Disney’s animated classic The Lion King has received the 3D treatment and will debut in theaters September 16th and on Blu-ray 3D & Blu-ray Hi-Def Combo Packs October 4th.
The person in charge of the project, stereographer Robert Neuman, takes some time from his busy day to answer some questions regarding this endeavor.
How long has 3D cinema been around?
We all know that 2D cinema has a rich history spanning more than a century, but 3D cinema has been around much longer than most people think. Back in the 1930s, the Lumiere brothers — who invented film — remade one of their features in 3D. They were convinced that 3D was going to be the next evolution in storytelling, but it didn’t catch on in that period of history. This means that 3D cinema has been around for nearly 80 years, but thankfully we’ve now gone past the gimmick stage. Today we’re ready to use 3D in order to tell a better story.
What does 3D add to an animated movie like The Lion King?
From my standpoint as a filmmaker, the most important aspect of a movie is the story. I knew we could add something to the storytelling of The Lion King with 3D. If we couldn’t use 3D to enhance the story, I wouldn’t be interested in the project. However, I knew we could take a classic and plus it — and I think that’s exactly what we’ve done with The Lion King 3D.
