The Lion King - Definitive Gift Set Ideas

[Jake Lipson]

When the Lion King gift set popped up online for pre-order, I was initally worried that it would be the DVD bundled with some stupid new plush, like Hasbro's forthcoming "My Singin' Simba" and/or "Feed Me Pumbaa." So naturally I was pleasntly suprised and impressed with the gift set we're going to get, and it's going to be mine in a matter of days. But there are still some things I'd like to see included in there that aren't in there. So, I was wondering, if you could create your dream Lion King boxed set, what would be in it? The Platinum Edition DVD is of course a mandatory inclusion, but what other merchendise would you inculde?

Mine would include the following:

- standard The Lion King Platinum Edition DVD (of course)
- all extra memorabelia in the official gift set
- The Lion King: A Giant Leap book released in December 2002
- Special Edition CD soundtrack
- Exclusive bonus DVD featuring:
a) the original 1994 making of doccumentary
b) the short promotional piece shown at IMAX lobbies before showtimes about the restoration and IMAXification of the film
c) all Lion King DVD trailers as they appear on other Disney DVD releases
d) Exclusive DVD debut of the Timon & Pumbaa TV show pilot episode
- Replica of Disney Store preorder lithographs from 1995 and 2003 releases

[Luke]

That sounds very good and I'd also throw in the lithographs that Disney is giving away with them, a film cell, and a replica of the poster artwork. Oh and one of those little melons that Rafiki is fond of. (Just kidding about that.) Oh, and a CD-ROM of "The Lion King" video game.

The bonus disc would be really awesome - the laserdisc set had a special disc with the TV documentary, and since they missed the boat by excluding it from the DVD set, that'd be a fabulous inclusion.

Dare to dream.

[Jake Lipson]

Yeah. I would actulally have liked the movie poster, too, possibly in addition to or instead of the lithographs.

I agree that they made a big mistake by excluding the 1994 doc from the DVD. But as evidenced by the thread in off topic about a UK launch party for TLK, Disney considers it EPK material and thinks that they've "gone beyond" it with their new featurettes created for the DVD (not unlike what George Lucas thinks of his original versions of the original Star Wars trilogy.) It's a shame.

As for the Timon and Pumbaa TV show, I'd be really shocked if a couple episodes don't end up as bonus features on The Lion King 1 1/2 next year. Then again Disney's probably not smart enough to put those on there. My original Beauty and the Beast VHS was taped off the Disney Channel in 1994, and immidately post the feature they had an EPK-intended but really really great and in-depth doccumentary on the making of the Broadway show, which was hosted by Robbie Benson. If they were smart that would've been ported over to the Beauty DVD, instead of just text screens about the musical. Sigh.

Anyway - ooooh yeah, nice idea about the video game and film cell! And while we're at it, why not throw in an exclusive extended preview of The Lion King 1 1/2 on the bonus disc (simmilar to the LOTR theatrical-version DVDs having a preview of the next installment of the trilogy.)

What are those melons that Rafikki likes called?

[indianajdp]

A Film Cell, replica poster AND PC Game...?
Now we're talking.

That's something I would have had no problems shelling out $50 for.

[Luke]

What are those melons that Rafikki likes called?

I don't know, but they're good for both eating and anointing. Must be even better than mangoes.

That'd be cool for them to include Timon & Pumbaa episodes on The Lion King 1 1/2 DVD, but this is the same group of people who are releasing Lizzie McGuire episodes $5 SRP each, 4 on a disc for $20 SRP, when they could fit twice that. It's mind-boggling how they're just sitting on so much good animated and live-action TV content.

[Jack]

I can't think of much to add to your idea Jake, but I think it'd also be cool to get a few film cells, like they included with E.T.'s box set as well as Star Wars: Episode I's.

[Jake Lipson]

Overnight I slept on this and thought about even more cool items to include. How about a souvineer program from The Lion King on Broadway and a copy of the original cast recording on CD? And a copy of Julie Taymor's book "Pride Rock on Broadway" would be nice, too.

Also - if you believe Jim Hill, Disney moved Brother Bear up a year just so they could cross-promote it with a trailer on The Lion King DVD. So how about throwing in Phil Collins' Brother Bear CD single "Look Through My Eyes" and a free ticket to see Brother Bear in theaters?

[Jack]

Overnight I slept on this and thought about even more cool items to include. How about a souvineer program from The Lion King on Broadway and a copy of the original cast recording on CD? And a copy of Julie Taymor's book "Pride Rock on Broadway" would be nice, too.

Also - if you believe Jim Hill, Disney moved Brother Bear up a year just so they could cross-promote it with a trailer on The Lion King DVD. So how about throwing in Phil Collins' Brother Bear CD single "Look Through My Eyes" and a free ticket to see Brother Bear in theaters?

How about a million dollars too? That'd be cool.

[Luke]

Cool ideas, Jake.

And I think a signed Ferris Bueller poster from Matthew Broderick would be neat, too. Ohhhhhh yeah.

[2099net]

All I want is:

Bonus Disc 1 [DVD]:
The original 1994 television special 'The Making of the Lion King' hosted by Robert Guillaume.
The premiere episode of the 'Timon and Pumbaa' animated series.

Bonus Disc 2 [CD]:
Original Soundtrack recording (including the new song - The Morning Report)

Commemerative Booklet:
A small 16-page insert detailing the production of the movie and broadway show

Packaging:
Packaged in a fold out digipak with slip cover. When unfolded, the digipak reveals a stunning image of the African grasslands.

It doesn't have to be anything special - it doesn't have to have assorted gimmicks and gubbins. Something like this should be simple to compile and release. In fact, I'm shocked Disney US isn't including the soundtrack - they would regularly include soundtrack CDs with their laserdiscs.

[Paka]

Yeah, I'm with Netty on this one - I'd rather keep it on a simpler scale. Think you're going a bit overboard on the extras, Jake. O_o

And I honestly don't know what's so great about the '94 "Making-Of" featurette that has fans wailing about its exclusion. It was just a half-hour show hosted by Robert Guillaume. I mean, I like archive material just as much as the next person, but isn't this just for completists?
However, if all the making-of stuff on the dvd is really fluffy, and the '94 one was more straightforward (as I understand it was), then there could be a valid point to wanting this old featurette. We'll just have to see how substantial the new dvd is...

I'm kinda disappointed, but not surprised, that they didn't include a little-known pencil-test of Scar that Andreas Deja did. It's a short slip (5 seconds or so) of a head shot of Scar saying "I've never been more serious." Then a paw from off-screen comes out of the right and slashes his face. He rubs his cheek with a smirk and says, "Hehehe... Nala, Nala, Nala..."
I'm serious. I met him once (way before I was really into animation, so I was less stoked about it than I would have been now ), and he showed several pencil tests, and that was one of them - got a big laugh, too. LOL
I'm sure there are several other little ditties like that made during production, but as we all know, they don't seem to be focusing on the film that much on this dvd - they need to make room for the new "Circle of Life" video, after all.

But anywho, Deja made that when they were considering putting the Scar/Nala drama into the film - and Deja also wanted to hammer the point home that Scar was not gay. LOL
But it's stuff like that that interests me - cut characters, cut sequences and abandoned concepts, names they went through, how they got those names, original treatment vs. final product, etc. Every teensy facet of this stuff fascinates me, and I wish Disney had gone more whole hog on that than they did. Instead, we get a 9-year-old audio commentary. *gag*

[Loomis]

Packaging:
Packaged in a fold out digipak with slip cover. When unfolded, the digipak reveals a stunning image of the African grasslands.

Do you mean to say that it "opens like a book"
Sorry...couldn't resist.

I actually like your ideas the most. I like simple, yet comprehensive extras - although a few of those things other people have mentioned would be cool too.

Timon & Pumbaa TV show pilot is something I thought would be an obvious inclusion on at least one of the upcoming LK discs - given that 1.5 focuses on them!

Something else I'd like to see included in more sets is the comic book tie-ins. There were a bunch of limited series following the successful movies of the early 90s (I know Little Mermaid & Beauty and the Beast has small runs). The Lion King didn't have a series per se, but there were 2 issues that served as an adaptation. As an avid comic collector this is something I would appreciate a reprint copy of with a set, but this may not have the wider appeal of say a soundtrack CD or a storybook. But hey - it's my wishlist and I can have a comic if I want to




And maybe that Ferris posters too, eh Luke?

[2099net]

My guess is we won't see any Timon and Pumbaa episodes on the Lion King 1.5/3. Look at other 'Special Editions' of the DTV sequels and they've been relatively poor. Heck, the some normal releases of DTV sequels (Scamp's Adventure for example) have been better then the rebranded 'Special Editions'.

I guess we will see the two Timon and Pumbaa music video shorts on 1.5/3 though.