THE LION KING legacy continues with THE LION KING 1 1/2, a DVD premiere sequel produced by DisneyToon Studios released Feb. 10, 2004 (Walt Disney Home Video, $29.99). Directed by Bradley Raymond (THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME II), the story puts a fresh spin on THE LION KING by going back and retelling the original story (admittedly with some humorous revisionism) through the eyes of Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella). But since LION KING was an animated riff on HAMLET anyway, the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-like shtick seems very appropriate. The two-disc set also includes deleted scenes, a hidden Mickey's treasure hunt game, WHO WANTS TO BE KING OF THE JUNGLE trivia game (hosted by Meredith Vieira and containing more than 80,000 question combinations), TIMON & PUMBAA'S VIRTUAL SAFARI 1.5 theme park-style ride (created in conjunction with Walt Disney Imagineering and featuring the voices of both Lane and Sabella), TIMON: BEYOND THE LEGEND (mockumentary) with Peter Graves and more.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
