Lion King 3D Review

The line for The Lion King 3D was incredibly long and I believe it maxed out at the D23 Expo, so my only chance to see it was in the theaters these next two weeks. 

The film is the original version show in theaters in 1996, so the new song "Morning Report" was not included.  For me this was a moot point; if they included it, awesome, if not, not a huge loss. The film itself is quite clear because of the switch to digital for the sake of the 3D. The usage of 3D is strictly for depth, though there are a couple places where objects or faces do pop out at you, like Zazu's tail feathers, but this seems strictly coincidental. The friend I went with said that he noticed a couple parts in the movie where the picture seemed a little distorted from being in 3D, but I honestly did not notice these times and it did not take away from the movie.

I didn't realize until I got home, but the really cool themed 3D glasses I picked up to use were technically for children, though they did fit me fine.  They have a little Simba on the front and one of the arms says "The Lion King 3D". I thought they were really cool!

My total opinion: It was cool to see The Lion King on the big screen again; when it came out in 1996 it was the 2nd movie I had ever seen in theaters and my sister's first. The 3D was a unique way to see the film, but it did little for me honestly. If you are a big Lion King fan or just want to see the film on the big screen again, I say go for it. Otherwise, I would say put the $13 a ticket towards something else, like buying Lion King on Blu-Ray to get all the awesome features that comes with that, or put it towards your next Walt Disney World vacation and see the Festival of the Lion King show.

unKNOWN Actors: Jeremy Irons

Jeremy Irons, Born September 19, 1948 in Isle of Wight, England, is a very serious actor, known for serious roles and having a deep and lovely accented voice.  This is an actor that you would not expect to have a Disney resume entry, but alas, he certainly does! He has a few actually, most of them being within the Disney theme parks!

Let us first talk about his one movie debut, which was in 1994.  Irons voiced one of the most evil villains in Disney history, Scar in The Lion King.  It was his portrayal of Scar that is also used in the Hollywood Studios show, Fantasmic!
His other well-known Disney contribution was heard in Epcot from 1994 to 2007 as the narrator for Spaceship Earth.  His narration is the longest used to date, being replaced after 13 years by Dame Judi Dench, who is currently used.

There are a couple more places in the parks where you used to hear Irons’ voice.  He gave a voice to H.G. Wells in the Tomorrowland attraction The Timekeeper, which was open from 1994 until 2006.  This attraction was also in Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. 

In Disneyland Paris, he narrated the English version of the Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic.

Jeremy Irons is an actor with an awesome voice that can be heard around the world not only in movies but in several of the parks over the year.  We will have to see if Irons will be featured in any other Disney projects in his lifetime.

Do you have an actor you would like me to research? Let me know by commenting below or sending me an email at lady_aurora_yensid@hotmail.com.

This Week's It Came From Disney!

This week, the Disney Device I reviewed is eco-friendly in honor of Earth Day! Plus, its quite trendy! Find out what it is and how you can get one by reading my article on The Disney Dispatch.

unKNOWN Actors: Cheech Marin

Yes, I know, when you see the name Cheech Marin, there is a good chance you think of something quite different from Disney, and probably something that is not very Disney like.  You may be surprised to know though that Cheech has done several parts in Disney films.  Cheech also brings a first to the unKNOWN Actors series; he is the first actor that I am covering that is still alive! Born in Los Angeles July 13, 1946, he is still acting today. 

Cheech’s first appearance in a Disney related project was for Mickey’s 60th Birthday in 1988.  You can see Cheech in a Disneyland segment as a janitor.

The same year, you hear Cheech providing the voice for Alonzo Ignacio Julio Federico de Tito, also known as Tito in Oliver and Company (1988).

The Lion King provides him with his next opportunity in a Disney film, voicing one of the three main hyenas in Scar’s posse, Banzai.   He also comes back in 2004 to voice Banzai in The Lion King 1 ½ and even does his voice in the Playstation game, Kingdom Hearts II.

Cheech is heard once again in 2006 in the Disney/Pixar movie Cars, lending his voice to the artistic body shop car, Ramone.  He also does the voice for Ramone in the short Mater and the Ghostlight.

After hearing his voice in these movies, you can even go to Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World and hear him. Cheech’s voice was used in the 4D movie attraction It’s Tough To Be a Bug as the deadly Chilean spider, Chili.

Hey, just realized that Cheech allowed me to have two firsts in my series; the first actor still alive and the first actor in a Pixar movie.  Pretty cool stuff! Make sure to check out Cheech Marin in these films and who knows, maybe we will be able to hear him in more Disney creations in the future!

Be a Hero!

As you may know, Chris Reid does a great show every Monday at 1pm Eastern on Magical Mouse Radio called Cosmic Reid's Starlight Cafe.  This show has many great sponsors, including Steve Barrett's Hidden Mickeys, Disdates.com and themeparkinsider.com.  Today, he got a brand new sponsor: DKMS Americas, whose mission is "to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients." 

Chris heard about this while prepping for another radio show he does in his home town of Winnipeg.  He was going through the news to read on his show and stumbled upon a story that immediately caught his eye.  What caught his eye first was that the article was about someone in The Lion King musical in New York City, something we had gone to see almost a year ago.  As he read through the article, he found out that it was unfortunately a sad story, an actor from the musical was diagnosed with leukemia and there had been a donor drive at the Minskoff theatre to try to find a bone marrow match.  What makes the story that much sadder is that the actor, or actress in this case, is only 11 years old.  Shannon Tavarez had performed on the Broadway stage for several months as Young Nala, but had to leave her dream role in April when she was diagnosed. 

Chris immediately contacted who was in charge of the donations, offering any help he could give. After several emails back and forth, Cosmic Reid has now partnered with DKMS Americas to get the word out about Shannon and her plight, along with the plight of all who suffer from leukemia, in the hopes of finding her a donor and getting this amazing young actress back where she belongs, on the stage!

To find out how to see if you are a match for Shannon and if you are eligible to be a donor, visit Cosmic Reid's page, Destination: Donation and check out the DKMS Americas Site on becoming a donor.  Let's help to get the word out, you never know, you may tell the person who could be Shannon's hero!

New Resort: Awaiting Full Judgement

Disney announced on their blog a few days ago about plans for a new resort on the Walt Disney World Property. Where the planned "Legendary Years" area of Pop Century Resort remains lie, there will be a brand new resort capturing the hearts of Disney movie lovers, Disney's Art of Animation Resort. This resort is aimed at families and will have wings of the hotel themed to 4 different Disney movies: Cars, Finding Nemo, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid wing will be the largest with 864 themed rooms while the remaining 1120 will be themed around the three other movies. There will be rooms and suites in the resort, the suites having both a living room and a bedroom, sleeping 6 people while the rooms will sleep 4. Disney's Art of Animation Resort will be a value resort and a non-DVC resort.

While the unveiling of a new resort is very exciting, there are several questions that come to mind. The main one that comes to me is Why these Movies? Two of these four movies already have representation at resorts on property; the new Finding Nemo rooms at Caribbean Beach and The Lion King theme at the Kidani Village DVC Property at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Disney has so many different movies, why are they repeating? It doesn't really make sense to me. I will be also interested to see the layout of the resort when it is released, I am curious as to why The Little Mermaid is such a large portion of the resort. And will this resort have any interactions with the Pop Century Resort? These hotels share a waterway and there are bridges connecting the two properties currently built.

Hopefully all of these questions will be answered for us, but in the meantime, the speculation continues. Do you have any questions about the new property? Feel free to comment about them! Keep your eyes here for updates as they become available.

To see the Disney Parks Blog post about the new Disney's Art of Animation Resort, click here.

Lion King on Broadway- A Must See!

I am a huge Disney fan-obviously- so when I walked into the Minskoff Theater to see The Lion King on broadway on August 19th, I knew I would be enjoying the show. I just didn't know how amazing it would be!!!!

The theater itself is fantastic, as is the view of Times Square from the lobby! After looking around a little, Chris and I sat down in our seats, which were really good and settled down to watch the show.

Some of my favorite parts would be at the beginning where some of the 'animals' walked up the sides of the theater onto the stage- including a huge elephant!, the stampede scene that had amazing set design and technical aspects, and when Mufasa appears to Simba in the stars!

The technical parts of this show alone are a must see, they have done some amazing things with the theater to really create a unique experience! All of the actors were amazing and the costumes were so intricate! I have never seen anything so cool!! If you are looking for a show to see in NYC, or in its other locations around the world, I would definitely give this show a look! Make sure to purchase your tickets in advance though, the shows seem to be mostly sold out and you will most likely not find this show on the discount tickets boards.

For information about the show and to purchase tickets see the Official Lion King on Broadway Website.

I will leave you for now with the view from the Lion King lobby looking out on Times Square.