Park’s influence on ‘Lion King’
Filmmakers studied Animal Kingdom creatures for authentic details.
Early in the morning, after the sleeping lions gradually awoke, it was time for their daily soundoff. A call, if you will, as the lion roared, all joining in, like they were acknowledging each other’s presence at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Only this time, listening in closely was a Disney film crew on assignment.
It was about two years ago, and a few dozen crew members visited Animal Kingdom and the park’s nearby lodge resort to observe the beasts of the theme park. They wanted to detail how snakes slithered and lions roared as they re-created the animals for “The Lion King” movie reboot that premiered July 18.
Venturing to Central Florida was certainly cheaper than traveling back to Kenya, like the crew did for the 1994 original film.
“From the get-go, the focus was on let’s capture the animals in the most natural environment as possible. And they were able to do that here at Animal Kingdom because we have this amazing habitat,” said Scott Terrell, director of Animal and Science Operations for Disney’s parks. “We made it really easy for them to capture what they needed.”
The crew included those who worked on the sound effects, cinematography and film’s technology, according to Terrell.
While it wasn’t the first time Hollywood has came to Animal Kingdom to observe the animals, it was the most in-depth and extensive research-gathering expedition as the crew spent nearly every day for four weeks at the park, said Terrell.
“This was definitely groundbreaking for us,” Terrell said.
Walt Disney World previously played a role in creating the original film, too. For it, Orlando animators produced 22 minutes of the 85-minute film back when Hollywood Studios had a working studio and was still called Disney-MGM Studios.
This time, in 2017, the crew typically started on the Kilimanjaro Safari in the mornings, observing the lions, wild beasts and other animals.
Animal Kingdom employees, who knew the animals and help decipher their behavior, traveled around the savannah with them.
There was the male of the lion pride, Dakari, with his massive body but a gentlemanly personality. The sisters, Kinsey and Kamari, who frolicked with each other, often in good-natured sibling rivalry.
In the afternoon, the crew’s attention turned to the smaller creatures, including snakes and birds or insects.
Sometimes, they took photographs or film. Other times, they focused on capturing the sound, like when animal keeper Lori Kurdziel helped them record in the barn, where the king of the cats roared as the sun rose.
“It was exciting,” said Kurdziel, an animal keeper who has worked at Disney for 19 years. “Here we have these animals that we’re using for this film, and we know them and we know the behaviors. And we know who’s who and when they’re calling.”
The finished result was “The Lion King,” a film, according to Los Angeles Times, where the talking animals, despite their real-life look, were created entirely using computer-generated imagery.