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Jon Favreau: The Lion King is such a beloved property. I knew that I had to be very careful with it

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Jul 10, 2019, 11:56 AM IST
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Photograph:(Instagram)

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‘The Lion King’ will release in India on July 19 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

‘The Lion King’ director Jon Favreau opened up about his upcoming film that will bring to the audience a live-action version of one of the most-loved movies in history. 
 
In a statement, Jon said, "It's such a beloved property. Disney has had tremendous success with the original animated version and then the Broadway musical. I knew that I had to be very careful with it. I felt a tremendous responsibility not to screw it up.” See trailer here. 
 
"I wanted to demonstrate that we could be respectful of the source material while bringing it to life using mind-blowing techniques and technologies," he added.
 
For reimagining the world of Disney's 1994 classic, he revealed how he stayed true to the classic story of Simba and used pioneering filmmaking techniques to bring the iconic characters to the big screen in a whole new way.
 
Apparently, a trip to Africa pointed him in the direction of ‘The Lion King’. He revealed, "I went on a safari to Africa six months prior to first talking to Disney about doing this film.”
 
"I remember when a warthog ran by our safari vehicle, one of the people in our group started singing 'Hakuna Matata'. And then when we saw lions up on a rock, they all said, 'Oh, look, it looks like Lion King'. This story has become a frame of reference that everybody now knows and accepts.
 
"It pops up in music, on TV shows, in comedy routines, as part of sketches. It's continually referenced. It's such a deep part of our culture that it felt like there was a tremendous opportunity to build on that and to retell the story in a different medium."
 
‘The Lion King’ will release in India on July 19 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. In Pictures: From 'Aladdin' to 'Lion King': The trend of dubbing Hollywood films in Hindi

Jon was previously associated with another hit film ‘Jungle Book’.