The Lion King Will Leave You Feline Nothing

So, quick recap for those who aren't familiar with the original Lion King: Simba (voiced by JD McCrary as a child and Donald Glover as an adult) is the son of Mufasa (James Earl Jones), the king of the Pride Lands. Simba is immensely excited to assume the throne, but his nefarious Uncle Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has other dastardly plans in mind. He plans to usurp the throne by killing Mufasa and Simba, a plan that leaves Mufasa dead and Simba feeling so guilty that he runs away from his home. Out on his own, Simba ignores his past and lives a care-free life but he'll soon discover that you can't outrun your responsibilities.

"The King....Has Returned": Disney And Elf/Iron Man/The Jungle Book Director Jon Favreau Are Doing A Lion King Remake

I saw Jon Favreau post an image of Simba on Pride Rock on Instagram with the caption "Super excited for my next project" about half an hour ago and, honest to God, I thought it was a joke. It left my mind real quickly until, a few minutes later, I saw people discussing it on Facebook. The validity of it was unknown to us until someone pointed out a press release Disney oddly released at Midnight last night (normally such announcements are made during the day when entertainment news outlets can cover them) that confirmed it; Disney is doing a remake of The Lion King.

The First Trailer For The New Jungle Book Movie Has Arrived!

The Jungle Book is one of my favorite films of all-time, full stop. It's a magnificent showcase for the incredible hand-drawn animation Disney was capable of in its heyday (every one of the minor mannerisms of Shere Kahn are amazing and even subtle moment like Kaa shrugging shows an immensely inventive spirit), as well as some insanely lovable characters like Baloo and Bagheera. The best part? This isn't all bad on childhood nostalgia; rewatching it last year, I discovered that not only did the motion picture hold up, but there were more subtle elements of it that stood out to me as an adult viewer that only enhanced my enormous appreciation for this 1967 film.

Disney Is Developing Live-Action Movie Based On Robin Williams Genie From Aladdin

Have you ever watched Aladdin and been enthralled by The Genie, who is a perfect blend of Robin Williams dynamic vocal performance and Eric Goldbergs energetic animation, and wondered "Where did that Genie come from? What's his story? How did he wind up in that lamp?"

No? You were just entertained by the masterful work of Robin Williams in that film and were content to just see the story of how the sagas of the Genie and Aladdin intertwined in the story of Aladdin? Well screw that! Here comes another live-action Disney remake to explain a backstory so crucial to a beloved character that it doesn't even get hinted at in the movie that the character hails from.

And Now Winnie The Pooh Is Getting A Live-Action Remake

With Cinderella looking to make $500 million worldwide by the end of it's run, Disney is hellbent on making numerous other live-action remakes out of it's beloved animated features. Dumbo is on the way from Tim Burton, while 2016 will bring new updates of The Jungle Book and Pete's Dragon. Recently, Mulan got announced to be receiving a live-action update, and now Winnie The Pooh is getting ready for such treatment.

Tim Burton Is Directing A Live-Action Dumbo Movie. I Swear, This Isn't An Onion Headline

Disney's recent surge of converting their classic animated films to live-action/CGI features has only been done twice (I'd say count Oz The Great And Powerful, but it's not technically an extension of a Disney movie), but those two films were Alice In Wonderland and Maleficent, which both made big bucks at the box office. Hell, Alice managed to gross over billion dollars, paving the way for a sequel to that 2010 film (which arrives in 2016), as well as a cavalcade of updates to classic Disney movies.