The trailer for 'The Dark Knight Rises' first debuted on Dec. 18, and gave audiences a two-minute sampling of Batman's final adventure with Christian Bale as the dualistic Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan in the director's chair. On Dec. 30, an excellent parody of the trailer debuted, using audio from The Dark Knight Rises with video footage from Disney's 'The Lion King.' The result is a masterpiece, and a triumph for video editing.

The parody, called The Lion King Rises, brilliantly weaves together the storylines from 'The Lion King' with the subtext from 'The Dark Knight Rises.' For example, the first line in the trailer, which belongs to Wayne's butler Alfred (Michael Caine), is delivered in the parody by Zazu, Simba's protector and Mufasa's friend.

You are as precious to me as you were to your own mother and father, Alfred/Zazu said. I swore to them that I would protect you, and I haven't.

The author of the parody, director/editor Brad Hansen, also dubs The Lion King characters with the voiceovers from The Dark Knight Rises. The foreboding tone of 'The Dark Knight Rises' trailer is also captured with short, brooding shots of 'The Lion King' characters from later in the film, when Simba's uncle Scar steals the throne and turns Simba's once-pleasant home into a decrepit, dingy site teeming with goons, or in this case, hyenas.

The original trailer is visually enticing, but this Lion King parody is downright clever and impressive. What do you think? Watch 'The Lion King Rises' below, and then watch 'The Dark Knight Rises' beneath that, and let us know your impressions.

'The Dark Knight Rises' will be released on July 20, 2012.