Disney's live-action-but-not-really-more-like-realistic-CGI version of the 1994 classic The Lion King JUST surpassed the $1 BILLION mark at the worldwide box office, which is WILD (no pun intended).
While the film itself is a genuine good time, the thing that has REALLY stood out to fans is just how REAL everything in the film looks.
Like...are we sure these aren't actual lions who have gained the ability to sing and speak like humans? No? Okay.
Anyway, director Jon Favreau revealed this week that the film — which was previously believed to be completely CGI — did, in fact, contain a single real-life image worked in:
"There are 1490 rendered shots created by animators and CG artists," Favreau wrote. "I slipped in one single shot that we actually photographed in Africa to see if anyone would notice."
"It is the first shot of the movie," Favreau wrote. "The shot that begins 'The Circle of Life.'"
It's a truly brilliant move because — by putting the shot at the very beginning of the film — it tricked the viewer into believing everything else they saw was EQUALLY real.
Needless to say, people's minds were BLOWN by learning this information:
@Jon_Favreau God damn, Jon I thought it was the shot of the mouse that Scar wants to eat. I was fooled I thought it was real. Also some shots of Simba and Mufasa I was convinced it was a real lion. CG has come a long way.
And, of course, it ALSO resulted in a lot of ridiculous jokes:
@Jon_Favreau
So, uh, yeah...there ya have it. I can't decide if this trick is amazing or absolutely horrifying, so I'll just chill somewhere in the middle for now.
