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 under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. 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, Niketa Calame, 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. Inspired by African wildlife, the story is modelled primarily on William Shakespeare's stage play Hamlet with some influence from the Biblical stories of Joseph and Moses, and follows a young heir apparent who is forced to flee after his uncle kills his father and usurps the throne. After growing up in exile, the rightful king returns to challenge the usurper and end his tyrannical rule over the kingdom.
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.
Corey Burton is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on The Transformers, Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Count Dooku and Cad Bane in the Star Wars franchise, Zeus in Hercules: The Animated Series and the God of War series, and Hugo Strange in Batman: Arkham City.
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.
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable is a 1995 documentary short film. 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.
Ernest Sabella is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Pumbaa from The Lion King franchise, voicing the character in all media except the 2019 and 2024 films. Sabella's TV roles include Mr. Donald "Twinkie" Twinkacetti in Perfect Strangers (1986-1987), George Shipman in A Fine Romance, and Leon Carosi in Saved by the Bell (1991). His work in Broadway theatre includes starring roles in Guys and Dolls,Chicago,Curtains, and Man of La Mancha.
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. Released as a single in May 1994, the song was a hit in the UK, peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, and achieved success in the United States, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was a number-one hit in Canada and France. At the 67th Academy Awards in March 1995, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The same year, the song also won John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Completing a trifecta, the song also won a Golden Globe at the 52nd Golden Globe Awards held in 1995 for Best Song - Motion Picture.
Disney Sing-Along Songs is a series of videos on VHS, betamax, laserdisc, and DVD with musical moments from various Disney films, TV shows, and attractions. Lyrics for the songs are sometimes displayed on-screen with the Mickey Mouse icon as a "bouncing ball". Early releases open with a theme song introduction containing footage featuring Professor Owl and his class, seen originally in 1953 in two Disney shorts, Melody and Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom. Professor Owl hosts some of the videos, while either Jiminy Cricket or Ludwig Von Drake host others. Later volumes, as well as the two Christmas videos, do not feature a host at all. Scenes with Jiminy Cricket and Ludwig Von Drake were taken from television programs, including the Walt Disney anthology television series and The Mickey Mouse Club, which featured the characters in the 1950s and 1960s.
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.
Rick Farmiloe is an American animator and sequence director who has worked for various studios, including Walt Disney Animation Studios, Rich Animation Studios and DreamWorks.
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 worry(ies)".
Bruce Lanoil is an American puppeteer and voice actor who works for The Jim Henson Company and for The Walt Disney Company. He frequently works with puppeteer David Alan Barclay.
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 The Lion King 1½ is a 2003 platform game based on the 2004 animated film of the same name. It was developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Disney Interactive, whilst THQ distributed the game in Europe. The game was released worldwide for Game Boy Advance on October 7, 2003, 4 months before the film came out.
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 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 the 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.
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.
