Disney may have deemed Wreck-It Ralph as the one who breaks the internet, but it looks like the power of a cute CGI baby Simba might have been underestimated. On Thanksgiving Day, Disney finally released a first look at The Lion King remake, and millions more than the pride land residents gathered to catch a glimpse. The 90-second teaser just broke a trailer record for Disney, which they've proudly shared. Take a look:
Hakuna Matata, Simba, because Disney's The Lion King revisit is getting a lot of buzz -- and I have a feeling this will be the first of many records it breaks. The 224.6 million views for The Lion King trailer in the first 24 hours of its debut puts the movie just behind the highest one-day debut ever. In comparison, Avengers: Infinity War was watched 238 million times in one day, giving Marvel the official highest record. So close, though!
Disney is just slightly behind with this Lion King record, and considering the popularity of the original, it's not too much of a surprise. The trailer featured a nearly shot-for-shot CGI reenactment of the iconic opening scene from the 1994 animated classic. It also brought back James Earl Jones as Mufasa to say some familiar lines from the movie, along with "Circle of Life" pulsing in the background.
Based on the trailer, it looks like the new Lion King is staying quite close to the original, but the first look does only give a brief look at what's to come. The film features an impressive cast including Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, Chiwetel Ejifor as Scar, Billy Eichner as Timon, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, and John Oliver as Zazu. The movie will feature the voice talents and the singing voices of these actors, with new recordings of songs including "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight."
The Lion King will be directed by Jon Favreau, who also brought Disney's The Jungle Book back to the big screen in 2016. Hans Zimmer and Elton John are teaming up once again to provide the music for the movie, this time with Beyoncé also working with John. The film will be the third Disney remake in 2019 following the release of Dumbo in March and Aladdin in May.
The 1994 classic is still one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, earning $968.5 million at the box office worldwide (not adjusted for inflation). Live-action reimaginings have been going immensely well for the studio, as Beauty and the Beast hit $1.2 billion worldwide and The Jungle Book took home $966 million. Considering the love The Lion King has already received with its first teaser, it could be the biggest release to date when it comes to theaters on July 19, 2019.
