“Lion King 3D” Inspires Slew of Disney Re-Issues in 3D

You've given Disney nearly 80 million reasons to delve into their back catalog, so who are they to ignore you?

With the re-release of "Lion King" in 3D taking in $79 million in just two weeks, Disney has announced that some of their more recent hits will be getting the same 3D treatment, reported Variety. Mark your calendars thusly:

"Beauty and the Beast" -- Jan. 13, 2012

"Finding Nemo" -- Sept. 14, 2012

"Monsters, Inc." -- Jan. 18, 2013

"The Little Mermaid" -- Sept. 13, 2013

And for good measure, they're releasing "Monsters University," a prequel to "Monsters, Inc." on June 21, 2013. Now it's hard to argue with the overall strategy, as 3D conversion on animation is relatively easy, and the profit margins on a re-release are absurd--to say nothing of the value of getting a new generation hooked on all the old toys and home video catalog... But we have to say we're confused by releasing "Monsters Inc." before releasing the prequel--does that make any sense? No, but it will still probably make a ton of money.

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