The recent arrival of The Lion King live action film continues Disney’s efforts to bring its biggest animated movies to life in a new way and the DVD, Blu-ray and digital download release date will follow later in 2019 (details below). It builds on the massive success of the original film, which came out in 1994, so it’s shaping up to be one of the biggest family home entertainment releases of the year, whether it’s on iTunes, Xbox ONE, PS4 or Amazon digital.
AdvertisementThe story stays pretty close to the original film with a few live action tweeks here and there, but it’s all change for the majority of the voice cast. Donald Glover is in as big Simba with JD McCrary as young Simba, Seth Rogan plays Pumbaa, Billy Eichner plays Timon, Chiwetel Ejiofer takes over from Jeremy Irons as Scar, John Oliver picks up where Rowan Atkinson left off as Zazu and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter stars as Nala. The only significant returning voice actor from the original is James Earl Jones as Simba’s dad, Mufasa.
This is the fifth Disney live action film following on from Jungle Book in 2016, Beauty And The Beast In 2018, Dumbo in 2019 and the Aladdin adaptation earlier in 2019. The cinema release went on to be one of the highest grossing films of 2019, so The Lion King DVD, Blu-Ray and digital release will surely go on to be just as popular when it comes out later this year.
The upcoming film is sure to path the way for a raft of more live action adaptations in the future. Mulan has already been confirmed for 2020 and there are a number of untitled films scheduled all the up until 2023, so we could be in for everything from classics like Pinocchio, Bambi and Aristocats to more modern films like Up and Ratatouille.
You can see more from Disney at www.waltdisneystudios.com/.
DVD, Blu-ray, iTunes, Xbox ONE, PS4, Amazon and digital download release date UK
The Lion King live action DVD and Blu-ray release date is expected in November 2019 to give it a good build up to come out with plenty of time before Christmas. It’s definitely going to be one of the biggest presents on the wanted list during the winter holidays, and there’s sure to be 3D Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD versions of the film for high-def fans.
AdvertisementiTunes usually gets to release the digital download purchase a week earlier and that should be the case again here. It’ll be available on Xbox ONE, PS4 and Amazon digital on the same date as on DVD and Blu-ray, along with the rental version.
The 2019 live action adaptation of The Lion King is a couple of minutes short of 2-hours long, so the download size will be in the region of 5.2Gb of storage space at 1080p HD. As ever, it’s a good idea to check your PC, Mac, PS4 or Xbox ONE free space ahead of release to make sure you’ve got enough space.
UK cinema release
The Lion King live action had a UK cinema release date of Friday the 19th July 2019. It picked up the #1 spot at the box office in the US and the UK and while the reviews were mixed, fans clearly loved the end result with so droves catching it on the big screen. It had a very clear window at the box office with nothing significant out on the same weekend and Kursk: The Last Mission and The Dead Don’t Die our the week before.
You can follow Walt Disney Studios on its official Twitter page at twitter.com/DisneyStudios if you want to see more ahead of the home entertainment release.
The Lion King live action age rating
The cinema, DVD, Blu-ray and digital release for The Lion King live action has been given an age rating of PG from the British Board of Film Classification in the UK, which is a notch up on what you might expect considering the original had an age rating of U. The trailer below looks family friendly enough, but there are a few scenes that might be a bit much for younger kids in live action instead of cartoon form.
We’ll add in more details as they become available, including the DVD and Blu-ray special features, but the information above should give you a good idea of what to expect from the home entertainment release when it rolls around at the end of 2019.
Trailer
DVD special features
- Protect the Pride featurette
