The Last-Minute Fixes That Turned The Lion King into a Classic (Ep. 343)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Places & Travel, Society & Culture, Tv & Film

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jim Hill and Drew Taylor break down a very strange January weekend for animation and the box office. Between a massive snowstorm shutting down hundreds of theaters, surprise Oscar nominations, and some heartfelt remembrances of animation legends, this episode covers a lot of ground. There is industry news, Disney history, and a few thoughtful detours along the way. NEWS • How a nationwide snowstorm shut down more than 400 theaters and dragged the North American box office down to just $58 million for the weekend • Why Mercy managed to knock Avatar: Fire & Ash out of the top spot with a historically soft number one opening • Zootopia 2 crosses $400 million domestically and gets a confirmed digital and physical release timeline • Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Animated Short, including why KPop Demon Hunters looks like the current front-runner • A first look teaser for The Super Mario Brothers Galaxy Movie introduces Yoshi ahead of its April release FEATURE • A deep dive into the legacy of Roger Allers and how The Lion King was reshaped in the final weeks before release • Behind-the-scenes stories from Disney Animation’s most turbulent eras, including last-minute fixes that would never fly today • Remembering restoration legend Ron Stark of S/R Laboratories and his quiet but essential impact on animation history For this episode’s full show notes, click here. HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Drew Taylor - IG: @drewtailored | X: @DrewTailored | Website: drewtaylor.work FOLLOW • Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency SPONSOR Unlocked Magic helps you save on Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando tickets, sometimes up to 12 percent off. Plan your 2026 Central Florida trip with confidence at UnlockedMagic.com and be sure to tell them Drew and Jim sent you. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Redeem your lab bucks on free bet spins or even cash in for real money.
0:04.6	That's satisfaction from Lab Brooks.
0:06.4	And for extra satisfaction, here's the T's and C's.
0:08.6	Let's rock.
0:09.8	18 plus participates in selected promotions to get LabBucks.
0:15.3	Go get LabBugs.
0:17.5	Within them four offers or rewards. Lab bucks expire for T's and C's a bride. Welcome back to find out of tune back to find out when it's time to find tuning with Drew Taylor.
0:33.0	You're one-stop shop when it comes to animation news and commentary.
0:36.5	I'm entertainment writer Jim Hill and Mr. Taylor,
0:39.8	whose writings in the industry you can regularly read over on the rap and his musings on the
0:44.8	Mission Impossible movies you can still listen to over on Light the Fuse, the official Mission Impossible
0:51.4	podcast. Drew and I are recording this week's show on Sunday, January 25th, which is when there
1:00.6	is this massive snowstorm that's stretched across the United States right now, 900,000
1:07.0	people across the country currently without power, which is why more than 400 movie
1:12.6	theaters weren't up and running in the country this past weekend, which, as we'll discuss
1:18.1	in a moment, had an impact on the North American box office.
1:24.0	And we'll get to that, what that would have done to domestic ticket sales in a moment.
1:28.7	Not to mention the news from this past Friday when we found out which full-length animated films and which animated shorts wound up with Oscar nominations.
1:39.2	But before we get to that, Drew, you're actually headed out the door later, as soon as we finish up here
1:47.2	to do yet another one of your panel presentation of things, right? Yeah, I'm doing Q&As after two
1:54.4	different screenings of ARCO at the Century City Mall. So maybe some of the listeners of the show will be there, Jim, and they'll say hello.
2:03.1	But, yeah.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jim Hill Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.