Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable | |
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Epcot | |
Area | The Land pavilion |
Coordinates | 28°22′27.76″N81°33′7.94″W / 28.3743778°N 81.5522056°W |
Status | Removed |
Opening date | January 21, 1995 |
Closing date | February 3, 2018 |
Replaced | Symbiosis |
Replaced by | Awesome Planet (World Nature) |
Ride statistics | |
Attraction type | Documentary |
Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
Theme | The Lion King , Environmental |
Vehicle type | Movie theater seats |
Audience capacity | 428 per show |
Duration | 12:22 |
Sponsor | Nestlé (1995–2009) |
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable is a 1995 documentary short film featuring characters from Disney's 1994 film The Lion King . It was shown in the Harvest Theater in The Land pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. It opened on January 21, 1995, replacing Symbiosis . The main narrator of the story is Simba.
In the film, Timon and Pumbaa are chopping down trees and clogging up rivers to build the Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village. Simba comes to them and explains how their actions are harmful to nature. This lesson was explained with live-action footage, some left over from Symbiosis (with clips of people such as Native Americans, Native Hawaiians and Masai, clips of New York City and other locations such as the Amazon Rainforest, Serengeti, Andes, Las Vegas, Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia, and images of animals such as monkeys, bald eagles, snakes, elephants and wildebeest).
The film opens with Mufasa's voice explaining that everyone is connected in the great circle of life. A montage of animals and a few clips from Symbiosis open to the song, Circle of Life.
The focus of the main story is on Simba. He decided to show Timon and Pumbaa how another creature (man) is similarly forgetting how everyone is connected. He explained to them that, at first, they were small in numbers, so they only took what they needed to survive, which at that time was not much. However, as the human population grew, necessities for living space, power, and food increased.
Timon and Pumbaa are initially excited by man's developments, but Simba shows them the price that comes with the human necessities. He explains that humans have caused harm to the environment with their excessive consumption through activity such as deforestation, endangerment of species and pollution. He says that once humans realized what they were destroying, they began to repair the damage through recycling, alternative energy and conservation programs. He explains that humans helped other creatures in nature by studying them to learn their needs.
Timon and Pumbaa decide to help the humans give back to nature, but Simba shows them that they already can at home. Timon and Pumbaa unclog the rivers, thus giving the water back to the other creatures on the Savannah. Simba ends the story with his roar and the film closes with a shorter montage set to the end of the title song.
Walt Disney World News Today explained that the "Symbiosis film would be replaced in 1995 with Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable". Some scenes were recycled from Symbiosis into the new film. Animated sequences and a character-driven narrative made up the film, which was inspired by The Lion King . The article added that the "1990s were a decade in which conservation became a hot-button topic, and Circle of Life was there to keep Epcot's finger on the pulse, so much so that the film holds up quite well and covers environmental issues still facing us 17 years later". [1]
In addition to the live-action footage, the film featured about two-and-a-half minutes of new animation, featuring characters from The Lion King and produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation.
The attraction permanently closed on February 3, 2018. [2]
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, and produced by Don Hahn, the film's screenplay was written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Featuring an ensemble voice cast consisting of Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Niketa Calame, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Rowan Atkinson, and Robert Guillaume, The Lion King follows a young lion, Simba, who flees his kingdom when his father, King Mufasa, is murdered by his parental uncle, Scar. After growing up in exile, Simba returns home to confront his evil uncle and reclaim his throne.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is a 1998 American animated direct-to-video musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Video Premiere. It is the sequel to Disney's 1994 animated film, The Lion King, with its plot influenced by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and the second installment in The Lion King trilogy.
The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa is an American animated buddy comedy television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It was based on Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King, centering on Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog as they continue to live by their problem-free philosophy hakuna matata. Compared to most other The Lion King media, the tone of the series is more slapstick comedy-oriented.
The Lion King 1½ is a 2004 American animated direct-to-video musical comedy film directed by Bradley Raymond, produced by Disneytoon Studios and released on February 10, 2004. The third installment in the Lion King franchise, the film is both a prequel and sidequel to The Lion King (1994), focusing on the supporting characters Timon and Pumbaa. A majority of the 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 film's structure 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. The Lion King 1½ received generally positive reviews from critics.
Symbiosis was a 70 mm documentary shown from October 1982 to January 1995 in the Harvest Theater at The Land pavilion at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was directed by Paul Gerber and narrated by veteran voice-actor Philip L. Clarke.
Simba is a fictional character and the main protagonist of Disney's The Lion King franchise. First appearing as a lion cub in The Lion King (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, King Mufasa, is killed by his treacherous uncle, Scar, with his uncle additionally deceiving him into believing he was the reason for his father's death. Several years later, Simba returns home as an adult to reconcile his childhood trauma, confronts Scar, whom he learns was his father's murderer, and reclaim his rightful place as King of the Pride Lands after defeating Scar. He subsequently appears in sequels The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1½. Simba was originally voiced by actors Matthew Broderick and Jonathan Taylor Thomas as an adult and cub, respectively; various actors have voiced the character in sequels, spin-offs, and related media.
The Land is a pavilion located in the World Nature neighborhood of Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The pavilion is dedicated to human interaction with the Earth, focusing on agriculture, conservation, and travel. It opened on October 1, 1982, as part of the Phase I features for the grand opening of what was then known as EPCOT Center. It explores how humans can both use the land for their benefit, and how they can also destroy it. Future Technology in better preserving the land is also explored in the pavilion, along with a focus on the celebration of the land itself.
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.
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.
"Be Prepared" is a song written by Elton John and Tim Rice from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. The song was originally performed in this film by Jeremy Irons and Jim Cummings, with Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin providing supporting vocals.
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.
"Hakuna Matata" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. The music was written by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. The song is based on Timon and Pumbaa's catchphrase in the movie, Hakuna matata, a Swahili phrase meaning "No worries".
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 prequel/sequel to the 2019 film, 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 is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. The franchise as a whole has EGOT-ed, meaning it has won the four biggest awards of American show business.
Disney's Wild About Safety is an educational series that features short films that were produced by Disney Educational Productions, Duck Studios, and Underwriters' Laboratories.
The Lion Guard is an American animated television series developed by Ford Riley and based on Disney's 1994 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 based on The Lion King following The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa (1995–1999). The first two seasons take place within the time-gap in the 1998 film The Lion King II: Simba's Pride,. The majority of the third and final season takes place in parallel with the film's second act, with the final two episodes serving as an epilogue to the film.
The Lion King is a 2019 American musical drama film that is a photorealistically animated remake of the traditionally-animated 1994 film. Directed by Jon Favreau, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Fairview Entertainment, 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.
Timon and Pumbaa's Virtual Safari is a series of interactive virtual games that were included as bonus-features within several of Disney's The Lion King-related DVD releases throughout the 2000's. The series of games centers on Timon and Pumbaa going on a variety of safari adventures. The Virtual Safari games are a cross between the Jungle Cruise and Indiana Jones-related Disney theme park rides along with Kilimanjaro Safaris. Players press the left or right arrow buttons on their DVD player's remote at decision making points to decide which way the vehicle travels.
Mufasa: The Lion King is a 2024 American musical drama film directed by Barry Jenkins from a screenplay written by Jeff Nathanson. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, the film is photorealistically animated and serves as both a prequel and sequel to The Lion King (2019), the remake of the 1994 animated film of the same name. Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Donald Glover, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and John Kani reprise their roles from the remake; new cast members include Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tiffany Boone, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Anika Noni Rose, and Blue Ivy Carter in her feature film debut.