Stefano Fresi and Edoardo Leo arrived at Giffoni welcomed as rock stars, as befits two iconic Walt Disney characters as Pumbaa and Timon. Twenty five years after the original cartoon was released, The Lion King returns to cinema from 21 August with a brand new version. But first the two actors gave a sneak preview of the behind the scene of the dubbing of Simba’s best friends (who’s voiced by Marco Mengoni).
“When they tell you that Giffoni is extraordinary – started Leo – you just think it’s cool, an ordinary festival, that is. Then you finally arrive and from the very first step you realize you were wrong, it’s completely different from all the rest and absolutely crucial these days, when cinema and culture are deemed boring matters. Youth here are really passionate and eager to meet the talent, and therefore have great responsibility. I remember when, as a little child, I happened to bump into some artists: they always looked like lights to me. Well, I don’t pretend to be a light myself but, as someone who’s pretty active on social media, I try to pay attention to what kind of messages I covey”.
Referring to the Festival green theme, Leo took the opportunity to make a comparison as well as an appeal: “I would like to point out that the reality shown in the movie truly exists, in Africa. Yet nobody can say how long this will continue to exist. It’s up to all of us to preserve that natural environment otherwise we won’t see it again”.
To the youth asking his view about this year’s theme, Aria (Air), Stefano Fresi replied with a joke: “Joking aside – he went on -, I’ve missed Giffoni very much in these years of absence, because I’ve never been asked such intelligent questions again. Giffoni jurors are highly prepared: they know things about me and my job that even my own mother ignores”.
