The year was 1997(My birth year.... actually....)
Out of nowhere, George Lucas announced to the world that he was rereleasing the original STAR WARS trilogy not just to celebrate the 20th anniversary since A NEW HOPE's 1977 premiere but also to enhance the films with a little Computer magic he had not access to viably or financially back in the mid-70s to the mid-80s.
And reception to these SPECIAL EDITIONS were rather mixed.....obviously.
Amidst all that, DISNEY caught wind and decided to do the same to their RENAISSANCE ERA films as a way to mock LUCAS for his tampering of his own films.....
But only when the time is right with the right technology.
Fast forward 5 years later in 2002,
Having felt that FANTASIA 2000 was successful enough to justify the SPECIAL EDITION treatment for the films as well as faith in the CANADIAN IMAX technology,
DISNEY went ahead and selected a handful of RENAISSANCE ERA films to convert to the IMAX format.
And those films were
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(1991)
and
One reason they chose their RENAISSANE ERA is because that was the era their 2D animation went entirely digital and because the assets were archived into the COMPUTER, it made rendering into the IMAX format much easier than simply getting an existing 35MM print and blowing it up for 15/70MM filmstock since the film can be re-rendered with a difference virtual lens and still be considered 70MM native.
But this would not be any ordinary rerelease into the IMAX format.
These films would introduce a new Musical Number as well as several pieces of animation that had to be changed due to animator/director/production staff displeasure with what happened in the original release.
The first is HUMAN AGAIN.
This song was removed from the original 1990-1991 production because the producers were having a hard time trying to fit the song into the film's narrative.
That and songwriter HOWARD ASHMAN was in the final stages of his AIDS diagnosis.
ASHMAN would later die in MARCH 14 1991
Years later, ASHMAN's colleague ALAN MENKEN would eventually find a way to fit HUMAN AGAIN into the story through it's BROADWAY MUSICAL and when that was proven to be a success with audiences, It finally convinced MENKEN to want to reinsert the song into the film come forth the film's IMAX & PLATINUM EDITION DVD release in 2002.
THE LION KING would later get the same treatment with it's IMAX release in the late fall of 2002 and it too had a song inserted, again due to the BROADWAY MUSICAL preceding said release.
That song in question is THE MORNING REPORT.
This musical number still kept elements of the POUNCING LESSON but replaced much of the original scene where it was just ZAZU speaking off-screen and the POUNCING LESSON was more of an actual part of the dialogue instead of being a part of the number.
The original scene would be preserved in DVDs, Blu-Rays, etc. with the extra musical number being relegated to being a bonus feature on home media.
That's not to say everybody was happy with these changes in the IMAX releases.
For example, in THE LION KING, they changed the crocodiles and birds that appeared in the number "I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO BE KING!".
These are what the original CROCODILES were susposed to look like
alongside the BIRDS that were cleaning their mouths.
In the IMAX release, the Crocodiles were changed
And so were their Birds
So.... Why did they changed both the Crocodiles and Birds?
Well I've done some research:
According to the late ROGER ALLERS, he didn't like how the original Crocodiles looked in the original 1994 theatrical release because they looked rushed which makes sense due to how the film was in a rush to meet a deadline while POCAHONTAS was given some time for completion a little later down the line.
In my mind, the crocodiles and birds were changed so that they fit the look and feel of an IMAX film.
Just like how people complain about changing the GREEDO scene in A NEW HOPE,
I have a hunch that people complained about the fact that the IMAX CROCODILES have remained in the film throughout it's later DVD, BLU-RAY, & 4K Streaming releases.
Maybe that's why some people preferred to hold on to their VHS/Laserdisc Copies of THE LION KING due to the original crocodiles.
As for how I got the Original Crocodiles in such a HIGH-RES format for the screenshots?
I found a 35MM print on ARCHIVE.ORG.
Anyway.
When the BOX-OFFICE receipts for both the regular and IMAX release of TREASURE PLANET turned out to be less than impressive for DISNEY back in the early to mid-2000s, they shut down further releases until the time was right which meant that it also killed the planned rerelease of ALADDIN(1992) in the IMAX format.
To be honest, IMAX was also trying a bit too hard back in the early 2000s to break away from exclusively showing documentaries in favor of branching into HOLLYWOOD showings.
But because of the expensive nature of developing the required filmstock as well as having to re-render the films from the original CAPS masters,
And the fact that IMAX at the time had their GT
& SR Auditoriums
which were also costly to build since they were purposed built,
It's clear the ticket sales won't be up to snuff.
This lead to IMAX to develop the controversial MPX and DIGITAL AUDITORIUMS which were existing larger stadium seating auditoriums that were retrofitted to have larger screens and more powerful speakers than what a regular auditorium could have had.
The MPX and DIGITAL Auditoriums are controversial because not only do they use retrofitted auditoriums that aren't purpose built for the filmstock, but they also skimp out on certain amenities that make IMAX Unique.
One of those amenities is the ASPECT RATIO which while still true to be advertised as a larger than a CINEMASCOPE rendered film,
They still aren't of the proper aspect ratio IMAX is known for.
No wonder IMAX afficionados refer to these retrofitted auditoriums as LIEMAX.
Only good thing about......LIEMAX is that they still retain the powerful SPEAKERS IMAX is known for so that at least gives more punch to the AUDIO compared to the other auditoriums.
in 2015, IMAX introduced their LASER PROJECTION System which not only brings back the original tall aspect ratio of IMAX but also brightens up the colors and darkens the blacks.
Though not every theater does this.
Only the original GT & the later MPX/DIGITAL(aka LIEMAX) theaters have been fitted with the LASERS while the SR Auditoriums are left with their digital projectors or if they still retain them, their original 70MM projectors.
Makes me wish CANADA PLACE in VANCOUVER never shut down the IMAX theater they had there but for many years after the 2009 closing of the CN location,
I had to travel long distances to SILVERCITY RIVERPORT in RICHMOND or the COLLOSUS theater in LANGLEY just to get my IMAX fix.
While I'm happy that the SCOTIABANK theater in DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER finally got it's IMAX theater in 2024, that was just retrofitting an existing AVX auditorium to use IMAX technology and that to me defeats the purpose.
And I still haven't watch THE ODDYSEY yet but I plan to in AUGUST..... when the 70MM prints are still in RICHMOND or LANGELY and the best seats are still available.
