The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is inspired by William Shakespeare's stage play Hamlet with some elements from the Biblical stories of Joseph and Moses. The film was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, Moira Kelly, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Rowan Atkinson, and Robert Guillaume. Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with a score by Hans Zimmer. Set in a kingdom of lions in Africa, The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a lion cub who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands; however, after his paternal uncle Scar kills Mufasa to seize the throne, Simba is tricked into believing he was responsible for his father's death and flees into exile. After growing up in the company of the carefree outcasts Timon and Pumbaa, 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 Lion King II: Simba's Pride is a 1998 American animated direct-to-video musical romantic drama film. It is the sequel to Disney's 1994 animated feature film, The Lion King, with its plot influenced by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and the second installment in The Lion King trilogy. According to director Darrell Rooney, the final draft gradually became a variation of Romeo and Juliet.
The Lion King 1½ is a 2004 American animated direct-to-video musical comedy film produced by the Australian branch of DisneyToon Studios and released direct to video on February 10, 2004. The third and final installment released in the original Lion King trilogy, it is based on The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa and serves as an origin story for the meerkat/warthog duo Timon and Pumbaa while the film is also set within the events of The Lion King (1994). A majority of the original voice cast from the first film returns to reprise their roles, including Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella as the voices of Timon and Pumbaa, respectively. The plot of the movie is inspired by Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a tragicomedy that tells the story of Hamlet from the point of view of two minor characters.
James Jonah Cummings is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in almost 400 roles. Cummings has frequently worked with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., including as the official voice of Winnie the Pooh since 1988, Tigger since 1989, the Tasmanian Devil since 1991, and Pete since 1992. Other notable roles include Fat Cat and Monterey Jack on Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (1989–1990), the title character of Darkwing Duck (1991–1992), Kaa on Jungle Cubs (1996–1998) and The Jungle Book 2 (2003), Cat on CatDog (1998–2005), and Police Chief Gluteus on Ozzy & Drix (2002–2004).
Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor is a British actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award, with nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
The Lion King is a stage musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and a book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, with additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer. It is based on the 1994 Walt Disney Animation Studios' film of the same name. Directed by Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.
Nala is a fictional character in Disney's The Lion King film franchise. Introduced in the animated film The Lion King (1994), Nala subsequently appears as a less prominent character in the film's sequels The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) and The Lion King 1½ (2004), and serves as a recurring character in The Lion Guard (2015–2019). In the original animated film trilogy, the adult Nala is voiced by American actress Moira Kelly. Young Nala's speaking voice in the original film is provided by actress Niketa Calame, while singers Laura Williams and Sally Dworsky provide the singing voices of young and adult Nala respectively. Nala is introduced as the daughter of an unnamed lion and Sarafina, the best friend of Simba, and ultimately becomes his wife as well as the daughter-in-law of Mufasa and Sarabi and the niece-in-law of Scar by the end of The Lion King. Nala becomes Simba's wife as well as his Queen Consort. Nala is also the mother of Kiara and Kion, and in The Lion King: Six New Adventures, she is the mother of Kopa.
Timon and Pumbaa are an animated meerkat and warthog duo introduced in Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King and its franchise. Timon was played through his many appearances by Nathan Lane, Max Casella, Kevin Schon, Quinton Flynn, Bruce Lanoil in the Wild About Safety shorts and Kingdom Hearts II, while Pumbaa is voiced by Ernie Sabella, and was portrayed by Tom Alan Robbins in the original cast of the Broadway musical. In the CGI remake, the characters are portrayed by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, respectively. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella first came to audition for the roles of the hyenas, but when the producers saw how well they worked together, they decided to cast them as Timon and Pumbaa.
"He Lives in You" is a song written and performed by Lebo M and his South African Choir and co-written by Mark Mancina and Jay Rifkin, originally for Rhythm of the Pride Lands, a 1995 album inspired by the 1994 film The Lion King. It is also performed twice in the stage musical adaptation of The Lion King, first produced in 1997. Furthermore, an abridged version of the song was used for the opening of the 1998 sequel film The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.
There have been seven theme park live adaptations of The Lion King at Disney parks since the Disney animated feature film The Lion King was released by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1994. These have included a parade, two theater-in-the-round shows, and four stage shows.
"Circle of Life" is the song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. Composed by English musician Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice, the song was performed by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M as the film's opening song. In an interview, Rice said he was amazed at the speed with which John composed: "I gave him the lyrics at the beginning of the session at about two in the afternoon. By half-past three, he'd finished writing and recording a stunning demo." John sang a pop version of the song with the London Community Gospel Choir, which was included in the film's soundtrack and made into a music video.
The Lion King is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional media. The success of animated original 1994 American feature film, The Lion King, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, led to a direct-to-video sequel and prequel, a live-action remake in 2019, a television film sequel, two spin-off television series, three educational shorts, several video games, merchandise, and the third-longest-running musical in Broadway history, which garnered six Tony Awards including Best Musical. The franchise, led by the musical's box office at $8.1 billion, is the highest-grossing entertainment property. The franchise as a whole has EGOT-ed, meaning it has won the four biggest awards of American show business.
Jeremy John Irons is an English actor and activist. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having won numerous accolades including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. He is one of the few actors who have achieved the "Triple Crown of Acting" having won Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Awards for Film, Television and Theatre.
Scar is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Disney's The Lion King franchise. He was created by screenwriters Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton, and animated by Andreas Deja. Scar is introduced in the first film as the ruthless, power-hungry younger brother of Mufasa, ruler of the Pride Lands. Originally first in line to Mufasa's throne until he is suddenly replaced by Mufasa's son Simba, Scar decides to lead an army of hyenas in his plot to take the throne by killing Mufasa and Simba, who escapes into exile, ultimately blaming his brother's death on his nephew.
"The Madness of King Scar" is a song written by English musician Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, which premiered in the musical The Lion King, a stage adaptation of Disney's 1994 animated feature film of the same name. "The Madness of King Scar" had been added to the musical along with two other songs. It is one of two tracks that more prominently features vocals from the character Nala. The title is a reference to the 1994 film The Madness of King George.
The Lion Guard is an American animated television series developed by Ford Riley and based on Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. The series was first broadcast with a television film titled The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar on Disney Channel on November 22, 2015, and began airing as a TV series on January 15, 2016, on Disney Junior. It is the second television series to be based on The Lion King, the first being The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa (1995–1999). The Lion Guard is a sequel and spin-off to The Lion King, and takes place during the time-gap within Disney's 1998 direct-to-video sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, while the third and final season takes place in parallel with the film's second act, with the final two episodes serving as an epilogue.
The Lion King is a 2019 American musical drama film directed by Jon Favreau, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Fairview Entertainment. It is a photorealistic computer-animated remake of Disney's traditionally animated 1994 film The Lion King. The film stars the voices of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Florence Kasumba, Eric André, Keegan-Michael Key, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and James Earl Jones. The plot follows Simba, a young lion who must embrace his role as the rightful king of his homeland following the murder of his father, Mufasa, at the hands of his uncle, Scar.
The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the 2019 Walt Disney Pictures remake film of the same name, a live-action photorealistic computer-generated remake of Disney's 1994 animated feature film of the same name. It features songs from the original film written by Elton John and Tim Rice and performed by the film's cast. It also features the score composed by Hans Zimmer, the original film's composer, and two new songs: "Spirit," written by Beyoncé, Labrinth, and Ilya Salmanzadeh and performed by Beyoncé, and the end-credit song "Never Too Late", written by John and Rice and performed by John. Beyoncé also produced a curated soundtrack titled The Lion King: The Gift, which features new songs performed by multiple artists. The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was digitally released on July 11, 2019, and both the soundtrack's CD and Beyoncé's album were released on July 19, 2019.
Mufasa: The Lion King is an upcoming American musical drama film directed by Barry Jenkins, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pastel Productions. It is intended to be the live-action styled photorealistic computer-generated imagery prequel to the similarly created 2019 remake of the original film The Lion King. Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, and John Kani reprise their character roles from the remake, and are joined by Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr., who voice their young versions of King Mufasa and Scar, respectively.
