---
title: "This Genius Used Deepfakes to “Fix” the New “The Lion King”"
description: "This Lion King deepfake brought some signature cartoony design elements back to Disney's new live-action \"The Lion King\" remake."
date: "2019-08-09"
modified: "2019-08-13"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/deepfakes-lion-king"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "ai"
  - "deepfake"
  - "lion king"
  - "the digest"
---

# This Genius Used Deepfakes to “Fix” the New “The Lion King”

![A new deepfake on YouTube brought some signature cartoony design elements back to Disney's new live-action "The Lion King" remake.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/deepfakes-lion-king.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Jonty X Ellejart via YouTube\</em\>*

## Circle Of Life

Last month, Disney released a remake of its classic film "The Lion King" — and which turned out to be a CGI spectacle that [critics said](<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_lion_king_2019>) "just doesn't work with the material."

Now, a [video on YouTube](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1HGgICqZ3c>) made by visual effects artist Jonty Pressinger shows how [deepfake technology](<https://futurism.com/congress-deepfakes-threat>) could be used to combine the two art styles — wide-eyed, expressive faces drawn in the style of the original film provide a more emotive, recognizable cast of characters when edited into the realism-focused style of the new film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1HGgICqZ3c

## Welcome Change

The video shows a side-by-side cut of the new film's trailer and the deepfake edits. Now, instead of looking like any other bewildered cat, Simba has the soulful visage one might expect from a Disney film. The villainous lion Scar once more has his signature, exquisitely-groomed black mane, and Pumbaa no longer looks like [some random, er, feral hog](<https://futurism.com/assault-rifles-feral-hogs-problem>).

The deepfake video used drawings by [artist Nikolay Mochkin](<https://www.instagram.com/ellejart/>), according to the description posted to YouTube. All in all, the video is the latest example of deepfakes being for a growing number of [art projects](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/deepfake-keanu-reeves-sesame-street>) instead of the [democracy-unraveling applications](<https://futurism.com/darpa-68-million-technology-deepfakes>) we expected.

**More on digital fur:** *["Digital Fur Technology" Will Turn Taylor Swift Into a Cat](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/digital-fur-technology-taylor-swift-cat>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)