Disney's Answer to Shrek?

[Noah]

I've always wondered if Disney greenlit this project to be (in a way) their answer to Shrek. In 2001, Shrek parodied and spoofed nearly everything Disney had ever done (Princesses, Fairy Tales, etc.). They could have thought about making some sort of parody of one of their own works; one that was originally theirs and not based on public domain characters. So they decided to have Timon and Parody goof and make fun of every aspect of The Lion King. This movie started production in 2002, just one year after Shrekmania. Hmm... Any thoughts?

[DGFone]

Hmm. I doubt it. Lion King 1.5 was released in 2004, well into the Pixar era. If Disney wanted to make a parody in order to challenge Shrek, they would have had Pixar do it for them, so that they can at least compete in the CGI market.

The people who got 1.5 didn't get it because it was similar to Shrek. They got it because it was The Lion King.

[Noah]

I hadn't thought of that before. Have they ever said why they decided to go down a comedic path for this story compared to their last sequel?

[SimbasGuard]

Maybe because it was telling the story of a comedic character (and was a retelling of Lion King) so maybe the felt that doing a comedy was needed because the original movie is a drama. However I think that because Lion King 1 1/2 is (loosely) based on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which (from what I understand) is a parody of Hamlet. The filmmakers decided to do a parody of Lion King.

[TheLionPrince]

Well, first off, I believe Disney greenlit this movie because it was a Lion King movie (as stated by DGFone), and the first two movies were the best-selling home video releases at the time, and on top of that, an acclaimed Broadway musical and soundtracks.

Now, as for why the filmmakers chose the comedic route, I believe it was because at the time and still to this day, comedic animated movies were selling towards audiences, while darker movies like Atlantis: The Lost Empire flopped. So, it was a smart business move to make a Lion King movie be a light-hearted comedy.

Also, it could be because they wanted to do a parody of The Lion King like SimbasGuard stated in terms of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. After doing a parody of TLK in a Lilo & Stitch teaser trailer around that time, Disney was sure no stranger to poking fun at the film.

So, I don't think Shrek had any role in why TLK1.5 was made, though it is an interesting thought by the way.

[Pocahontas]

Perhaps, but this sequel was probably made for the same reassons every other Direct-to-DVD sequels are made for. Money . Excluding Pixar, that is.