The Lion King

The Lion King is an animated movie made by Walt Disney in 1994. It was the most successful animated movie of the 1990s. The movie is about a young lion prince who learns about his role as prince and in the circle of life. It is dedicated to Frank Wells, who was the president of The Walt Disney Company and died shortly before the movie was released into theaters on June 15, 1994. It was the first full-length Disney movie to feature no human characters since Bambi. Much of the voice acting work was done by well-known actors, including Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Rowan Atkinson, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. The Lion King is a musical; the songs have music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice. Computer animation was used a lot when making the movie, like during the song "Circle of Life" and others. When they were making it, this movie was thought of as just "alright" compared to the movie they were going to make after that, which would be Pocahontas. The studio released the trailer, and found that many people liked it, especially the song "Circle of Life". When it was released, the movie became the most successful movie worldwide (in the United States, Forrest Gump was most successful of that year) and the most successful animated feature movie of all time until Finding Nemo. Since then, Shrek 2 has become more successful than Finding Nemo, making The Lion King the third most successful.

The Lion King
Directed by	Roger Allers Rob Minkoff
Produced by	Don Hahn
Written by	Irene Mecchi Jonathan Roberts Linda Woolverton
Story by	Jim Capobianco Lorna Cook Thom Enriquez Andy Gaskill Francis Glebas Ed Gombert Kevin Harkey Barry Johnson Mark Kausler Jorgen Klubien Larry Leker Rick Maki Burny Mattinson Joe Ranft Chris Sanders Tom Sito Gary Trousdale
Based on	Hell's Gate, Naivasha, Kenya
Starring	Matthew Broderick James Earl Jones Jeremy Irons Jonathan Taylor Thomas Moira Kelly Nathan Lane Ernie Sabella Rowan Atkinson Robert Guillaume Madge Sinclair Whoopi Goldberg Cheech Marin Jim Cummings
Music by	Hans Zimmer
Edited by	Ivan Bilancio
Production company	Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Feature Animation
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release date	June 15, 1994 (1994-06-15)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$45 million
Box office	$987.5 million

The movie was also made into an award-winning stage musical. The stage show first opened on November 13, 1997 in New York City, and it was a big success. A version opened later in London, England. Many other shows of The Lion King have been shown across the world, and is one of the United Kingdom's biggest and most popular shows.

In 2019, a live action remake was released.

Release Date

Country	Premiere
Israel	23 June 1994
Canada	24 June 1994
Tunisia	24 June 1994
United States	24 June 1994
Uruguay	24 June 1994
Chile	30 June 1994
Colombia	30 June 1994
Brazil	1 July 1994
South Korea	2 July 1994
Venezuela	6 July 1994
Argentina	7 July 1994
Mexico	7 July 1994
Hong Kong	8 July 1994
Peru	8 July 1994
Taiwan	10 July 1994
Japan	23 July 1994
Singapore	10 August 1994
Norway	18 August 1994
Australia	25 August 1994
New Zealand	25 August 1994
Thailand	October 1994
United Kingdom	7 October 1994
Philippines	12 October 1994
Ireland	21 October 1994
Indonesia	24 October 1994
India	29 October 1994
Switzerland	November 1994 (French speaking region)
Spain	8 November 1994
Belgium	9 November 1994
France	9 November 1994
Germany	17 November 1994
Austria	18 November 1994
Switzerland	18 November 1994 (German speaking region)
Denmark	18 November 1994
Poland	18 November 1994
Sweden	18 November 1994
South Africa	23 November 1994
Netherlands	24 November 1994
Italy	25 November 1994
Greece	1 December 1994
Hungary	1 December 1994
Slovakia	1 December 1994
Finland	2 December 1994
Iceland	2 December 1994
Portugal	2 December 1994
Slovenia	4 December 1994
Croatia	8 December 1994
Czech Republic	15 December 1994
Russia	20 January 1995
Turkey	20 January 1995
China	15 July 1995
Estonia	3 May 1996
Madagascar	15 November 1996
Togo	2 May 1997

3D Version

Country	Premiere
Ukraine	28 July 2011
Mexico	12 August 2011
Israel	25 August 2011
Peru	25 August 2011
Brazil	26 August 2011
Poland	26 August 2011
South Africa	26 August 2011
Croatia	14 September 2011
Canada	16 September 2011
Paraguay	16 September 2011
United States	16 September 2011
Iceland	23 September 2011
Turkey	30 September 2011
Netherlands	5 October 2011
Argentina	6 October 2011
Greece	6 October 2011
United Kingdom	7 October 2011
Ireland	7 October 2011
Pakistan	7 October 2011
Japan	8 October 2011
Kuwait	13 October 2011
Taiwan	14 October 2011
Malaysia	20 October 2011
Hong Kong	22 October 2011
Singapore	25 October 2011
Malta	9 November 2011
Germany	10 November 2011
Italy	11 November 2011
Philippines	14 December 2011
Spain	21 December 2011
Portugal	22 December 2011
South Korea	29 December 2011
Sweden	6 January 2012
Norway	13 January 2012
Finland	20 January 2012
Kazakhstan	20 March 2012
Russia	22 March 2012
France	11 April 2012

The story

In the fictional opening scene, lots of animals and birds gather at Pride Rock to see Simba, the new prince who has just been born. Simba is the son of Mufasa and Sarabi. Rafiki picks up Simba and lifts him high up so that all of the animals can see. The animals celebrate and rejoice. But Scar, Mufasa's brother, is jealous because Simba will be king instead of him.

Scar lies to Simba about a dangerous place called the Elephant Graveyard. Scar says that only brave lions go there, causing Simba to be interested, even though Mufasa has forbidden Simba from going there. Simba lies to his mother, Sarabi, about going to the Water Hole when he is actually going to the Elephant Graveyard. Simba's best friend Nala and Zazu, the king's messenger, go with Simba. Simba and Nala trick Zazu with the song "I Just Can't Wait to be King" and run away from him. Simba and Nala find the Elephant Graveyard but are chased by the three hyenas Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Mufasa saves his son and Nala and takes them both home. Mufasa speaks to Simba alone and explains to Simba that being brave is not about looking for danger. He also explains that the great kings of the past look down from the stars and watch over Simba. Scar, in the Elephant Graveyard, is angry with the hyenas because they did not kill Simba. It is revealed that the hyenas are working for Scar during Scar's song "Be Prepared".

The next day Scar takes Simba into a gorge (long, deep hole in the ground - also known as a "valley") where he explains that Mufasa has a wonderful surprise waiting. Scar has actually planned a wildebeest stampede with the hyenas. Simba is trapped in the gorge as the wildebeest run towards him. Scar tells Mufasa that Simba is in trouble and Mufasa rescues his son. Scar then throws Mufasa into the stampede and Mufasa dies. Scar blames Simba for the death of Mufasa and Simba runs away. Scar becomes king and tells everyone that Simba and Mufasa are dead. Simba runs to a desert and collapses. He is rescued by Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. Timon and Pumbaa live in the jungle and are very relaxed, which they show in their song "Hakuna Matata". Timon and Pumbaa look after Simba until Simba is an adult lion.

One day a lioness (female lion) comes to the jungle and tries to kill and eat Pumbaa. Simba fights the lioness because he wants to save Pumbaa's life. While the two lions are fighting Simba finds out that the lioness is his friend Nala. They are very happy to see each other and they fall in love. Nala wants Simba to go home and fight Scar because Scar is a bad king. Simba will not go home because he thinks that he killed Mufasa and he does not want his family to know. Rafiki comes to the jungle and takes Simba to a field. In the sky above the field Mufasa's ghost appears and tells Simba that he must go home because Simba is the right king. After this Simba goes home to Pride Rock. Nala, Timon and Pumbaa follow him. When they get to Pride Rock they find that the land is dry and the animals have gone.

At Pride Rock, Simba sees Scar hitting Sarabi. This makes Simba's love for Scar turn to pure hatred and he tries to make Scar step down. Scar does not and makes Simba fall over the edge of Pride Rock. Simba does not fall and holds on to the edge. Scar thinks that he was won so he tells Simba the truth about the death of Mufasa - that Scar actually killed Mufasa. Simba is upset and a big fight happens. The lionesses fight the hyenas and Simba fights Scar. While the fighting is going on lightning hits a dead tree and starts a fire. Simba and Scar battle on top of Pride Rock. Scar does not want to die and lies to Simba that the hyenas are to blame for everything. Another fight happens and Simba throws Scar over the edge. Scar does not die after the fall, but the hyenas attack and kill him the hyenas are angry that Scar blamed them. Rain falls and puts out the fire. Simba walks to the top of Pride Rock and roars. Much later the animals come back. At the end of the movie, Rafiki picks up Kiara, the daughter of Simba and Nala, and lifts her up high above Pride Rock so the animals below can see.

Characters

• Simba - Nala's eventual husband, Mufasa and Sarabi's son, Scar's nephew, and the future king of the Pridelands.
• Nala - Simba's eventual wife and the future queen of the Pridelands.
• Timon and Pumbaa - A meerkat and a warthog who adopt Simba as a cub.
• Mufasa - King of the Pridelands at the start of the film, Simba's father, Scar's older brother, and Sarabi's husband.
• Scar - Simba's arch-nemesis and paternal uncle, Mufasa's arch-rival and younger brother, and Sarabi's brother-in-law.
• Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed - Three hyenas who are Scar's henchmen.
• Rafiki - A Mandrill shaman.
• Zazu - A hornbill who serves as adviser to The Lion King.
• Sarabi - Simba's mother, Mufasa's wife, and Scar's sister-in-law.
• Sarafina - Nala's mother.
• Kiara - Simba and Nala's newborn daughter who appears at the end of the film.

Voices

Actor	Role(s)
Matthew Broderick	Simba
Moira Kelly	Nala
Nathan Lane	Timon
Ernie Sabella	Pumbaa
James Earl Jones	Mufasa
Jeremy Irons	Scar
Whoopi Goldberg	Shenzi
Cheech Marin	Banzai
Jim Cummings	Ed Mole
Robert Guillaume	Rafiki
Rowan Atkinson	Zazu
Madge Sinclair	Sarabi
Zoe Leader	Sarafina
Jonathan Taylor Thomas	Young Simba
Niketa Calame	Young Nala

Singing voices

Singer	Role
Joseph Williams	Simba
Sally Dworsky	Nala
Jeff Bennett	Zazu (The Morning Report)
Jim Cummings	Scar (last part of Be Prepared)
Jason Weaver Evan Saucedo (The Morning Report)	Young Simba
Laura Williams	Young Nala

Supervising animators

Animator	Character(s)
Ruben A. Aquino	Simba
Tony Fucile	Mufasa
Andreas Deja	Scar
Mark Henn	Young Simba
Michael Surrey	Timon
Tony Bancroft	Pumbaa
James Baxter	Rafiki
Anthony DeRosa	Nala
Ellen Woodbury	Zazu
David Burgess Alex Kupershmidt	Shenzi Banzai Ed
Russ Edmonds	Sarabi
Aaron Blaise	Young Nala

Crew

Crew Position
Directed by	Roger Allers Rob Minkoff
Produced by	Don Hahn
Written by	Irene Mecchi Jonathan Roberts Linda Woolverton
Executive Producers	Thomas Schumacher Sarah McArthur
Songs by	Sir Tim Rice Sir Elton John
Original Score by	Hans Zimmer John Powell
Associate Producer	Alcie Dewey
Art Director	Andy Gaskill
Production Designer	Christopher Sanders
movie Editors	John Carnochan Tom Finan
Artistic Supervisors	Brenda Chapman (Story supervisor) Dan St. Pierre (Layout supervisor) Doug Ball (Background supervisor) Vera Lanpher (Clean-up supervisors) Scott Santoro (Effects supervisor) Scott F. Johnston (Computer Graphics supervisor)
Artistic Coordinator	Randy Fullmer
Supervising Animators	Mark Henn (Young Simba) Ruben A. Aquino (Adult Simba) Andreas Deja (Scar) Tony Fucile (Mufasa) Tony Bancroft (Pumbaa) Michael Surrey (Timon) Aaron Blaise (Young Nala) Anthony de Rosa (Adult Nala) Ellen Woodbury (Zazu) Russ Edmonds (Sarabi) James Baxter (Rafiki) David Burgess & Alex Kuperschmidt (Banzai/Shenzi/Ed)
Production Manager	Dana Axelrod

Box office performance

Source	Gross (USD)	% Total	All Time Rank
Domestic	$328,541,776 ($312,855,561 initially)	41.9%	16
Foreign	$455,300,000	58.1%	N/A
Worldwide	$783,841,776	100.0%	19
Domestic Opening Weekend	$40,888,194	13.1%	99
Domestic Adjusted (2007)	$508,185,200	N/A	24

Awards and nominations

The Lion King received many award nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Original Score (by Hans Zimmer) and the Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, both of which it won. The song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John and Tim Rice won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, the BMI Film Music Award, and the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance Male.

These are the awards:

• Academy Awards
  • Best Original Score (Won)
  • Best Original Song for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Won)
  • Best Original Song for "Circle of Life" (Nominated)
  • Best Original Song for "Hakuna Matata" (Nominated)
• Golden Globe Awards
  • Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Won)
  • Best Original Score (Won)
  • Best Original Song for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Won)
  • Best Original Song for "Circle of Life" (Nominated)
• Annie Awards
  • Best Animated Feature (Won)
  • Best Achievement for Voice Acting to Jeremy Irons for voicing Scar (Won)
  • Best Individual Achievement for Story Contribution in the Field of Animation (Won)
  • Best Individual Achievement for Artistic Excellence in the Field of Animation (Nominated, lost to The Nightmare Before Christmas.)
• Saturn Awards
  • Best Fantasy Film (Nominated, lost to Forrest Gump.)
  • Best Performance by a Younger Actor to Jonathan Taylor Thomas for voicing young Simba (Nominated, lost to Kirsten Dunst for Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles.)
  • Best DVD Classic Film Release in 2004 (Nominated, lost to The Adventures of Robin Hood.)
• British Academy Film Awards
  • Award for Best Sound (Nominated, lost to Speed.)
  • Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music (Nominated, lost to Backbeat.)
• BMI Film & TV Awards
  • BMI Film Music Award for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Won)
  • Most Performed Song from a Film "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Won)
• Grammy Award
  • Best Vocal Performance Male to Elton John for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Won)
  • Song of the Year for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Nominated, lost to "Streets of Philadelphia" from Philadelphia.)
  • Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Nominated, lost to "Streets of Philadelphia" from Philadelphia.)
  • Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Circle of Life" (Nominated, lost to "Streets of Philadelphia" from Philadelphia.)
  • Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television (Nominated, lost to Schindler's List.)
• MTV Movie Awards
  • Best Villain for Jeremy Irons (Nominated, lost to Dennis Hopper for Speed.)
  • Best Song From A Movie for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Nominated, lost to "Big Empty" from The Crow.)
• Kids' Choice Awards
  • Favorite Movie (Won)

Sequels and spin-offs

The Lion King was so successful that Disney created a sequel called The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and a television series called The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa. A second sequel, The Lion King 1½, was released on February 10, 2004. A preschool series called The Lion Guard is currently airing on Disney Junior.

The Lion King had a special edition that was released in IMAX cinemas.

Controversies

"SEX"

In one scene of the movie it looks as if animators had written the word "sex" into some of the frames of animation. However, they wanted to show the letters "SFX" (meaning "special effects"). In The Lion King DVD the word has been taken out.

Kimba the White Lion

Kimba the White Lion is an animated TV show from the 1960s. It was made in Japan by Osamu Tezuka. Some characters and parts of the story in The Lion King are similar to Kimba the White Lion but Disney has said that it was not done on purpose.

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

In one scene with Timon and Pumbaa they both sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". This has caused disputes between Disney and the family of South African Solomon Linda, who composed the song (originally titled "Mbube") in 1939. In July 2004, the family went to court, seeking $1.6 million in royalties from Disney. In February 2006, Linda's heirs (family) reached a legal settlement with Abilene Music, who held the worldwide rights and had licensed the song to Disney for an undisclosed amount of money.

Hidden racism

Upon its release, some critics complained that the hyenas in the movie were negative (bad) racial stereotypes of African-American people and Hispanic people. It has been said that "despicable hyena storm troopers speak...in racially coded accents that take on the nuances of the discourse of a decidedly urban, black, and Latino youth."

Hamas' propaganda

In August 2007, the Hamas terrorist group produced an animated propaganda (information) movie that made fun of the style of The Lion King. The programme was shown on their television station, Al-Aqsa TV. Hamas was shown as a lion that chased and killed rats that looked like members of the secular (separate from religion) Fatah group in Gaza. The programme was shown for a short time but was taken off the air for changes.

Songs

• "Circle of Life"
• "I Just Can't Wait to Be King"
• "Be Prepared"
• "Hakuna Matata"
• "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"
• "The Bait Song" (Timon & Pumbaa's Hula)

Titles in other languages

• Afrikaans: Die Leeukoning
• Albanian: Mbreti luan
• Arabic: الأسد الملك‎ (Al-Asad Al-Malik)
• Armenian: Առյուծ արքան
• Bulgarian: Цар Лъв
• Chinese: 獅子王
• Catalan: El rei lleó
• Croatian: Kralj lavova
• Czech: Lví král
• Danish: Løvernes konge
• Dutch: De Leeuwenkoning
• Estonian: Lõvikuningas
• Finnish: Leijonakuningas
• French: Le roi lion
• Georgian: მეფე ლომი
• German: Der König der Löwen
• Greek: Ο Βασιλιάς των Λιονταριών
• Hebrew: מלך האריות‎ (Melech Ha-Arayot)
• Hungarian: Az Oroszlánkirály
• Icelandic: Konungur Ljónanna
• Indonesian: Si Raja Singa
• Italian: Il Re Leone
• Japanese: ライオンキング (Raion Kingu)
• Korean: 라이온 킹
• Latvian: Karalis Lauva
• Lithuanian: Liūtas Karalius
• Maltese: L-Iljun Sultan
• Mandarin Chinese: 狮子王
• Norwegian: Løvenes Konge
• Persian: شیر شاه (Shir Shah)
• Polish: Król Lew
• Portuguese: O Rei Leão
• Romanian: Regele Leu
• Russian: Король-Лев
• Serbian: Kraљ Лавова
• Slovak: Leví kráľ
• Slovene: Levji Kralj
• Spanish: El Rey León
• Swedish: Lejonkungen
• Thai: เดอะไลอ้อนคิง
• Turkish: Aslan Kral
• Uzbek: Qirol Sher
• Vietnamese: Vua Sư Tử
• Welsh: Llew Frenin
• Zulu: Inkosi Bhubesi

References

Other websites

• The Lion King on IMDb
• The Lion King at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Official Disney page