/2"? Because there's already a "Lion King II: Simba's Pride" out on video, and this one is supposed to fit in the middle of the trilogy. Disney is milking their golden-goose "Lion" series for everything it's worth. Anyway, as I said in the beginning, very young kids will probably like "The Lion King 1 1/2." It's colorful and noisy. But I personally found that Disney had simply taken the basest, most questionable aspects of the original "Lion King" and exploited them. I was bored two minutes in.
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