   #copyright

The Lion King

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Films

                      The Lion King
          Promotional Poster for The Lion King
     Directed by   Roger Allers
                   Rob Minkoff
     Produced by   Don Hahn
     Written by    Irene Mecchi
                   Jonathan Roberts
                   Linda Woolverton
      Starring     Matthew Broderick
                   James Earl Jones
                   Jeremy Irons
                   Jonathan Taylor Thomas
                   Nathan Lane
                   Ernie Sabella
                   Robert Guillaume
                   Moira Kelly
                   Rowan Atkinson
                   Whoopi Goldberg
                   Cheech Marin
                   Jim Cummings
      Music by     Hans Zimmer
   Distributed by  Walt Disney Pictures
   Release date(s) June 15, 1994 (selected cities)
                   June 24, 1994 (general)
                   December 25, 2002 ( IMAX re-release)
    Running time   88 minutes
      Language     English
       Budget      $79,300,000 (estimated)
     Preceded by   Aladdin (1992)
     Followed by   Pocahontas (1995)
                 All Movie Guide profile
                      IMDb profile

   The Lion King is the 32nd animated feature in the Disney animated
   feature canon, and the third highest-grossing animated feature film
   ever released in the United States. It was produced by Walt Disney
   Feature Animation, originally released to selected cities by Walt
   Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on June 15, 1994, and put
   into general release on June 24, 1994. It made a short return to
   theaters starting from November 18, 1994, less than half a year after
   its initial release, with a 3-minute preview of Pocahontas. The film
   was later re-released with digital enhancements to giant-screen IMAX
   theaters on December 25, 2002. Among fans, the film is commonly
   referred to as TLK.

   The film focuses on a young lion in Africa named Simba, who learns of
   his place in the "Circle of Life" while struggling through various
   obstacles to become the rightful king. It is frequently alleged that
   The Lion King was based on Osamu Tezuka's 1960s animated series Kimba
   the White Lion, although many of the filmmakers deny this. The
   filmmakers do, however, acknowledge the prominent influences of the
   Shakespeare play Hamlet, the Bible stories of Joseph and Moses, and the
   1942 Disney animated feature Bambi.

   The Lion King is a musical film, with songs written by composer Elton
   John and lyricist Tim Rice, and a film score by Hans Zimmer. The score
   and one of its songs went on to win Academy Awards.

Production

   The Lion King was originally called King of the Jungle during early
   stages of production. Like Bambi, animators studied real-life animals
   for reference, and some of the filmmakers went to Africa to observe the
   natural habitat that would be shown in the film.

   The film's significant use of computers helped the filmmakers to
   present their vision in new ways. The most notable use of computer
   animation is in the "wildebeest stampede" sequence. Several distinct
   wildebeest characters were built in a 3D computer program, multiplied
   into the hundreds, cel shaded to look like drawn animation, and given
   randomized paths down a mountainside to simulate the real,
   unpredictable movement of a herd. Similar multiplication occurs in the
   "Be Prepared" musical number with identical marching hyenas.

   The Lion King was once considered a secondary project to Pocahontas,
   both of which were in production at the same time. Most of the Disney
   Feature Animation staff preferred to work on Pocahontas, believing it
   would be the more prestigious and successful of the two. However, when
   the two films were released, The Lion King received much more positive
   feedback than Pocahontas.

Plot

   The story of The Lion King takes place in the Pride Lands of Africa,
   where a lion rules over the other animals as king.
   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

   At the beginning of the film, King Mufasa and his mate, Queen Sarabi,
   have recently given birth to their child Simba. In a large-scale
   ceremony, Simba is presented to the animals of the Pride Lands by
   Rafiki, a wise witch doctor mandrill, from atop Pride Rock, home of the
   royal lion pride. Later that day, Mufasa confronts his younger brother,
   Scar, and questions his absence from the ceremony. Although claiming he
   forgot, Scar is actually jealous of his new-born nephew being heir to
   the throne, and believes that he himself is the rightful king.

   Time passes and Simba grows into a playful and active cub. One day,
   Scar lures him to the elephant graveyard, the forbidden land that
   Mufasa had warned Simba not to visit. Unable to overcome his curiosity,
   the young cub goes there with his best friend, Nala. Upon their
   arrival, they encounter three hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, who try to
   kill them. At the last moment, Mufasa comes to the rescue by scaring
   off the hyenas.

   Following this encounter, it is revealed that Scar had been plotting
   with the hyenas to kill Simba. After this failed attempt, Scar decides
   to get rid of both Mufasa and his son once and for all. Scar leads
   Simba into a large canyon, and disappears, leaving the young cub by
   himself. With his hyenas, Scar then engineers a wildebeest stampede
   which heads directly towards Simba. Mufasa, hearing that his son was
   once again in danger, rescues Simba from the herd, but is lost in the
   stampede himself. In the midst of the stampede, Mufasa makes one last
   great leap to cling to the rock face. As he climbs higher, he looks up
   to see Scar standing on the ledge above him and pleads to him for help.
   Instead of saving him, however, Scar throws Mufasa from the ledge with
   the mocking words "long live the king". Mufasa disappears in the
   stampede and is crushed under the hooves of the wildebeest. As Simba,
   who was too busy climbing up the rock face to see Scar kill Mufasa,
   sobs next to his father's lifeless body, Scar comes and tricks the cub
   into thinking that he was responsible for his father's death. As a
   devastated Simba runs off, Scar orders his hyena henchmen to kill him,
   but in the chase that follows, Simba escapes into the desert. The
   hyenas, fearing Scar's wrath while confident that the cub cannot
   survive in the wilderness, lie to Scar that they killed the young
   prince. Scar accepts the story, explaining to the remaining pride that
   the stampede took the lives of both Mufasa and Simba. He assumes the
   throne and becomes the new King of the Pride Lands.

   Exhausted, Simba collapses in the desert in a state of near death;
   however, the cub is saved and befriended by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat
   and warthog, respectively, who teach Simba their life philosophy of "
   Hakuna Matata", or "no worries". The pair take Simba under their wing
   and allow him to live in the jungle with them. As time passes, the now
   adult Simba encounters his childhood friend, Nala, who has also reached
   adulthood. The pair bond as friends just as in the past, and they
   eventually fall in love with each other. Nala later explains that she
   left the Pride Lands in search for help against Scar's dictatorial
   rule. She urges Simba to return to the Pride Lands and take his
   rightful place as king, but Simba refuses, happy with his new "no
   worries" lifestyle — and still traumatized by the false belief that he
   caused his father's death, a secret that only he and Scar know.
   Although the two have fallen in love, they part: Nala angry with what
   she sees as Simba's irresponsibility, and Simba angry with Nala for
   scorning him while still in fear of revealing his true reasons.

   Alone, Simba broods about his guilt-ridden loneliness, when help for
   Simba comes in the form of Rafiki, who claims that Mufasa is still
   alive. The shaman leads Simba to a pond that reveals that Mufasa's
   spirit still lives on inside Simba. At that revelation, the spirit of
   Mufasa appears in towering storm clouds. He demands that Simba look
   inside himself and understand that he is the rightful king. The clouds
   settle, and Rafiki advises Simba, saying that while the past does hurt,
   one can either run from it or learn from it. Inspired, Simba decides to
   return home.

   When he arrives, Simba is horrified to find that his once joyful and
   prosperous kingdom has crumbled into a barren wasteland under Scar's
   rule. With the support of Nala, who rallies the lionesses, and Timon
   and Pumbaa, who lure some hyenas away, the lion confronts his uncle.
   Scar remains confident, and, with his hyenas, he forces Simba to admit
   that he was responsible for the death of Mufasa. Scar then backs a
   shaken Simba to the edge of the cliff as lightning strikes a dead tree
   and sets the Pride Lands ablaze. Simba slips and hangs onto the edge of
   Pride Rock, similar to Mufasa's situation before his death. Scar
   recalls this scene, and latches into Simba's paws with his claws. He
   then sadistically whispers the truth to Simba: that it was he, Scar,
   who killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba leaps upon Scar and forces him to
   publicly confess to killing Mufasa.

   The hyenas then attack Simba and he starts fighting them off. The
   lionesses join in and the battle begins. During the fight, Simba spots
   Scar climbing up the side of Pride Rock, trying to escape, and chases
   him to the top. Panicked, Scar attempts to blame everything on the
   hyenas by calling them "the enemy". Simba is fed up with Scar's lies
   and pleas, but still shows mercy and tells Scar to run away from the
   kingdom and never return. Scar begins to slink off, only to scatter
   some burning embers into Simba's face, distracting him. Taking
   advantage of this opportunity, he attacks Simba once again. A climactic
   battle ensues and Simba is thrown to the edge of the cliff. Scar jumps
   through the flames in an attempt to finish Simba off, but it is Simba
   instead who throws his uncle over the edge of the cliff. Scar survives
   the fall, only to encounter the hyenas, who are enraged that he earlier
   tried to blame his awful doings on them. As Scar desperately begs for
   mercy, the large pack of hyenas surround and attack the tyrant. The
   fire from before is next seen engulfing Scar and hyenas, with their
   shadows on Pride Rock behind them.

   Shortly thereafter, rain begins to fall, extinguishing the fire. In the
   film's denouement, Simba ascends Pride Rock, becoming the true king,
   and leads the Pride Lands back into times of prosperity and glory. In
   the ending moments of the film, Simba and Nala's newborn cub is
   presented by Rafiki in a triumphant ceremony mirroring the film's
   beginning.
   Spoilers end here.

Reaction

   The Lion King became the second highest domestically-grossing film of
   1994 (below Forrest Gump). Critical response was also positive; Chicago
   Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert called the film "a superbly drawn
   animated feature", and The Washington Post called it "an impressive,
   almost daunting achievement".

   It went on to win two Academy Awards: Best Original Score and Best
   Original Song (" Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). Besides winning the
   same two categories in the Golden Globe Awards, it also won Best Motion
   Picture - Musical or Comedy. In the Annie Awards, it won Best Animated
   Film, Best Individual Achievement for Story Contribution in the Field
   of Animation, and Jeremy Irons also won Best Achievement for Voice
   Acting for voicing Scar.

Box office performance

   Source Gross (USD) % Total All Time Rank
   Domestic $328,541,776 ($312,855,561 initially) 41.9% 19
   Foreign $455,300,000 58.1% N/A
   Worldwide $783,841,776 100.0% 18
   Domestic Opening Weekend $40,888,194 13.1% 93
   Domestic Adjusted ( 2006) $508,185,200 N/A 24

   The film initially made US$312,855,561 domestically, but including its
   2002 IMAX re-release the number would be $328,541,776. The initial
   gross includes the film's short return to theaters in November 1994.

   It held the record for the most successful animated feature film in
   history until it was broken by the computer animated Finding Nemo in
   2003. After Shrek 2 surpassed Nemo's gross in 2004, it now ranks third,
   but still remains the highest grossing film using traditional
   animation. When adjusted for inflation, it is the fourth top grossing
   animated film (below Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, One Hundred and
   One Dalmatians and Fantasia). It also holds the top spot in highest
   theatre average gross in history.

Cast of characters

   Unlike previous Disney animated films which featured only a select few
   famous voice actors alongside lesser-known performers, nearly all of
   the voice acting work for The Lion King was done by well-known actors.
     * Simba, voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub and Matthew
       Broderick as an adult, is the protagonist of the movie, and
       destined to be the ruler of the Pride Lands.
     * Mufasa, voiced by James Earl Jones, is King of the Pride Lands and
       Simba's father.
     * Scar, voiced by Jeremy Irons, is the film's antagonist and Mufasa's
       brother, who aspires to take his place as King.
     * Timon and Pumbaa, voiced by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella
       respectively, are the comical meerkat and warthog pair who live
       under the philosophy of " Hakuna Matata" (no worries).
     * Rafiki, voiced by Robert Guillaume, is a wise mandrill who presents
       the newborn prince of the lions.
     * Nala, voiced by Niketa Calame as a cub and Moira Kelly as an adult,
       is the childhood friend and intended mate of Simba.
     * Zazu, voiced by Rowan Atkinson, is a loyal hornbill who serves as
       Mufasa's majordomo.
     * Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and
       Jim Cummings respectively, are a trio of hyenas who assist Scar.
     * Sarabi, voiced by Madge Sinclair, is Simba's mother and the leader
       of the lionesses.
     * Sarafina, voiced by Zoe Leader, is Nala's mother.

Music

   Elton John and Tim Rice wrote five original songs for this film, and
   John performs "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" during the end credits.
   However, the major musical praise focused on Hans Zimmer's score which
   was supplemented with traditional African music and choir elements
   arranged by Lebo M.

   The Lion King is heavily influenced by American musical theatre. The
   film's look changes drastically from the "realistic" world of the drama
   to the stylized world of the musical numbers. For instance, the "I Just
   Can't Wait to Be King" number transitions from a background of natural
   savanna to abstract blue and pink African tribal patterns the instant
   the singing begins — but the scene transitions just as quickly back out
   of it when the music ends. Also, in the "Hakuna Matata" number, the
   characters sing in a jungle surrounding lit by spotlights that follow
   them from the sky.

   The film went on to win Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("
   Can You Feel the Love Tonight") in both the Academy Awards and Golden
   Globe Awards. Three songs from the film were nominated simultaneously
   for the Best Original Song Academy Award ("Can You Feel the Love
   Tonight", "Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata"), with "Circle of Life"
   also being nominated simultaneously in the same category at the Golden
   Globe Awards.

Songs

   These are the musical numbers of the film, listed in order of
   appearance.
     * " Circle of Life" is sung by an off-screen Carmen Twillie, with
       African vocals by Lebo M and his African choir. This song is played
       during the ceremony where a new-born Simba is presented to the
       animals of the Pride Lands. Not a single line of dialogue is
       uttered by the characters. The song is reprised at the end of the
       film, only it is Simba and Nala's new-born cub who is being
       presented.

     * " I Just Can't Wait to Be King" is sung by young Simba ( Jason
       Weaver), young Nala (Laura Williams), and Zazu ( Rowan Atkinson).
       Simba uses this musical number in the film to distract Zazu (so
       Nala and himself can sneak off to the elephant graveyard), while
       expressing his wish to be king as soon as possible.

     * " Be Prepared" is sung by Scar ( Jeremy Irons/ Jim Cummings),
       Shenzi ( Whoopi Goldberg), Banzai ( Cheech Marin) and Ed (Jim
       Cummings). In this song, Scar reveals his evil plot to kill Mufasa
       and Simba to his loyal hyena minions. The scene where Scar sits on
       a cliff overlooking his hyenas marching mimics the Nazi propaganda
       film Triumph of the Will, with Scar taking the place of Adolf
       Hitler; the hyenas' march is a reminiscent of the Nazi goose-step.
       The voice of Scar in this song switches from Jeremy Irons to Jim
       Cummings from the line "You won't get a sniff without me!" This was
       reportedly due to Irons's vocal cords giving out.

     * " Hakuna Matata" is sung by Timon ( Nathan Lane), Pumbaa ( Ernie
       Sabella) and Simba (Jason Weaver as a cub and Joseph Williams as an
       adult). Timon and Pumbaa use this song as a warm welcome to Simba
       as he arrives at their jungle home. Simba learns to eat bugs and
       grows up into a young adult by the end of the song.

     * " Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a love song sung mainly by an
       off-screen Kristle Edwards, with Timon (Nathan Lane), Pumbaa (Ernie
       Sabella), adult Simba (Joseph Williams) and adult Nala ( Sally
       Dworsky). This musical sequence shows Timon and Pumbaa's
       frustration at Simba falling in love, and the development of Simba
       and Nala's romantic relationship.

     * "Morning Report" is a song originally not in the film, but was a
       song written for the film's Broadway musical. It was added to the
       film, with a whole-new animated sequence, in the 2003 Platinum
       Edition home video re-release. Sung by Zazu ( Jeff Bennett), Mufasa
       ( James Earl Jones) and young Simba (Evan Saucedo), the song is an
       extension of the scene in the original film where Zazu delivers a
       morning report to Mufasa, and later gets pounced on by Simba.

Soundtrack and other albums

   The film's original motion picture soundtrack was released on July 13,
   1994.

   On February 28, 1995, Disney released an album entitled Rhythm of the
   Pride Lands, a "sequel" to the original soundtrack which featured songs
   and performances inspired by, but not featured in, the film. Most of
   the tracks were composed by African composer Lebo M and focused
   primarily on the African influences of the film's original music, with
   most songs being sung either partially or entirely in various African
   languages. Several songs featured in the album would later have
   incarnations in other Lion King-oriented projects, such as the stage
   musical or the direct-to-video sequels (examples being "He Lives In
   You" used as the opening song for The Lion King II: Simba's Pride; and
   a reincarnation of "Warthog Rhapsody", called "That's All I Need", in
   The Lion King 1½). Rhythm of the Pride Lands was initially printed in a
   very limited quantity and therefore has since become a collector's
   item. However, it was re-released in 2003, included in some
   international versions of The Lion King's special edition soundtrack
   with an additional track.

   In 2001, Disney released Festival of The Lion King, a soundtrack of the
   Lion King-inspired attraction of the same name at Disney's Animal
   Kingdom.

Sequels and spin-offs

   The first spin-off was a 70mm film entitled Circle of Life: An
   Environmental Fable, which promoted environmental friendliness and
   shown in the Harvest Theatre in The Land Pavilion at Epcot in Walt
   Disney World in 1995. Also debuted in 1995 was a spin-off television
   series called The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa which focused on the
   titular meerkat and warthog duo. The TV series implied that the story
   took place during the mid-20th century through the appearance of humans
   and technology.

   Next, a direct-to-video sequel called The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
   was released in 1998, focusing on Simba's daughter Kiara. Finally, a
   direct-to-video prequel/midquel, The Lion King 1½ (also known as The
   Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata), was released in 2004 and takes place in a
   parallel timeline that interweaves with the original Lion King, but
   from Timon and Pumbaa's perspective.

Home video

   The Lion King was first released on VHS and laserdisc in the United
   States on March 3, 1995, under Disney's "Masterpiece Collection" video
   series. The VHS tape quickly became one of the best-selling videotapes
   of all time: 4.5 million tapes were sold on the first day. In addition,
   Deluxe Editions of both formats were released. The VHS Deluxe Edition
   included the film, an exclusive lithograph of Rafiki and Simba (in some
   editions), a commemorative "Circle of Life" epigraph, six concept art
   lithographs, another tape with the half-hour TV show The Making of The
   Lion King, and a certificate of authenticity. The CAV laserdisc Deluxe
   Edition also contained the film, six concept art lithographs and The
   Making of The Lion King, but included storyboards, character design
   artwork, concept art, rough animation, and a directors' commentary that
   the VHS edition didn't. These home video versions of The Lion King all
   went into moratorium in 1997.

   On October 7, 2003, the film was re-released on VHS and released to DVD
   for the first time as The Lion King: Platinum Edition, as part of
   Disney's Platinum Edition line of animated classic DVDs. The DVD
   release featured a remastered version of the film created for the 2002
   IMAX release, and a second disc with bonus features. The film's
   soundtrack was available in its original Dolby 5.1 track or in a new
   Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix. The DVD was the first of Disney DVDs
   to include the Disney Enhanced Home Theatre Mix. By means of seamless
   branching, the film could be viewed either with or without a
   newly-created scene — a short conversation in the film replaced with a
   complete song, "The Morning Report", which was originally written for
   the stage musical of the film. A Special Collector's Gift Set was also
   released, with the DVD set, five exclusive lithographed character
   portraits (new sketches created and signed by the original character
   animators), and an introductory book entitled The Journey in a black
   box. More than two million copies of the Platinum Edition DVD and VHS
   units were sold on the first day of release. A DVD boxed set of the
   three Lion King films (in two-disc Special Edition formats) was
   released on December 6, 2004. In January 2005, the film went back into
   moratorium.

   The Platinum Edition of The Lion King was criticized by fans mainly for
   its false advertising — producer Don Hahn claimed that the film would
   be in its original 1994 theatrical version earlier, but it ended up
   being the "digitally enhanced" IMAX version which is slightly different
   than the original theatrical cut.

Musical

   The film was adapted into an award-winning Broadway stage musical with
   the same title, directed by Julie Taymor, and featured actors in animal
   costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. After the stage show first
   opened on July 31, 1997 in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre, it
   became an instant success; the show went on to be nominated for 11 Tony
   Awards, winning 6 including Best Musical and Best Director. Festival of
   the Lion King, an attraction in Disney's Animal Kingdom and Hong Kong
   Disneyland, is essentially a shortened version of the musical.

Controversies

Story origin

   The Lion King was claimed to be the first animated Disney film not
   based on an already-existing story, although the accuracy of this is
   disputed. The Lion King bears a striking resemblance to a famous
   Japanese anime television show, Kimba the White Lion, and claims have
   been made that this was The Lion King 's inspiration. Starting with the
   protagonist's name (Simba/Kimba), most characters in Kimba have an
   analogue in The Lion King, and various individual scenes are nearly
   identical in composition and camera angle. Disney's official stance is
   that any resemblance is coincidental, and directors Roger Allers and
   Rob Minkoff claimed that they were well into the development process
   before the Kimba similarity was identified. The family of Osamu Tezuka,
   Kimba's creator, has not filed suit against Disney.

   The filmmakers, however, admitted that the story of The Lion King was
   inspired by the 1942 Disney animated film Bambi, Joseph the Dreamer and
   Exodus from the Bible, and William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Christopher
   Vogler, in his book The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers,
   described how Disney approached him with a copy of Hamlet asking how to
   improve the plot of The Lion King by incorporating ideas from
   Shakespeare. Relationships between the two plots include: The brother
   to the king (Scar to Mufasa; Claudius to King Hamlet) kills the king
   (this occurs before the play Hamlet begins). The rightful heir
   (Simba/Hamlet) does not avenge his father's death at first. Later, at
   the urging of his father's ghost, the prince recalls his duty (although
   Hamlet vacillates between action and inaction unlike Simba) and
   ultimately returns from exile to kill his uncle (although Hamlet was
   not in exile at the time, and Simba does not personally kill Scar).

Subliminal message

   In one scene of the film it appears as if animators had embedded the
   word "sex" into several frames of animation, which conservative
   activist Donald Wildmon asserted was a subliminal message intended to
   promote sexual promiscuity. However, several of the films's animators
   claim that the letters spell "SFX" (a common abbreviation of "special
   effects"), and was a sort of innocent "signature" signed by the effects
   animation team to the work they did.

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

   The use of the song " The Lion Sleeps Tonight" has led to 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 filed suit, seeking $1.6 million in royalties from Disney.
   In February 2006, Linda's heirs 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.

Impact on popular culture

   Due to its popularity, The Lion King was referenced several times in
   different media. Most notable was the reference to it in the episode of
   the animated TV series The Simpsons, " 'Round Springfield". Towards the
   end of the episode, the ghost of Mufasa appears in the clouds with
   Bleeding Gums Murphy, Darth Vader and James Earl Jones, saying: "You
   must avenge my death, Kimba... dah, I mean Simba," a reference to the
   Lion King/Kimba the White Lion controversy.

   In the 2002 comedy Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, an entire scene references
   The Lion King. While the main protagonist, The Chosen One, is pondering
   newly received information about his enemies and deceased family, a
   Mufasa-look-alike called "Mu-Shu Fasa" appears in the clouds. "Mu-Shu
   Fasa" even calls The Chosen One "Simba" before calling him "Chosimba".

   One of its Oscar-nominated songs was also referenced in an episode of
   the 2005–2006 series of the British science fiction TV serial Doctor
   Who, " The Christmas Invasion". In the episode, the Tenth Doctor (
   David Tennant) quotes the first few lines of the song " Circle of Life"
   when trying to persuade the Sycorax leader to spare humanity. Julie
   Gardner, the executive producer of Doctor Who, mentions in the audio
   commentary for this episode that the "Lion King speech" is one of her
   favorite parts of the episode.

   In a 2006 episode of the US TV series The Office titled Grief
   Counseling, Ryan Howard tells the tale of "his cousin Mufasa" who was
   trampled by wildebeests, in an effort to satisfy his boss, Michael
   Scott, who insists the staff work through their "grief" over the death
   of a company man they never knew.

   Disney has also referenced The Lion King in its own films. In the
   Disney-released, Pixar-produced 1995 computer animated film Toy Story,
   the song " Hakuna Matata" can be heard playing in Andy's car during the
   film's climax. Also in 1995, the live-action Man of the House had a
   scene in which Jonathan Taylor Thomas (who voiced young Simba) reads a
   Lion King comic book. Pumbaa made brief appearances in The Hunchback of
   Notre Dame and Aladdin and the King of Thieves, both released in 1996.
   The 1997 animated film Hercules paid homage to both The Lion King and
   the Nemean Lion, where Scar's skin is worn by Hercules while he is
   posing for a painting on a Greek vase (not by coincidence, Andreas Deja
   was the supervising animator of both Scar and Hercules). Another 1997
   film, George of the Jungle, referenced the scene where Simba is
   presented at Pride Rock.

Video games

   Two video games based on the film have been released. The first, simply
   called The Lion King, was published in 1994 by Virgin and was released
   on NES, SNES, Game Boy, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Game Gear, PC
   and Amiga. The second, entitled The Lion King: Simba's Mighty
   Adventure, was published in 2000 by Activision and was released on
   PlayStation and Game Boy Colour.

   A third game was published in 2004 simply called "The Lion King" for
   Game Boy Advance in Europe and Asia, but was in fact a game based on
   the direct-to-video prequel/midquel The Lion King 1½ with Timon and
   Pumbaa as the playable characters. Unlike its counterparts, the U.S.
   version clearly shows the title The Lion King 1½ on the box.

Trivia

     * The story stays true to the natural cycle of weather in Africa and
       lions' lifelines. On the subject of weather, Africa goes through
       dry seasons, during which the animals move on to find new grazing
       and hunting grounds (this occurs during Scars reign as king,
       although he refuses to allow the pride to move on in search of
       food. This would have caused them to starve, as Queen Sarabi
       pointed out to Scar).

   As for lions lifelines, males leave the pride (Simba being exiled by
   Scar) albeit at an older age, usually as teenagers. When fully grown,
   they try to find a pride (Simba returns to Pride Rock) and attempt to
   drive out the male in charge (Simba tries to exile Scar and they end up
   fighting). If sucessful, they take over the pride (Simba reclaims his
   title as king).
     * It could be said that colour is used effectively throughout the
       movie. In certain scenes, mostly shades of a certain colour are
       used. Some examples are:

   The song "Be Prepared". For the first half mostly green is used, a
   colour used to represent envy. The later parts are red, which
   symbolises blood.

   Simba running away from the hyenas after being exiled. Shades of red
   are used, again symbolising blood as the hyenas have been commanded to
   kill Simba.

   Pride Rock during Scar's reign. Pride Rock is shown in shades of grey,
   a colour of illness or death. This is probably due to the lack of food
   or water in the Pride Lands.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_King"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
