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The Art and Making of The Lion King
Stunning concept art, powerful behind-the-scenes photography, and fascinating interviews with the cast and crew pack The Art and Making of The Lion King , offering an inside perspective on how director Jon Favreau and his talented team used the most advanced virtual cinematography and computer graphics techniques to craft a film of both legend and hyperrealism.
The story of The Lion King has entered the pantheon of cultural mythology, as has its iconic music. In revisiting this tale, the filmmaking team set off for an adventure of a an expedition across the southern portion of Kenya in Africa. These seasoned filmmakers gathered reference photographs, scans, and other materials to apply to the digital moviemaking process and in turn were immersed in the nuances of the real environment.
Once back at the studio, they utilized common filmmaking tools with state-of-the-art virtual reality (VR) technology and new, ultrafast rendering technologies to create a "virtual production," a concept they pushed further than it had ever been before.
The Art and Making of The Lion King documents this captivating journey and closes the circle with a discussion on a modern-day conservation program called the Lion Recovery Fund (LRF).
Searching for that perfect gift for the movie fan in your life? Explore more behind-the-scenes stories from Disney
The story of The Lion King has entered the pantheon of cultural mythology, as has its iconic music. In revisiting this tale, the filmmaking team set off for an adventure of a an expedition across the southern portion of Kenya in Africa. These seasoned filmmakers gathered reference photographs, scans, and other materials to apply to the digital moviemaking process and in turn were immersed in the nuances of the real environment.
Once back at the studio, they utilized common filmmaking tools with state-of-the-art virtual reality (VR) technology and new, ultrafast rendering technologies to create a "virtual production," a concept they pushed further than it had ever been before.
The Art and Making of The Lion King documents this captivating journey and closes the circle with a discussion on a modern-day conservation program called the Lion Recovery Fund (LRF).
Searching for that perfect gift for the movie fan in your life? Explore more behind-the-scenes stories from Disney
- GenresArt
224 pages, Hardcover
Published July 16, 2019
62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 28, 2024
Enjoyed the art and some of the explanations on how the team went about creating a "live action" on a computer with no actors or real animals.
The book did spend 50 pages on the art of the Original Lion King though. And it spent WAY to much time listing the credentials of all the voice actors. There was literally a whole page on Beyoncé's career vs the one paragraph on the actual tech it took to create Nala lol
Then the last chapter is more about how much conservation work Disney has done and is continuing, which is cool but....not what I am expecting in a book that's supposed to be about art 🤷♀️
Not bad though and like I said I enjoyed the decision making snippets and the Chapter on the legendary musical score 🤩
The book did spend 50 pages on the art of the Original Lion King though. And it spent WAY to much time listing the credentials of all the voice actors. There was literally a whole page on Beyoncé's career vs the one paragraph on the actual tech it took to create Nala lol
Then the last chapter is more about how much conservation work Disney has done and is continuing, which is cool but....not what I am expecting in a book that's supposed to be about art 🤷♀️
Not bad though and like I said I enjoyed the decision making snippets and the Chapter on the legendary musical score 🤩
March 31, 2020
A very beautiful book, which is how ever a deception in terms of content. I read Charles Salomon's book on Beauty and the Beast and I was expecting something similar; going from the elaboration of the animated movie storyline through the different adaptations to finish by the live-action movie.
This book kind of follow these lines but goes way too fast for my appetite on the animated mobie and the choice that were made for it; speaks a bit longer of the musical but clearly focuses on the live-action; detailing it very carefully. This is wonderful but it was not what I expected. Sorry. However, it is still interesting and definitely a very nice art work book to have in one's collection.
This book kind of follow these lines but goes way too fast for my appetite on the animated mobie and the choice that were made for it; speaks a bit longer of the musical but clearly focuses on the live-action; detailing it very carefully. This is wonderful but it was not what I expected. Sorry. However, it is still interesting and definitely a very nice art work book to have in one's collection.
July 29, 2019
#partner Thank you to @disneybooks for this beautiful finished copy. "The Art and Making of The Lion King" by Michael Goldman released July 16 and is available now.
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I took my girls to see "The Lion King" on Friday--they had been asking all week to go see it! I was especially excited to take them because "The Lion King" was the first movie I remember being obsessed with as a kid. I had every toy imaginable. I was also excited with the reincarnation of characters in the new film. My kids loved it and we had a great time together!
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Imagine my surprise then when I got home and had a mystery box on my doorstep. This was inside! (I'm serious here. I literally opened this box up when I got home from seeing the movie!) I was blown away by this book. It details the incredible art that went into such a beautiful movie. My kids loved flipping through and seeing their favorite characters again. I loved seeing the incredible art that came first. The book is full of incredible stories of creating this beautiful film. This book is beautiful and we will treasure it for years to come. .
Thank you again @disneybooks!!!
.
I took my girls to see "The Lion King" on Friday--they had been asking all week to go see it! I was especially excited to take them because "The Lion King" was the first movie I remember being obsessed with as a kid. I had every toy imaginable. I was also excited with the reincarnation of characters in the new film. My kids loved it and we had a great time together!
.
Imagine my surprise then when I got home and had a mystery box on my doorstep. This was inside! (I'm serious here. I literally opened this box up when I got home from seeing the movie!) I was blown away by this book. It details the incredible art that went into such a beautiful movie. My kids loved flipping through and seeing their favorite characters again. I loved seeing the incredible art that came first. The book is full of incredible stories of creating this beautiful film. This book is beautiful and we will treasure it for years to come. .
Thank you again @disneybooks!!!
August 18, 2019
The Art and Making of The Lion King, by Michael Goldman, is a frustrating book. On one hand, the imagery is fantastic, featuring pre-production photography, visual development images and stills from the final film. On the other hand, the text reads like a first draft, with flashes of interesting content concerning the technology behind the film, but alongside trivia about each cast member's biography that feels ripped from Wikipedia, and other evidence of padding. Some might say the final product mirrors the film itself...
August 4, 2019
This book includes a lot of details around the film making process for the new Lion King movie along with how the main characters were designed while trying to keep it similar to the animated version. There are lots of concept art and final renders to accompany the text that help show their process.
It's a great book if you're interested in how they balanced retelling a very popular story/movie in a new medium.
It's a great book if you're interested in how they balanced retelling a very popular story/movie in a new medium.
August 19, 2025
An amazing collection of imagery, recollections, and facts about the making of The Lion King (2019) as well as the entire franchise of The Lion King as a whole. I would recommend this book to gift to a fan of the Disney classic or to add to your own collection.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews