Rob Minkoff Talks The Lion King 3D1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteLast month, I got to see one of the greatest animated movies of all time in a way I had never seen it before. Back in May, Disney announced that the 1994 classic The Lion King will be re-released in theaters with a brand new 3D conversion, for a limited two-week run starting on September 16. The Lion King will then make its debut in Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D on October 4, along with an eight-disc trilogy set as well.
I was invited to a special early screening of The Lion King 3D, and a press day where we were able to speak with some of the filmmakers and artists responsible for this classic, and the new 3D conversion. While I’ll hold off on my reaction to this new 3D experience, I thought I’d share one of the interviews from this press day with director Rob Minkoff.
Rob Minkoff started his filmmaking career at Disney in the 1980s as a character animator and designer on such movies as The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, and The Little Mermaid. He transitioned into directing shortly thereafter, with short films such as Tummy Trouble, Roller Coaster Rabbit, and Mickey’s Audition.
He made his feature debut with The Lion King, co-directing with Roger Allers, and now, nearly 20 years later, the director sat down with our assembled press corps to discuss this animated classic and its new 3D look. Rob Minkoff was also joined by Lella Smith, the creative director of the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, a sprawling facility in Glendale which houses over 65 million pieces of artwork from Disney films throughout the years. Take a look at what they both had to say below.
