Time Is a Flat Circle of Life in New “Lion King” TV Spot

If you were watching the Oscars on Sunday night, you got an early look at next year's winner for Best Visual Effects during the commercial break. A special one-minute spot for Jon Favreau's "live-action" remake of The Lion King was Disney's big moment, especially since they lost Best Animated Feature for the first time since the 2007 ceremony.

The ad didn't give us a different look than the teaser did three months ago – or from the original movie’s trailer, but I digress – it's sure to keep fans satiated until a full trailer drops, probably before Captain Marvel. Unlike many of my peers, I haven't gone for any of Disney's shameless nostalgia mining. Personally, I'm a little offended that they're regularly making a billion dollars on the laziest possible series of projects. I'd rather them re-release their classics on the big screen, but that's just me.

The Lion King boasts an all-star voice cast, including Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa, John Oliver as Zazu, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, and James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa. Check out the poster below.

The Lion King opens July 19, just a month after the original film's 25th anniversary.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.