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The Lion King is the Walt Disney Company's 32nd animated film, and one of its most successful. It was originally released on June 15, 1994 and later re-released in IMAX format in 2003.
The movie is about a young lion cub named Simba who learns about his place on the throne of Pride Rock and his role in the circle of life. Unlike previous Disney animated films, much of the voice acting work was done by well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Matthew Broderick, Moira Kelly, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Rowan Atkinson, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Robert Guillaume, and Nathan Lane. It is a musical; the songs have music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, but it was the music score by Hans Zimmer that drew the most praise.
The Lion King, though a very humanistic story, remains the only Disney film to have absolutely no trace of human existence. Robin Hood featured only anthropomorphized animals who lived like humans, while Bambi featured only unseen human characters; whether this makes The Lion King Walt Disney's first "non-human animals-only" film is open to interpretation, but it is one film that is free of "human elements".
Computer animation was used extensively in the creation of the movie, especially during the "Circle of Life" and the technologically innovative stampede sequences.
During production, this film was considered a secondary project compared to the next film scheduled, Pocahontas. However, as the film was being marketed, the studio noticed that the released teaser which consisted of the entire opening sequence featuring the song, Circle of Life, was getting a strongly enthusiastic reaction from audiences. Furthermore, when the film was in limited release in two major theatres, the film did very impressive business which suggested that this "secondary project" promised to be popular. Upon general release, the film more than confirmed that suspicion by becoming the most successful film of the year and the most successful animated feature film of all time (though with inflation factored in, it is merely number 4).
Plot synopsis
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow. Simba's father Mufasa, the king of the Pride Lands, is murdered by his own brother and Simba's uncle, Scar, who then convinces Simba that Mufasa's death was Simba's fault and encourages the young cub into self-imposed exile ("Run away, Simba. Run... Run away and never return."). Scar reports Mufasa's and Simba's "accidental" death to the pride, believing the cub to have been killed by his vicious hyena henchmen. He becomes king and his hyenas overrun the Pride Lands.
Simba escapes from the hyenas but collapses, exhausted, in the desert. The young cub is saved and befriended by Timon and Pumbaa (a meerkat and warthog respectively). After growing up with the pair, the adult Simba encounters his childhood friend, a formidable lioness named Nala, who has fled Scar's dictatorial rule to seek help. She urges Simba to return to the Pride Lands and retake his rightful throne, but he refuses, still traumatized by the false belief that he caused his father's death. After Rafiki the witch-doctor mandrill shows Simba that Mufasa's spirit still lives on inside him, Simba goes back home. His return inspires the lionesses of the pride to rise up against the hyenas; Simba defeats his evil uncle in combat – but not before Scar reveals to all that it was in fact he who killed Mufasa – and reclaims his kingdom. The film concludes with the birth of Simba and Nala's cub.
The plot bears similarities to Shakespeare's play Hamlet.
Key Characters - Mufasa - King of the Pridelands, father of Simba and mate of Sarabi, murdered by his brother Scar; the name is possibly derived from "Mustafa", another name of Kemal Atatürk. The hyenas in the movie pronounce the name in a funny way that is often imitated in American pop culture. Also, Mufasa was reportedly the name of the last king of the Bagada people, who were dispersed during the English colonization of Kenya. (see [1] (http://www.lionking.org/faq.html))
- Simba - The future ruler of the Pridelands, son of Mufasa, who was exiled by his uncle Scar. The word "simba" in the Swahili language means "lion".
- Nala - Friend and future mate of Simba (Swahili for "gift"). According to co-director Rob Minkoff, speaking in 2004, the general assumption during production was that Nala was the offspring of either Scar or Mufasa. The film never specifies this, for obvious reasons of taste, though it is consistent with the real-life behaviour of lions.
- Scar - Brother of Mufasa and Simba's Uncle. It is said that Scar's name was "Taka" (Swahili for "dirt" or "trash") before his disfiguration.
- Sarabi - Mother of Simba and Mufasa's mate (Swahili for "mirage").
- Rafiki - Mandrill shaman, Simba's spiritual guide (Swahili for "friend").
- Timon and Pumbaa - A comical duo who adopt Simba and raise him under the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata" (Swahili for 'no worries'). Pumbaa means "simpleton" in Swahili.
- Zazu - A pompous hornbill who is King Mufasa's majordomo (advisor).
- Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed - Three hyenas who assist Scar in murdering Mufasa and exiling Simba. Shenzi is Swahili for "uncouth"; Banzai means "skulk" or "lurk".
Sequels and spin-offs The Lion King was so successful that Disney (though not the original Lion King team) created a direct-to-video sequel called The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998), focusing on Simba's daughter Kiara. A spin-off television series called Timon and Pumbaa focused on the Meerkat and Warthog duo, and implied that the story took place during the mid Twentieth Century through the appearance of humans, human clothing and technology. A second direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King 1½, was released on February 10, 2004, and takes place on a parallel time line that interweaves with the original Lion King, but from Timon and Pumbaa's perspective.
The original movie was remastered and, on October 7, 2003, released as The Lion King 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. Among the extra features on the disc was an additional scene featuring the song, "Morning Report", which was originally written for the stage musical (see below). By means of 'seamless branching' the movie could be viewed either with or without the exra scene.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride also celebrated a 2 disc Special Edition re-release on August 31, 2004.
A boxed set of the three films (in double-disc Special Edition formats) was released on December 6, 2004.
Musical  Lion King Theater in the Hamburg Habour The movie was also adapted into an award-winning Broadway stage musical with the same title, directed by Julie Taymor, featuring actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The stage show first opened on November 13, 1997 in New York City, and was an instant and tremendous success. A version later opened London, and another in Toronto, playing there until January 2004. It is also now playing in Sydney, Australia, and Hamburg, Germany.
Controversies surrounding The Lion King The movie has had its share of controversy.
There was a dispute over the origin of the story, as it bears a striking resemblance (http://www.kimbawlion.com/rant2.htm) to a Japanese animated television show Kimba the White Lion, so much so that apparently even some animators thought they were doing a remake. The directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, however, reported they were well into the development process before someone pointed out the Kimba similarity.
There was also some criticism from the gay community regarding a perceived effeminate undertone to the movie's villain, Scar.
In one scene of the movie it appears as if animators had embedded the word "sex" into several frames of animation—the intention, however, was the letter combination "SFX" (for "special effects"), sort of an innocent "signature" signed by the effects team to the work they did.
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.
Upon its release, the movie also came under fire for purportedly re-enforcing traditional gender stereotypes.
In the musical remake there was a scene removed from the American version. When Mufasa dies the lionesses cry over his dead body. It had looked like they were crying out toilet paper, which had caused the audience to laugh at the inappropriate moment.
Actually, they were re-enacting a Japanese puppet mourning ceremony where ribbons would flow out of the eyes to symbolize tears. The section is still in the Australian version and receives the same amount of laughter as in the original.
This convention is used to greater effectiveness in the stage musical.
It should be noted that the accuracy of the claim that this scene was removed is doubtful. The touring version seen in Seattle in winter 2004-5 includes this scene and did not provoke laughter or confusion.
Also there was controversy in the Australian version when the two child leads of Simba and Nala were fired due to bad acting, lack of singing talent and inconsistent American accent.
See also
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