The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, this film is inspired by William Shakespeare's stage play Hamlet with some elements from Biblical stories of Joseph and Moses and Disney's 1942 animated feature film Bambi. The film was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff (in their feature directorial debuts) 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, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, 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 (Swahili for lion), 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.
Rating[]
The Lion King received a G rating by the MPAA. This is the thirty-first Disney animated film to be rated as such in the US after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, Melody Time, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver & Company, The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.
Cast[]
- Matthew Broderick as Simba (voiced by as a cub and as an adult)
- Jonathan Taylor Thomas as young Simba
- Jason Weaver as young Simba (singing)
- Joseph Williams as adult Simba (singing)
- Moira Kelly as Nala
- Niketa Calame as young Nala
- Laura Williams as young Nala (singing)
- Sally Dworsky as adult Nala (singing)
- Jeremy Irons as Scar (Jim Cummings provided most of Scar's singing)
- James Earl Jones as Mufasa
- Nathan Lane as Timon
- Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa
- Rowan Atkinson as Zazu
- Robert Guillaume as Rafiki
- Madge Sinclair as Sarabi
- Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi
- Cheech Marin as Banzai
- Jim Cummings as Ed, Mole
- Zoe Leader as Sarafina
Gallery[]
Cancelled plans[]
United States[]
