Congratulations, humans: Last-minute Thanksgiving Day rumors that Disney would drop the first teaser trailer for the highly anticipated live-action remake of The Lion King turned out to be true — and there was much rejoicing.
Disney’s Lion King remake: the first trailer is finally here
The first teaser trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of The Lion King is as beautiful and warm-fuzzy as it is in your dreams.
Aja Romano wrote about pop culture, media, and ethics. Before joining Vox in 2016, they were a staff reporter at the Daily Dot. A 2019 fellow of the National Critics Institute, they’re considered an authority on fandom, the internet, and the culture wars.
The company sneakily released the trailer with almost no notice, save for an Instagram post by J.D. McCrary, who plays Young Simba, alerting fans that the trailer would drop sometime during the Cowboys/Redskins football game.
And lo, unto us the trailer appeared, and thus did the people of Earth gather around their screens and sing:
In keeping with the holiday spirit, the trailer is a comforting blanket of warm fuzziness, starting with the fact that it showcases a verbatim repeat of the legendary opening scene you know and love: when Rafiki the baboon presents the future king cub to his people. And yes, it’s just as adorable as you were hoping.
Add in the familiar Hans Zimmer score, the familiarity of James Earl Jones’s steady narration as he reprises his role as Mufasa, and the glow of watching a beautifully convincing CGI version of Simba blink his sleepy, confused eyes as he looks upon his domain for the first time, and it’s all calculated to give you a deep, sated holiday glow in your chest.
In other words, there’s no way you aren’t watching this a zillion times while you fumble blindly for the nearest box of tissues.
Happy Thanksgiving!
