'Lion King' to release in U.S. on July 19

Disney's "The Lion King" has received no shortage of remakes and spinoffs in the years since its original 1994 release. Now, as the film nears its silver anniversary, Disney delivers a new take on the animated musical.

Billy Eichner arrives at 'The Lion King' film premiere at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles CA on July 9, 2019. [Photo:IC]

Cast and crew gathered in Hollywood for "The Lion King" world premiere Tuesday night (9 JULY 2019) and discussed the reimagined film.

Actor Billy Eichner, who voices Timon, said director Jon Favreau allowed him to record his voiceovers alongside co-star Seth Rogen, the voice of Pumbaa. Most voice actors do the job solo.

"I think it all comes back to Jon Favreau for being brilliant and knowing how to do a big spectacular film that people can also relate to and make it feel organic and genuinely funny," said Eichner. "Even when Donald Glover came in to do 'Hakuna Matata' in our scenes together, we were all riffing."

While this new "Lion King" looks like a live-action film, it was made with a process called, "Photorealism," which is something of a fusion of live-action and animation techniques, which sets the film apart from the original.

The film, which also stars Alfre Woodard, Keegan-Michael Key, and James Earl Jones, is out on July 19 in U.S. cinemas.

(Story includes material sourced from AP)