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LAS VEGAS: In a year of anticipated films, there are few with as high expectations as Jon Favreau‘s live-action adaptation of “The Lion King.” The seminal animated Disney musical was transformed into a Tony-Award winning musical that has kept the story alive for multiple generations. Throw in a voice cast that includes Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Earl Jones, John Oliver and the one and only Beyonce and you’re potentially at a cultural tipping point. Favreau has spent years working on “Lion King” after the impressive live-action breakthrough, “The Jungle Book,” and it looks like it’s about to pay off.

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None of the talent nor Favreau were on hand, but Disney Studios president of production Sean Bailey introduced an extended scene that blew away the packed Caesar’s Palace theater.

The sequence begins with an energetic, young Simba (JD McCary) jumping all over his sleeping father Mufasa (Jones) as his mother, Sarabi (Alfre Woodward), telling her husband he should get up and walk with their son. Mufasa groggily gets up and takes Simba to the high point that looks over the pride lands. He explains to him that as King, he is responsible for all the light touches but “a King’s time as ruler rises and falls like the sun.” Simba asks something akin to “what if the light touches more?” Mufasa says a king is great if he gives back to his people (not if he tries to acquire more).

As they walk in the valley, Mufasa teaches him about the careful balance of the Pride Lands. Simba asks, “But don’t we eat the antelope?” Mufasa says, “Yes, we do, but when we die, we will return to the earth” (or something along those lines). They are then interrupted by Zazu (voiced by John Oliver just exactly as you’d expect a frantic bird with Oliver’s voice to sound) who gives him the latest news from the kingdom while perched on a tree stump. With Zazu facing the opposite direction, Mufasa tells Simba to practice sneaking up on the hornbill. Simba hides in the grace and then pounces on Zazu knocking him off the stump. Zazu flies away annoyed and the scene comes to an end.

There was nothing else shown, but like the teaser trailer originally screened at CinemaCon and released last fall the photorealism of the footage was extraordinary. At times it appeared as tho Mufasa and Simba were real lions walking through the African plains. It might be jarring for fans of the original to hear a familiar voice such as Jones coming from a “different” Mufasa, but the adjustment will come. More importantly, Favreau and his team have taken such a jump from “The Jungle Book” there are many viewers who might assume there were real animals whose mouths were just digitally played with a bit.

Did we mention how extraordinary it was?

What this footage reaffirms is that not only does Disney have a blockbuster on its hands, but potentially a Best Picture player. That’s not a jump when you recognize the cinematic magic recapturing a classic tale before your eyes.

“The Lion King” opens nationwide on July 19.