I saw The Lion King IMAX last night at the domed Palisades Center IMAX in West Nyack, NY, and I really enjoyed it. Somehow, though, I wasn't as impressed as I was by Beauty and the Beast IMAX, which I thought was just stunning.

While most of the animation was crisp and clear, in some scenes I thought it looked very rough--something you wouldn't notice before they doubled the resolution for this presentation.

I haven't seen this film for many years, but I didn't notice any new additions (such as the added musical number in BATB) or significant cuts. Did anyone notice any changes that I missed?

I stopped by a table the theater had set up for educators (IMAX mainly shows educational films). There was a packet of information about The Lion King, and as they described how Disney's idea for a movie about African lions started first surfaced around 1989, I couldn't help but think about the unresolved debate about the origins of the movie (which has been discussed thoroughly on DVDTalk before).

In any case, there were IMAX trailers for Disney's Aladdin (coming in December, IIRC) and The Young Black Stallion, National Geographic's Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West, and the James Cameron/Bill Paxton documentary Ghosts of the Abyss about the search for the real Titanic.

I went back when it came out and it was amazing. But agreed that it was not as amazing as BatB IMAX. There were no changes to the IMAX version other than the cosmetic changes needed to make it that big. The DVD released this fall will add a new scene ala BatB.

As far as the origins argument, I've always felt that this was more or less a version of Hamlet than anything else.. anything else you read is simply anime fanboy dribble.

angryyoungman, I saw it at the same theater also! I was disappointed that no added scenes were added. Not a big deal...BatB is still my favorite

I've never much felt the "unresolved debate" is really worth debating (typically, the same people argue "Treasure Planet ripped off video games!"), but this is interesting link on the subject: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a991224.html

Pretty much resolves for me the coincidences rather than "the thievery."

Now, I saw The Lion King on IMAX last December at the New Rochelle IMAX, and it was awesome. It's definitely my favorite Disney film, and one of my all-time favorite films. Watching it on the huge screen was just perfection to me, having missed it upon its theatrical run(s) in 1994.

I didn't see Beauty and the Beast on IMAX, so I can't compare, but the visuals and remastered soundtrack were pretty incredible on The Lion King. Only a few changes that I noticed to the film, most didn't bother me. The most obvious were the studio logo change at the beginning, the 'controversial' dust in the clouds, and the vision of Mufasa in the clouds. I imagine this IMAX version will be labeled "The Theatrical Cut" on the DVD. I'd love for it to get a DTS track.

The new sequence - "The Morning Report" - will be added only to the DVD. I don't know why Disney bothers - it's not as if The Lion King is NOT going to sell millions of copies on DVD if it's the original theatrical cut. It's still the highest-selling videocassette of all-time.

Anyhow, I expect an announcement sometime soon. Beauty and the Beast was announced March 1 of last year.

Good read and I agree with you.. I've even hear that the estate of Tezuka have said that whether it was coincidence or not, he would have been greatly honored since he was REALLY inspired by early Disney. And you can kind of even tell that by looking at his comics!!

I saw The Lion King on the IMAX on Christmas Day and was a really great way to end the day. I agree it wasn't as good as Beauty and the Beast, with no additonal seens. But Lion King doesn't need any anyway. It was just great to see since I have not seen it for a while, I forgot how great this movie is.

Whats up with new scene, "The Morning Report" you guys are talking about I have not heard anything about it?

According to what I read, they changed the famous cloud/dust sequence where is supposingly says "sex".

It's in the Broadway show and essentially is just a musical version of the morning report that Zazu gives Mufasa that IS in the movie. Not sure how they're going to integrate it into the film, since it would be somewhat repetitive. The song isn't even that good, really. Several notches below the existing film songs. You can download it from Kazaa if you're so inclined.

Is it still in theaters?

anyone know when it will be issued out of the IMAX experience?

Yes, it's still playing in 66 theaters, which is as many as it's ever been playing in. These IMAX features tend to stick around a while, so I imagine it will still be playing for a few more months. Don't know if there's a scheduled stop time, but surely before the October DVD release.

May is the stop time.