The Lion King (franchise)
The Lion King | |
---|---|
Created by | |
Original work | The Lion King (1994) |
Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
Years | 1994–present |
Based on | Works of William Shakespeare |
Print publications | |
Book(s) | The Lion King: Six New Adventures |
Novel(s) | adaptation |
Films and television | |
Film(s) |
|
Short film(s) |
|
Animated series |
|
Television film(s) | The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar (2015) |
Direct-to-video |
|
Theatrical presentations | |
Play(s) | The Legend of the Lion King (1994) |
Musical(s) |
|
Games | |
Video game(s) |
|
Audio | |
Soundtrack(s) |
|
Original music |
|
Miscellaneous | |
Toy(s) | Disney Tsum Tsum* |
Theme park attraction(s) |
|
* Work where this franchise's characters or settings appeared as part of a crossover, or has characters based on those from this franchise.
** The Lion King 1½ was also released theatrically in some countries and selected American cities. |
The Lion King is a
The franchise mainly revolves about a pride of lions who oversee a large swath of African savanna as their "kingdom" known as the Pride Lands, with their leader Simba watching over it as "king". The first three animated feature films are widely known for being influenced by the works of William Shakespeare,[2][3] as well as other works based on his material.
Films
Film | U.S release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producers | Production companies | Distributors |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Animated feature films | |||||||
The Lion King | June 15, 1994 | Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff | Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton | Brenda Chapman, Barry Johnson, Andy Gaskill, Kevin Harkey, Tom Sito, Rick Maki, Burny Mattinson, Lorna Cook, Gary Trousdale, Jorgen Klubien, Larry Leker, Ed Gombert, Mark Kausler, Thom Enriquez, Jim Capobianco, Chris Sanders, Joe Ranft and Francis Glebas | Don Hahn | Walt Disney Feature Animation
|
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
|
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | October 27, 1998 | Darrell Rooney and Rob LaDuca | Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus | Jeannine Roussel | Walt Disney Animation Canada
|
Walt Disney Home Video
| |
The Lion King 1½ | February 10, 2004 | Bradley Raymond | Tom Rogers | George A. Mendoza | Walt Disney Animation Australia
|
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment | |
Photorealistic CGI feature films | |||||||
The Lion King (2019 film) | July 19, 2019 | Jon Favreau | Jeff Nathanson | Jon Favreau, Jeffrey Silver and Karen Gilchrist | Walt Disney Pictures and Fairview Entertainment
|
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | |
Mufasa: The Lion King | December 20, 2024 | Barry Jenkins | Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak | Walt Disney Pictures and Pastel Productions | |||
Musical film | |||||||
Black Is King | July 31, 2020 | Beyoncé | Beyoncé, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Clover Hope and Andrew Morrow | Jeremy Sullivan, Jimi Adesanya, Blitz Bazawule, Ben Cooper, Astrid Edwards, Durwin Julies, Yoli Mes, Dafe Oboro, Akin Omotoso, Will Whitney, Lauren Baker, Jason Baum, Alex Chamberlain, Robert Day, Christophe Faubert, Brien Justiniano, Rethabile Molatela Mothobi, Sylvia Zakhary, Nathan Scherrer and Erinn Williams | Parkwood Entertainment and Walt Disney Pictures |
Disney+ |
Animated feature films
The Lion King
The Lion King is the original film of the franchise. It was directed by
Around the World with Timon and Pumbaa
The series The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa had a direct-to-video film named Around the World with Timon and Pumbaa, with Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella reprising their roles as Timon and Pumbaa respectively. The story tells of Pumbaa getting struck by lightning, losing all his memory, and Timon helps refrain every moment they spent. After Pumbaa gets his memory back, lightning strikes Timon losing his memory this time, making Pumbaa break the fourth wall by telling the viewers to rewind the tape to start at the beginning, being it was the only way to help Timon remember. Several episodes from the series are featured in this film. Aside from this film, two other DVDs, Dining Out... and On Holiday... are an hour compilation of other episodes of the series. No DVDs have been released in the U.S. but were released on VHS.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on VHS in the United States on October 27, 1998. It was directed by Darrell Rooney and co-directed by Rob LaDuca. It was first released on DVD as a limited issue on November 23, 1999, and placed into moratorium until it was again released on DVD on August 31, 2004, when it was a two-disc special edition. The plot of this animated film is heavily influenced by another Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet.[3]
The Lion King 1½
The Lion King 1½, also known as The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata in some countries, is the second and final direct-to-video installment of the film series. It was directed by Bradley Raymond and released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on February 10, 2004. The film is a chronologically concurrent sequel to the first film, focusing on Timon and Pumbaa. It was somewhat influenced by Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, in which the title characters are seen in every major event of Hamlet.[13][14][15]
The Lion Guard television movies
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar is a television movie that premiered on November 22, 2015, serving as a pilot for The Lion Guard television series, which debuted in early 2016 on Disney Junior.[16][17] Return of the Roar was directed by Howy Parkins and written by Ford Riley. The film focuses on Simba and Nala's cub Kion, who as second-born to the throne, becomes leader of the Lion Guard, a group that protects the Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life. As leader of the Lion Guard, Kion is gifted with a power called the Roar of the Elders which when used, causes the great lion spirits of the Pride Lands' past to roar with him. Going against tradition, Kion chooses non-lions to be members of his guard; his friends Bunga the honey badger, Ono the egret, Beshte the hippo, and Fuli the cheetah.
The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar
A television movie, or extended episode, which premiered on July 29, 2017 on Disney Channel during season 2 of The Lion Guard.[18] As the dry season begins, the Lion Guard continues to protect the Pride Lands, and Rafiki takes on an apprentice named Makini. Meanwhile, Janja the hyena and his clan, along with their new ally Ushari the cobra, orchestrate events that allow them to summon the spirit of Scar in order to defeat the Lion Guard and take over the Pride Lands.
The Lion Guard: Battle for the Pride Lands
A television movie which premiered on August 3, 2019 on Disney Channel during season 3 of The Lion Guard. In the film, Scar enacts the final stage of his plan against the Pride Lands, and the Lion Guard begin a final battle with him which dovetails into the events which separate the Lion Guard from the rest of the Pride Lands during the events of Simba's Pride.
Photorealistic CGI feature films
The Lion King
A photorealistic computer-generated imagery remake of The Lion King was directed by Jon Favreau and produced through his production company Fairview Entertainment. The film's voice cast features Donald Glover as Simba, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Beyoncé as Nala, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, John Kani as Rafiki, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa, and James Earl Jones reprised his role as Mufasa.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] The remake was released on July 19, 2019.[29]
Mufasa: The Lion King
A follow-up film is in development with Barry Jenkins attached to direct and Jeff Nathanson set to return as screenwriter.[30][31] While it has been referred to as a prequel, the film has been described as being set after the events of the 2019 film while also exploring Mufasa's formative years.[30][31] Aaron Pierre will be voicing young Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. will voice young Scar.[32] The film, titled Mufasa: The Lion King, is scheduled for release in 2024.[33]
Television series
Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | Network | ||||
The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa | 1 | 25 | 13 | September 8, 1995 | December 29, 1995 | Syndicated |
12 | September 16, 1995 | December 16, 1995 | CBS | |||
2 | 21 | 13 | September 2, 1996 | November 25, 1996 | Syndicated | |
8 | September 14, 1996 | November 9, 1996 | CBS | |||
3 | 39 | January 1, 1999 | September 24, 1999 | Toon Disney | ||
The Lion Guard | Pilot | November 22, 2015 | Disney Channel | |||
1 | 26 | January 15, 2016 | April 21, 2017 | Disney Junior | ||
2 | 29 | July 7, 2017 | April 22, 2019 | |||
3 | 19 | August 3, 2019 | November 3, 2019 |
The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa is a spin-off
The Lion Guard
A second TV show called The Lion Guard premiered on Disney Junior and Disney Channel; it first appeared as a television movie called The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar which debuted on November 22, 2015, followed by a series which began airing on January 15, 2016.[35][17] A preschool-oriented spin-off, the series was developed by Ford Riley, who also serves as writer and executive producer. It centers around Simba and Nala's second-born cub Kion, who becomes leader of the Lion Guard, a team that protects the Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life. As leader of the Lion Guard, Kion is gifted with a power called the Roar of the Elders which when used, causes the great lion spirits of the Pride Lands' past to roar with him. The Lion Guard is a sequel to The Lion King and takes place during the time-gap within the 1998 film, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride,[36] with the last two episodes of Season 3 taking place after the events of that film. Various characters from the first two films also make appearances in the show, including Kiara, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Zazu, and Mufasa.[37][38] New characters Bunga the honey badger, Ono the egret, Beshte the hippo, and Fuli the cheetah are Kion's friends and members of his Lion Guard.[39][40]
Shorts
Find Out Why
Find Out Why is a short educational series that features Timon and Pumbaa answering science questions like why there is lightning, why pandas don't live in deserts, why there is wind, and why an airplane flies. These shorts are for educational purposes at schools, non-residential and residential uses for people, including students and kids everywhere in the world.
Timon and Pumbaa's Wild About Safety
Together with Timon (voiced by Bruce Lanoil) and Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella), students learn a variety of safety lessons for around the house, for the environment, and for in the water that will help themselves and others avoid injuries, live problem-free, and be Safety Smart. At the end of each episode, Timon and Pumbaa sing a musical number reviewing all that they learned on the episode in question.
A series of shorts based on the "Wild About Safety" series, called "Safety Smart: On the Go!", was also released. Based on the "Wild About Safety" episode of the same name, "Safety Smart: On the Go" is a series of shorts that detail topics on how to be safe when traveling, such as when riding vehicles, using bikes & scooters, walking to travel as pedestrians, or even when visiting amusement parks. The "Safety Smart: On the Go!" short series is most well known for being displayed in resorts in Walt Disney World (Florida) & Disneyland (California), in addition to a "Wild About Safety" video about how to be safe in resort hotels & the original "Wild About Safety" episode that the "Safety Smart: On the Go!" short series is based on.
It's UnBungalievable
A short-form series in which Bunga and Ono from The Lion Guard pick two animals to compete in contests such as "Who's Quicker?" "Who Has Better Hair?" and "Who's Hungrier?" The series features live-action animal footage provided by Disneynature.[41]
Theatrical
A Broadway-caliber short-form stage musical named
Broadway musical
A Broadway musical, based on Disney's 1994 animated feature film, debuted July 8, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre. Directed by Julie Taymor, produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, and written by the co-director of the original film, Roger Allers, with writer Irene Mecchi. The musical features actors in elaborate animal costumes, and complex puppetry, created by Taymor and Michael Curry. The musical is divided in two acts and has music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M.[42] The musical incorporates several changes and additions to the storyline as compared to the film, as well as adding more songs.
The musical became a success even before premiering on
Video games
Two video games based on the first film have been released. The first, titled
In 1996, Disney Interactive and 7th Level released Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games for the PC. It was later seen on the SNES. The Games include: one in which Pumbaa uses his gas to destroy fruits and bugs (and even a kitchen sink) that fall out of trees, a variation of pinball, a game where players use a peashooter to hit enemy creatures in the jungle, a game where Timon has to jump onto hippos in order to cross a river to deliver bugs to Pumbaa, and a variation of Puyo Puyo called Bug Drop.[50]
An educational game called Disney's Adventures in Typing With Timon and Pumbaa was released by Disney Interactive in 1998 for PCs with Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. The game teaches children how to type through use of five games. It features the characters Rafiki, Timon and Pumbaa.[51][52]
In the Disney Interactive Studios and Square Enix video game Kingdom Hearts, Simba appears as an ally that Sora can summon during battles.[53] He also appears again as a summon character in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. In Kingdom Hearts II, the Pride Lands are a playable world and a number of characters from the film appear, including Nala, Timon and Pumbaa, Rafiki and Mufasa, with Scar and the three Hyenas serving as enemies.[54]
A game called
Simba is also a character in the video game Disney Friends, where the player can interact with him. Timon and Pumbaa also appear as supporting characters in game.[56]
In the world builder video game Disney Magic Kingdoms, a limited time Event based on The Lion King introduced Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Zazu and Scar as playable characters, as well as some attractions based on locations of the film.[57] Shenzi, Banzai and Ed were also included as playable characters in a later update of the game.[58] In the game the characters are involved in new storylines that serve as a continuation of The Lion King (ignoring other materials in the franchise).
Other media
A 70 mm film entitled
Roger Allers, who was the animated feature film's co-director, and Irene Mecchi, who was the animated feature film's screenplay co-writer, authored the animated feature film's book adaptation.[1]
The Lion King: Six New Adventures, a collection of six spin-off books was published in 1994[59] by Grolier Enterprises Inc. These books were approved by Disney and take place after The Lion King. The story of these books center around Kopa, the son of Simba who is mischievous and adventurous but good-hearted just like his father was when he was young. In each book, while doing mischief Kopa learns a life-lesson and meets up with Rafiki who gives him wisdom by narrating the past tales of the Pridelands.
The many characters from The Lion King appear in the
A digital storybook app called The Lion King: Timon's Tale retelling the story of The Lion King from Timon's point-of-view was released on February 24. 2012 for iOS devices.[62]
Plot and themes
The story is set in a kingdom of
The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa follows the further adventures of the titular meerkat and warthog duo, as they continue to live by their problem-free philosophy Hakuna Matata. Timon and Pumbaa are seen having their own (mis)adventures both within' and outside of the Serengeti, encountering new allies and enemies throughout their journey, such as Speedy the Snail, Boss Beaver, and human nemesis Quint. The series also has episodes centering respectively on Rafiki, Zazu, and hyena trio Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed. Simba himself also makes recurring appearances throughout the show. The episode "Once Upon a Timon" reveals the (original) story of how Timon and Pumbaa first met and how their friendship came to be.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride begins with the presentation of Simba and Nala's daughter named Kiara. Simba is very protective of his daughter and assigns Timon and Pumbaa to be her guardians. One day, the young cub sneaks into the Outlands, the place in which a group of lions loyal to Scar called the Outsiders reside after Simba exiles them from the Pride Lands. In the Outlands, Kiara meets a young male cub named Kovu, Scar's hand-chosen successor, and the two of them befriend each other until Simba and Kovu's mother, Zira arrive and a fight between Pride Landers and Outsiders almost takes place. Later in the film, Zira decides that she can use Kovu's new friendship with Kiara to get her revenge against Simba. Kiara is next seen as an adolescent lioness and is set to go for her first solo-hunt, but discovers that her father still sends Timon and Pumbaa to watch her. Furious, Kiara goes further from home until Zira's other children, Nuka and Vitani, set fire to the plains where Kiara is hunting, causing her to faint and giving Kovu the chance to rescue her. Simba finds that Kovu has helped Kiara and reluctantly allows him into the Pride Lands. While Simba struggles with the idea of accepting Kovu, Kiara and Kovu eventually fall in love. One morning, Simba invites Kovu for a walk but they are ambushed by Zira and her pride. They attack Simba but, while chasing him, Nuka got killed by the logs, resulting in Zira blaming and scratching Kovu for his death giving him a scar over his left eye. A wounded Simba exiles Kovu as he thinks Kovu was behind the ambush, but Kiara, knowing that Kovu would never do such a thing, runs away from Pride Rock against her father's orders and reunites with Kovu and convinces him to return with her to reunite their prides. Meanwhile, Zira leads her pride in a war against Simba and the Pridelanders and a fierce battle breaks out. Kovu and Kiara leap between them and Kiara reminds her father that, by his own words, "we are one". Zira refuses to end the battle, but Vitani and the other Outsiders understand Kiara's words and abandon their leader and join the Pridelanders. Now alone, Zira leaps for Simba, but Kiara pushes her away and they fall over a cliff. Kiara lands on a rock, but Zira slips and falls into the lake to death. Simba allows the Outsiders, including Kovu, to return to the Pride Lands, and Kovu is allowed to stand with Kiara at the top of Pride Rock.
The Lion King 1½ is a retelling of the events of the first film from Timon and Pumbaa's perspective. It also tells the story of Timon's origin, how he first met Pumbaa, and how their friendship came to be, serving as a reimagined version of the "Once Upon a Timon" episode of The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa.
In The Lion Guard, the majority of the series takes place after Kiara meets Kovu, but before her first hunt. The series follows the adventures of Simba and Nala's son Kion as he assembles the titular group of animals to protect the Pride Lands. In Season 2, Scar, the antagonist of the original film, makes his return in the animated series as a flame spirit, and plots revenge against Simba and plans to overthrow him as King by gathering up all the Outlanders to form an army. In the special "Battle for the Pride Lands" which serves as a prequel and pilot for Season 3, Kion continues to battle the spirit of Scar. In a series of events (ones involving Janja's betrayal of Scar), Kion managed to defeat and destroy Scar forever, but not before receiving a facial wound identical to his great uncle's, courtesy of the cobra Ushari (who is later killed in the fight). Season 3 featured Kion journeying throughout the Pride Lands to the Tree of Life to heal his scar before the venom corrupts him into the lion Scar once was. The last 2 episodes of Season 3 take place after the war between Simba's pride & Zira's outsiders.
Cast and characters
A total of thirteen supervising animators from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney's Hollywood Studios were responsible for establishing the personalities and setting the tone for the first film's main characters. The animation team studied real-life animals for reference, as was done for the earlier film Bambi.[63] The animation of the characters was created with supervision by wildlife experts such as Jim Fowler, who visited the studio on several occasions with an assortment of lions and other jungle inhabitants to discuss behavior and help the animators give their drawings an authentic feel. He taught them how lions greet one another by gently butting heads, and show affection by placing one's head under the other's chin, mannerisms that can be appreciated in Simba and Nala's encounter during the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". Fowler also talked about how they protect themselves by lying on their backs and using their claws to ward off attackers, and how they fight rivals by rising on their hind legs.[64] Screenwriter Irene Mecchi joined the directing team to help in the character development process as well as to define each character's personality. Story head Brenda Chapman, gave insight to the challenge of the characters and the story by stating that "it was our job to make the main character likeable and sympathetic. It was also challenging to make the environment and characters interesting. In real life, lions basically sleep, eat and have no props."[64]
Two spin-off television series have been produced, one focusing on the characters of Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog called
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the franchise.
- An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- O indicates an older version of the character.
- Y indicates a younger version of the character.
- S indicates an appearance as a character's singing voice.
Characters | Main films | Television series | Television film | Remake films | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Lion King | The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | The Lion King 1½ | The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
|
The Lion Guard | The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
|
The Lion King | Mufasa: The Lion King | ||||||||
Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | ||||||||||
Simba | Matthew Broderick | Cam Clarke | Rob Lowe | Donald Glover | |||||||||||
Jonathan Taylor ThomasY | Cam ClarkeS | Matt WeinbergY | |||||||||||||
Jason WeaverYS | |||||||||||||||
Joseph WilliamsOS | JD McCraryY | ||||||||||||||
Evan SaucedoYS[a] | |||||||||||||||
Timon | Nathan Lane | Nathan Lane | Kevin Schon | Billy Eichner | |||||||||||
Quinton Flynn | |||||||||||||||
Pumbaa
|
Ernie Sabella | Seth Rogen | |||||||||||||
Nala | Moira Kelly | Moira Kelly | Gabrielle Union | Beyoncé | |||||||||||
Niketa CalameY | |||||||||||||||
Laura WilliamsYS | Shahadi Wright JosephY | ||||||||||||||
Sally DworskyOS | |||||||||||||||
Rafiki
|
Robert Guillaume | Khary Payton | John Kani | ||||||||||||
Zazu
|
Rowan Atkinson | Edward Hibbert | Silent cameo | Edward Hibbert | Jeff Bennett | John Oliver | |||||||||
Jeff Bennett[b] | |||||||||||||||
Mufasa
|
James Earl Jones | Silent role | Gary Anthony Williams | James Earl Jones | Aaron PierreY | ||||||||||
Scar | Jeremy Irons | Jim Cummings | Silent cameo | Silent cameo | David Oyelowo | Silent cameo | Chiwetel Ejiofor | Kelvin Harrison Jr.Y | |||||||
Jim Cummings | |||||||||||||||
Shenzi
|
Whoopi Goldberg | Whoopi Goldberg | Tress MacNeille | Silent role | Florence Kasumba | ||||||||||
Banzai[c]
|
Cheech Marin | Cheech Marin | Rob Paulsen | Keegan-Michael Key | |||||||||||
Ed[d]
|
Jim Cummings | Jim Cummings | Eric André | ||||||||||||
Sarabi
|
Madge Sinclair | Silent role | Silent cameo | Alfre Woodard | |||||||||||
Sarafina
|
Zoe Leader | Penny Johnson Jerald | |||||||||||||
Gopher
|
Jim Cummings | Jim Cummings | |||||||||||||
Kiara
|
Character is mute | Neve Campbell | Eden Riegel | Character is mute | TBA | ||||||||||
Mary GibbsY | |||||||||||||||
Michelle HornY | |||||||||||||||
Charity SanoyYS | |||||||||||||||
Liz CallawayOS | |||||||||||||||
Ashley EdnerY | |||||||||||||||
Kovu
|
Jason Marsden | Jason Marsden | Silent cameo | Jason Marsden | |||||||||||
Ryan O'DonohueY | |||||||||||||||
Gene MillerS | |||||||||||||||
Zira
|
Suzanne Pleshette | Nika Futterman | Silent cameo | ||||||||||||
Nuka
|
Andy Dick | Andy Dick | Silent cameo | ||||||||||||
Vitani
|
Jennifer Lien | Lacey Chabert | Lacey Chabert | ||||||||||||
Lacey ChabertY | |||||||||||||||
Crysta MacalushS | |||||||||||||||
Ma
|
Julie Kavner | ||||||||||||||
Uncle Max
|
Jerry Stiller | ||||||||||||||
Flinchy | Jason Rudofsky | ||||||||||||||
Quint
|
Corey Burton | ||||||||||||||
Speedy
|
Corey Burton | ||||||||||||||
Fred
|
S. Scott Bullock | ||||||||||||||
Irwin
|
Charlie Adler | ||||||||||||||
Natives
|
Jeff Bennett | ||||||||||||||
Cheetata
|
Rob Paulsen | Rob Paulsen | |||||||||||||
Cheetato
|
Jim Cummings | Jim Cummings | |||||||||||||
Boss Beaver
|
Brad Garrett | ||||||||||||||
Toucan Dan
|
Jeff Bennett | ||||||||||||||
Mr. Bear
|
Jim Cummings | ||||||||||||||
Little Jimmy
|
Joe Alaskey | ||||||||||||||
Kion
|
Max Charles | Max Charles | Max Charles | ||||||||||||
Aaron Daniel JacobS | |||||||||||||||
Bunga
|
Joshua Rush | ||||||||||||||
Fuli
|
Diamond White | ||||||||||||||
Beshte
|
Dusan Brown | ||||||||||||||
Ono
|
Atticus Shaffer | ||||||||||||||
Janja
|
Andrew Kishino | ||||||||||||||
Cheezi
|
Vargus Mason | ||||||||||||||
Chungu
|
Kevin Schon | ||||||||||||||
Mzingo
|
Greg Ellis | ||||||||||||||
Jasiri
|
Maia Mitchell | ||||||||||||||
Madoa
|
Maisie Klompus | ||||||||||||||
Makucha
|
Steve Blum | ||||||||||||||
Makini
|
Landry Bender | ||||||||||||||
Anga
|
Bryana Salaz | ||||||||||||||
Rani
|
Peyton Elizabeth Lee | ||||||||||||||
Lana McKissackS |
Development
History
Early production of The Lion King began in late 1988, with the film originally being titled King of the Kalahari and later King of the Jungle.[65] The treatment, inspired by Hamlet, was written by Thomas M. Disch (author of The Brave Little Toaster) as work-for-hire; Disch received no credit or royalties. Production took place at the Walt Disney Animation Studios in Glendale, California. Also, nearly 20 minutes of the film were animated at the Disney-MGM Studios.[64] Ultimately, more than 600 artists, animators and technicians contributed to The Lion King over its lengthy production schedule. More than one million drawings were created for the film, including 1,197 hand-painted backgrounds and 119,058 individually colored frames of film.[64]
In October 1991, after finishing work on
At one time, the Disney Feature Animation staff felt The Lion King was less important than Pocahontas.[2] Both projects were in production at the same time, and most of the staff preferred to work on Pocahontas, believing it would be the more prestigious and successful of the two.[2] As it turned out, while both films were commercial successes, The Lion King received more positive feedback and larger grosses than Pocahontas.[67][68][69]
The sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride was directed by Darrell Rooney and produced by Jeannine Roussel, with Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus writing the screenplay. Disney believed that Simba's Pride would be so popular that it shipped 15 million copies to stores for the October 27 release date.[70]
Music
The
Disney released Rhythm of the Pride Lands on February 28, 1995, as a sequel to the soundtrack of the first film. Rhythm of the Pride Lands was initially printed in a very limited quantity, but was later re-released in 2003, included in some international versions of The Lion King's special edition soundtrack with an additional track, "Circle of Life".
An audio CD entitled
The soundtrack for the third film, The Lion King 1½: Songs From Timon and Pumbaa's Hilarious Adventure, was released to CD by Disney on February 10, 2004. It includes two songs from the original film, "That's All I Need" and "Hakuna Matata", re-performed by Nathan Lane who took over the role of voicing the character Timon. The rest of the soundtrack includes various
Reception
During its release in 1994, The Lion King was widely acclaimed, grossing more than $783 million worldwide, becoming the most successful film released that year. The film was the highest grossing animated film of all time until the release of Disney/Pixar's
On
Both sequels won the
Box office performance
Film or Musical |
Release date | Box office (in millions) | ||
United States | Outside US | Worldwide | ||
The Lion King (1994) | June 15, 1994[4] | $422.8[91] | $545.7[91] | $968.5[91] |
The Lion King (musical) | November 13, 1997 | $1,652.8[92] | $8,100 (2017)[88] | |
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | October 27, 1998 | Direct-to-video | ||
The Lion King 1½ | February 10, 2004 | |||
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar | November 22, 2015 | Television film | ||
The Lion King (2019) | July 19, 2019[93] | $543.6[94] | $1,113.2[94] | $1,656.8[94] |
Critical response
Films | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore[95] |
---|---|---|---|
The Lion King (1994) | 93% (136 reviews)[68] | 88 (30 reviews)[96] | A+ |
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | 62% (13 reviews)[97] | — | — |
The Lion King 1½ | 78% (18 reviews)[98] | — | — |
The Lion King (2019) | 52% (430 reviews)[99] | 55 (54 reviews)[100] | A |
Notes
- ^ Saucedo provided young Simba's singing voice in "The Morning Report", a newly animated song sequence that was added to the 2003 DVD Special Edition of The Lion King.
- ^ Bennett provided the voice of Zazu in "The Morning Report", a newly animated song sequence that was added to the 2003 DVD Special Edition of The Lion King.
- ^ In the original animated version of The Lion King, the aggressive and serious member of Shenzi's clan is known as Banzai. In the 2019 remake, he is renamed to Kamari. Despite this, they are the same character.
- ^ In the original animated version of The Lion King, the slow-minded member of Shenzi's clan is known as Ed. In the 2019 remake, he is renamed to Azizi. Despite this, they are the same character.
References
- ^ a b Henry, Sally. "THE LION KING Becomes 3rd-Longest Running Broadway Show of All Time; Passes CATS". Archived from the original on November 2, 2015.
- ^ Walt Disney Home Entertainment. June 15, 1994.
- ^ a b The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride Archived July 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine - ComingSoon.net
- ^ a b "The Lion King (1994)". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on December 27, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
- ^ "Disney: Notes on the end of the Disney Renaissance". decentfilms.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
- Schweizer, Peterand Rochelle Schweizer. Disney: The Mouse Betrayed: Greed, Corruption, and Children at Risk, Regnery, Washington, D.C., 1998. Chapter 11 "The Lyin' King", pp. 167–168.
- ISBN 9780786452576.
- ISBN 978-0300183559.
- OCLC 784882010.
- ^ Bradley, Bill (December 6, 2017) [2015-01-27]. "Was 'The Lion King' Copied from a Japanese Cartoon? Here's The Real Story". Huffington Post. p. 171. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
- ISBN 9780674768949.
- ^ "Japanese animator protests 'Lion King'". United Press International. August 18, 1994. Archived from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
- ^ Churnin, Nancy (March 9, 2004). "Catch the 'King' when he was a cub". Rome News-Tribune. News Publishing Co. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
- ^ "Joe Leydon. The Lion King 1½. Variety. February 11, 2004". Variety. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
- ^ "Chris Willman. The Lion King 1 ½. Entertainment Weekly. February 20, 2004". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
- ^ Lesley Goldberg (June 10, 2014). "'Lion King' Sequel Series Coming to Disney Junior". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
- ^ a b Steinberg, Brian (August 12, 2015). "Disney to Revive 'Lion King' With 'Lion Guard' TV Series". Variety. Variety Media. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
- ^ Butler, Karen (June 23, 2017). "David Oyelowo to voice villain Scar in 'The Lion Guard'". UPI. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
- ^ "'Lion King' Remake Casts Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones as Mufasa". The Hollywood Reporter. February 17, 2017. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017.
- ^ "Chiwetel Ejiofor Will Voice Scar in The Lion King". Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "The Lion King Remake Cast Adds Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa". April 25, 2017. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017.
- ^ Gettell, Oliver (February 17, 2017). "Donald Glover to play Simba in Disney's live-action Lion King". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017.
- ^ "Disney and Jon Favreau Joining Forces on "The Lion King"". The Walt Disney Company. September 28, 2016. Archived from the original on September 29, 2016.
- ^ Foutch, Haleigh (December 1, 2016). "Jon Favreau Offers Updates on 'The Lion King' and 'The Jungle Book 2'". Collider. Archived from the original on December 6, 2016.
- ^ Donnelly, Matt (July 10, 2017). "John Oliver Joins Disney's Live-Action 'The Lion King' (Exclusive)". The Wraps. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
- ^ "Hugh Jackman is Scar in Disney's Lion King Remake". July 15, 2017. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ Galuppo, Mia (August 7, 2017). "Alfre Woodard Joins Disney's 'The Lion King' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
- ^ Gonzalez, Umberto; Verhoeven, Beatrice (August 7, 2017). "'Lion King' Rafiki Casting: John Kani, 'Civil War' Star, to Play Wise Baboon (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ Valerio, Britt. "Release Dates for Frozen 2, Star Wars: Episode IX, The Lion King and More Have Been Announced". Oh My Disney. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
- ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 29, 2020). "'The Lion King' Followup Set With 'Moonlight' Director Barry Jenkins To Helm For Walt Disney Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca; Lang, Brent (September 29, 2020). "'The Lion King' Follow-Up in the Works With Director Barry Jenkins". Variety. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (August 26, 2021). "'The Lion King' Prequel: Kelvin Harrison Jr. & Aaron Pierre To Lead Cast For Disney & Barry Jenkins". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
- ^ Chapman, Wilson (September 9, 2022). "Lion King Prequel Gets Official Title, Footage Shown at D23". Variety. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ "Disney The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa Production Animation cel COA". eBay. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 9, 2015). "'Lion Guard' Series Gets Disney Channel Launch Date". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
- ^ Brett, Susan (February 8, 2016). "Exclusive Interview: Disney's The Lion Guard creator Ford Riley talks new Lion King sequel". TVdaily.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ Fritz, Ben (June 9, 2014). "Disney Junior Plans Preschool Series Based on 'The Lion King' (Exclusive)". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- TIME. Archivedfrom the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
- ^ Koch, Dave (June 18, 2014). "Three New Animated Series, Reboots All". Big Cartoon News. Archived from the original on June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- ^ Swift, Andy (November 23, 2015). "The Lion Guard: Did Disney Channel's New Movie Do The Lion King Justice?". Archived from the original on November 27, 2015.
- ^ "Disney's The Lion Guard gets short-form spinoff". Archived from the original on January 12, 2016.
- ^ Taymor, Julie, The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway, (Disney Editions, 1998)
- ^ "The Lion King is moving from New Amsterdam Theatre to the Minskoff Theatre". www.newyorktheatreguide.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2010. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
- Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund. Archived from the original(PDF) on December 3, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
- ^ "The Lion King Sesma, White, Williams, Zama and Simmons Cast in Las Vegas Lion King". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
- ^ "'The Lion King' Celebrates Successful Mexico City Premiere". Broadway World. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
- ^ Davie, Lucille."The Lion King comes home" Archived December 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, southafrica.info, June 8, 2007
- ^ "The Lion King video game". MobyGames. Archived from the original on June 28, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
- ^ "The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure video game". IGN. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
- ^ Anthony Burch (June 3, 2008). "Games time forgot: Timon and Pumbaa's Jungle Games". Destructoid. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ "Disney's Adventures in Typing with Timon and Pumbaa for Windows (1998)". MobyGames. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
- ^ "Disney's Adventures in Typing With Timon and Pumbaa". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
- ^ "Kingdom Hearts:Magic Summons". eyesonff.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
- ^ "Kingdom Hearts II: Worlds (The Pride Lands)". na.square-enix.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
- ^ "The Lion King 1½ Game Boy Advance info/review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 8, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
- ^ DeVries, Jack (March 7, 2006). "Disney Friends Review". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
- ^ "Update 12: The Lion King | Livestream". YouTube. June 26, 2017. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Update 31: DuckTales | Livestream". YouTube. June 28, 2019. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ Evans, Nick (May 3, 2019). "Why Chiwetel Ejiofor Really Wanted To Play The Lion King's Scar". CINEMABLEND. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
- ^ Disneyland Presents The Lion King Celebration: VHS
- ^ "House of Mouse Cast of Characters". WhatsIts Galore. Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
- ^ "Bambi Notes". The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on February 28, 2007. Retrieved August 11, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Lion King Production Notes". Lionking.org. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- ^ "Thomas M. Disch's contract and film treatment". www.jamescumminsbookseller.com. Retrieved November 29, 2008. [dead link]
- Walt Disney Home Entertainment. June 15, 1994.
- ^ "Pocahontas revenue". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2008.
- ^ a b "The Lion King". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on September 2, 2006. Retrieved September 24, 2006.
- ^ "Pocahontas". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2006.
- ^ Lion King II: Simba's Pride - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes Archived October 4, 2003, at the Wayback Machine New York Times
- Walt Disney Home Entertainment. June 15, 1994.
- ^ "Disney Legends: Elton John". The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- ^ "AFI's "100 Years, 100 Songs". Classic Movies. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
- ^ "Year-end 1994 Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- ^ "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride - Siskel & Ebert".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Lion King 1½ Soundtrack". Amazon. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
- ^ "Highest grossing animated films". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
- ^ "The Lion King interview". Archived from the original on December 31, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
- ^ "The 67th Academy Awards (1994): Nominees and Winners". Oscarguy.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ^ "Search - Lion King, The". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- Annie Awards. Archivedfrom the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- ^ "Charts - TOP VENTES VHS". JP's Box Office. Archived from the original on November 24, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ Grover, Ronald (February 16, 1998). "The Entertainment Glut". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ Hettrick and Chris Gennusa, Scott (March 6, 2001). "'Tramp' sequel scampers into vid paydirt". Variety. Variety Media LLC. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
- ^ Hettrick, Scott (June 23, 2000). "Video bows mint coin". Variety. Archived from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ Herrick, Scott (October 26, 2003). "There's gold in them DVDs". Variety. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ Ball, Ryan (March 2, 2004). "Lion King 1 1/2 Tops 2004 Sales". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
- ^ a b Seymour, Lee (December 18, 2017). "Over The Last 20 Years, Broadway's 'Lion King' Has Made More Money For Disney Than 'Star Wars'". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ "The Lion King Tony Awards". tonyawards.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
- ^ "The Lion King Study Guide" (PDF). disney.go.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
- ^ a b c "The Lion King (1994)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 17, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ^ "THE LION KING Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ^ "Disney Sets Release Dates For 'Frozen 2,' 'Lion King,' and More". Entertainment Weekly. April 25, 2017. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017.
- ^ a b c "The Lion King". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- ^ "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ "The Lion King". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- ^ "The Lion King 2 - Simba's Pride". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
- ^ "The Lion King 1 1/2". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
- ^ "The Lion King (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.