David Bridges
Later this year, Disney is taking viewers back to the world of Pride Rock with Mufasa, a prequel to its 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King. If you find yourself wanting to watch the original animated version again, good news: that one’s getting a re-release.
To honor the animated movie’s 30th anniversary on June 15, Disney’s bringing the beloved film back to theaters in July. At time of writing, it’s unclear just how long it’ll be playing on the silver screen, since re-releases tend to range anywhere from a few days to over a week. It hasn’t been that long since the animated Lion King was playing in theaters, actually—last year to celebrate the studio’s own 100th anniversary, Disney put the movie in select Cinemark theaters for two weeks, and one-day screenings in Polish theaters.
Even before the live-action remake and its upcoming sequel came into being, The Lion King’s had an eventful legacy. A year after its release, Disney launched the spinoff show Timon & Pumbaa, which went on for three seasons. More famously, the direct-to-video sequel Simba’s Pride in 1998 had a bigger impact, if only because it introduced a bad boy lead in Kovu, the son of one of Scar’s followers. Once the 2000s came around, Disney put out another straight-to-video movie in Lion King 1 1/2, and let Simba be a recurring guest character in the Kingdom Hearts games.
The Lion King’s re-release will begin on July 12, while Mufasa: The Lion King will come out on December 20.
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