The Lion King

The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the TBD Disney animated feature film, and the TBD animated film produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance. The Lion King was directed by Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff and Richard Rich, produced by Don Hahn, and has a screenplay credited to Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with a score by Hans Zimmer. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Ernest Borgnine, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair (in her last film role), Julie Kavner, Jerry Stiller, Kevin Schon, Beau Black, Dee Bradley Baker, John Finnegan, Danny DeVito, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings. The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa and was influenced by William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The Lion King tells the story of Simba (Swahili for lion), a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands; however, after Simba's paternal uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. Now a young adult, Simba receives valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King. The film also follows a meekart named Timon who leaves his home to live in a better place and befriends a warthog named Pumbaa.

Development of The Lion King began in 1988 during a meeting between Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney, and Peter Schneider while promoting The Land Before Time and Oliver & Company in Europe. Thomas M. Disch wrote a film treatment, and Woolverton developed the first scripts, while George Scribner was signed on as director, being later joined by Allers. Production began in 1991 concurrently with The Pebble and the Penguin and Pocahontas, which wound up attracting many of Disney's top animators. Some time after the staff traveled to Hell's Gate National Park in Kenya to research the film's setting and animals, Scribner left production, disagreeing with the decision to turn the film into a musical, and was replaced by Minkoff. When Hahn joined the project, he was dissatisfied with the script and the story was promptly rewritten. Nearly 20 minutes of animation sequences were produced at the Disney-MGM Studios theme park in Florida. Computer animation was also used in several scenes, most notably in the wildebeest stampede sequence.

The Lion King was released on June 15, 1994, to a positive reaction from critics, who praised the film for its music, story, themes, and animation. With an initial worldwide gross of $766 million, it finished its theatrical run as the highest-grossing release of 1994, the highest-grossing animated film and the second-highest-grossing film of all time. It is also the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time, as well as the best-selling film on home video, having sold over 30 million VHS tapes. On release, the film drew some controversy in Japan for its similarities to Osamu Tezuka's 1960s anime series Kimba the White Lion. The Lion King garnered two Academy Awards for its achievement in music and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The film has led to many derived works, such as a Broadway adaptation; a 1998 direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride; a 3D re-release in 2011; and a photorealistic computer-animated remake in 2019, which also became the highest-grossing animated film at the time of its release.

In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is, as of December 2019, the only Disney film to have been dubbed in Zulu, the only African language aside from Arabic to have been used for a feature-length Disney dub.

Plot
In the Pride Lands of Africa, a pride of lions rule over the animal kingdom from Pride Rock. King Mufasa's and Queen Sarabi's newborn son, Simba, is presented to the gathering animals by Rafiki the mandrill, the kingdom's shaman and advisor. Mufasa's younger brother, Scar, covets the throne and is angered by the birth of the new prince. This is the subject of an argument with first Mufasa's majordomo, the hornbill Zazu, then Mufasa himself.

Meanwhile, a meerkart named Timon is a social outcast in his meerkat colony on the outskirts of the Pride Lands due to frequently messing things up by accident. Though he is unconditionally supported by his mother, Timon dreams for more in life than his colony's bleak existence hiding from predators. One day, he is assigned as a sentry, but his daydreaming nearly leads to the death of his Uncle Max by a hungry hyena. Now completely shunned and convinced that he will never fit in with the other meerkats, Timon decides to leave to find a better life. He meets Rafiki, who teaches him about the philosophy "Hakuna Matata" and advises him to "look beyond what you see". Timon takes the advice literally and ventures around the Pride Lands and encounters a warthog named Pumbaa on his way. The two quickly form a bond and Pumbaa accompanies Timon.

A few years later, Mufasa shows a young Simba the Pride Lands and explains to him the responsibilities of kingship and the "circle of life", which connects all living things. Meanwhile, Scar plots to eliminate Mufasa and Simba, so he may become king. He tricks Simba and his best friend Nala (to whom Simba is betrothed) into exploring a forbidden elephants' graveyard by tricking Zazu. However, the cubs are soon attacked by hyenas led by the ruthless Janja. Mufasa is alerted about the incident by Zazu, and rescues the cubs. Though upset with Simba, Mufasa forgives him and explains that the great kings of the past watch over them from the night sky, from which he will one day watch over Simba. Meanwhile, Scar visits the hyenas and manages to convince them to help him overthrow Mufasa in exchange for hunting rights in the Pride Lands.

Scar sets a trap for his brother and nephew, luring Simba into a gorge and having the hyenas drive a large herd of wildebeest into a stampede that will trample him. Timon and Pumbaa are caught in the stampede as well, and are thrown off a waterfall in their attempt to escape. Scar informs Mufasa of Simba's peril, knowing that the king will rush to save his son. Mufasa saves Simba but ends up hanging perilously from the gorge's edge. Scar refuses to help Mufasa, instead sending him falling to his death. He then convinces Simba that the tragedy was Simba's own fault and advises him to leave the kingdom and never return. He orders the hyenas to kill the cub, but Simba escapes. Scar tells the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed in the stampede and steps forward as the new king, allowing Janja's clan to live in the Pride Lands.

Exhausted, Timon decides to give up, until Pumbaa discovers a luxurious green jungle he tried to tell Timon about earlier. They finally settle there with the philosophy of Hakuna Matata. Eventually, Timon and Pumbaa encounter Simba in a nearby desert, nearly dead. They rescue him and decide to raise him under their philosophy. Now a young adult, Simba rescues Timon and Pumbaa from a hungry lioness, who turns out to be Nala. She and Simba reunite and fall in love. Believing Hakuna Matata to be in jeopardy, Timon and Pumbaa attempt to sabotage their dates, but fail every time. Nala urges Simba to return home, telling him that the Pride Lands have become a drought-stricken wasteland under Scar's reign. Feeling guilty over his father's death, Simba refuses and storms off. He then encounters Rafiki, who tells him that Mufasa's spirit lives on in Simba. Simba is visited by the ghost of Mufasa in the night sky, who tells him that he must take his rightful place as king. Realizing that he can no longer run from his past, Simba decides to return to the Pride Lands.

Meanwhile, Nala explains to Timon and Pumbaa that Simba had run off to challenge Scar and reclaim Pride Rock, so that they need their help. Upset that Simba left them, Timon unsuccessfully tries to persuade Pumbaa to stay, but Pumbaa follows Simba and Nala. Timon indulges in the jungle's luxuries by himself, but loneliness starts to overcome him. Rafiki appears again and indirectly helps Timon realize that his true Hakuna Matata is with the ones he loves, prompting Timon to take off after Pumbaa, Simba and Nala. He catches up and reconciles with Pumbaa, before they journey onward to Pride Rock.

Aided by his friends, Simba sneaks past the hyenas at Pride Rock and confronts Scar, who had just struck Sarabi. Scar taunts Simba over his role in Mufasa's death and backs him to the edge of the rock, where he reveals to him that he murdered Mufasa. Enraged, Simba pins Scar to the ground and forces him to reveal the truth to the rest of the pride. Timon and Pumbaa run into Ma and Uncle Max, who came looking for Timon, who introduces Pumbaa to them. Timon proposes that they all help Simba by getting rid of the hyenas. While Simba battles Scar, Ma and Uncle Max are directed to construct a series of tunnels beneath the hyenas, as at the same time, Timon and Pumbaa use various tactics to distract them while the tunnel is being made. When the tunnels are finished, Max knocks down the support beams, breaking the ground under the hyenas. However, the last few get jammed, prompting Timon to dive underground and break them himself. The cave-in commences, and the hyenas are ejected through the tunnels.

Scar, attempting to escape, is cornered by Simba at the top of Pride Rock. Scar begs for mercy and attempts to blame the hyenas for his actions; Simba spares his life but orders him to leave the Pride Lands forever. Scar attacks his nephew, but Simba manages to toss him from the top of the rock. Scar survives the fall but is attacked and killed by the hyenas, who overheard his attempt to betray them.

With Scar gone, Simba accepts his place as the rightful king of the Pride Lands, thanking Timon and Pumbaa for his help, and make Nala his queen. With the Pride Lands restored to its usual state, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to the assembled animals, continuing the circle of life.