The Lion King

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Source	Gross (USD)	% Total	All Time Rank
Domestic	$328,541,776 ($312,855,561 initially)	41.9%	16
Foreign	$455,000,000	58.1%	N/A
Worldwide	$783,841,776[13]	100.0%	22
Domestic Opening Weekend	$40,888,194	13.1%	99
Domestic Adjusted (2007)	$508,185,200	N/A	24

The Lion King became the highest grossing film of 1994 worldwide, and the second highest in the USA (the first being Forrest Gump).^[14] The film initially made US$312,855,561 domestically, but including its 2002 IMAX re-release the domestic amount was $328,541,776. The initial gross includes the film's short return to theaters in November 1994.^[15]

It held the record for the most successful animated feature film in history until that record was broken by the computer animated Finding Nemo in 2003. Still, it remains the most successful non-CGI animated feature. When adjusted for inflation, it is the fourth top-grossing animated film (below Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, One Hundred and One Dalmatians and Fantasia).

[edit] Awards

The film won two Academy Awards: Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). Besides winning in the same two categories in the Golden Globe Awards, it also won Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, and another Golden Globe for film editing. In the Annie Awards, it won Best Animated Film, Best Individual Achievement for Story Contribution in the Field of Animation, and Jeremy Irons also won Best Achievement for Voice Acting for voicing Scar.^[16]

[edit] Music

Elton John and Tim Rice wrote five original songs for this film, with Elton John performing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" during the end credits. Hans Zimmer also contributed to the film a score supplemented with traditional African music and choir elements arranged by Lebo M.^[17] The film won Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight") in both the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.^[16] Three songs from the film were nominated simultaneously for the Best Original Song Academy Award ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight", "Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata"), with "Circle of Life" also being nominated simultaneously in the same category at the Golden Globe Awards.^[18]

[edit] Songs

These are the musical numbers of the film, listed in order of appearance.

• "Circle of Life" is sung by an off-screen Carmen Twillie, with African vocals by Lebo M and his African choir. This song is played during the ceremony where a newborn Simba is presented to the animals of the Pride Lands. The song is reprised at the end of the film.
• "The Morning Report", a song originally not in the film (it was created for the live musical version), was added with an accompanying animated sequence in the 2003 Platinum Edition home video re-release. Sung by Zazu (Jeff Bennett), Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and young Simba (Evan Saucedo), the song is an extension of the scene in the original film where Zazu delivers a morning report to Mufasa, and later gets pounced on by Simba.
• "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" is sung by young Simba (Jason Weaver), young Nala (Laura Williams), and Zazu (Rowan Atkinson). Simba uses this musical number in the film to distract Zazu so that he and Nala can sneak off to the elephant graveyard, while expressing his wish to be king as soon as possible.
• "Be Prepared" is sung by Scar (Jeremy Irons/Jim Cummings), Shenzi (Whoopi Goldberg), Banzai (Cheech Marin) and Ed (Jim Cummings). In this song, Scar reveals to his hyena minions his plot to kill Mufasa and Simba.
• "Hakuna Matata" is sung by Timon (Nathan Lane), Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) and Simba (Jason Weaver as a cub and Joseph Williams as an adult). Timon and Pumbaa use this song as a warm welcome to Simba as he arrives at their jungle home, and to symbolize their "no worries" lifestyle. Simba grows into a young adult by the end of the song.
• "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a love song sung mainly by an off-screen Kristle Edwards, with Timon (Nathan Lane), Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella), adult Simba (Joseph Williams) and adult Nala (Sally Dworsky). This musical sequence shows Timon and Pumbaa's frustration at Simba falling in love, and the development of Simba and Nala's romantic relationship. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song during the 67th Academy Awards.
• "Circle of Life (reprise)" is reprised at the end of the movie by Lebo M and his African choir for the presentation of Simba and Nala's newborn cub.

On Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic, this includes Circle of Life, Hakuna Matata, and I Just Can't Wait to Be King on the red disc, Can You Feel the Love Tonight on the blue disc, and Be Prepared on the green disc. And on Disney's Greatest Hits, this also includes Circle of Life on the blue disc, Hakuna Matata on the green disc, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight on the red disc.

[edit] Soundtrack and other albums

Main article: The Lion King (soundtrack)

The film's original motion picture soundtrack was released on July 13, 1994.

On February 28 1995, Disney released an album entitled Rhythm of the Pride Lands, a sequel of sorts to the original soundtrack which featured songs and performances inspired by, but not featured in, the film. Most of the tracks were composed by African composer Lebo M and focused primarily on the African influences of the film's original music, with most songs being sung either partially or entirely in various African languages. Several songs featured in the album would later have incarnations in other The Lion King-oriented projects, such as the stage musical or the direct-to-video sequels (examples being "He Lives In You" used as the opening song for The Lion King II: Simba's Pride; and a reincarnation of "Warthog Rhapsody", called "That's All I Need", in The Lion King 1½). Rhythm of the Pride Lands was initially printed in a very limited quantity. However, it was re-released in 2003 and included in some international versions of The Lion King's special edition soundtrack with an additional track. It's been circulating from hand to hand for a while now, but now it's been posted on an official page at Hans-Zimmer.com that a long-lost "Lion King Expanded Score" has appeared on several download sites and is achieving broad acknowledgment among fans of Zimmer's music and TLK alike.

This score contains 21 tracks, 16 of which consist of never-before-released instrumental music from Hans Zimmer's original masterpiece score. The linked site contains track information and a message discussion board, where more information can be obtained on how to find a copy of the score.

The Expanded Score was available for purchase on eBay.

[edit] Sequels and spin-offs

The success of the film led to several spin-offs, its first being a 70mm film released in 1995 entitled Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable. It promoted environmental friendliness and was shown in the Harvest Theater in The Land Pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World. Also debuted in 1995 was a spin-off television series called The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa which focused on the titular meerkat and warthog duo in a more modern, human world to the film's.

In addition, a direct-to-video sequel called The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride was released in 1998, focusing on Simba's daughter Kiara. Finally, a direct-to-video prequel/midquel, The Lion King 1½ (also known as The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata), was released in 2004, showing the timeline of The Lion King from the perspective of Timon and Pumbaa.

In 2008, on Playhouse Disney, Timon and Pumbaa are going to star in an educational computer-animated program called Timon and Pumbaa: The Wilds.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Home video and DVD release

The Lion King was first released on VHS and laserdisc in the United States on March 3 1995, under Disney's "Masterpiece Collection" video series. The VHS tape quickly became one of the best-selling videotapes of all time: 4.5 million tapes were sold on the first day.^[19] In addition, Deluxe Editions of both formats were released. The VHS Deluxe Edition included the film, an exclusive lithograph of Rafiki and Simba (in some editions), a commemorative "Circle of Life" epigraph, six concept art lithographs, another tape with the half-hour TV show The Making of The Lion King, and a certificate of authenticity. The CAV laserdisc Deluxe Edition also contained the film, six concept art lithographs and The Making of The Lion King, but also included storyboards, character design artwork, concept art, rough animation, and a directors' commentary that the VHS edition did not have, on a total of four double sided disks. These home video versions of The Lion King all went into moratorium in 1997.^[20]

On October 7 2003, the film was re-released on VHS and released on DVD for the first time as The Lion King: Platinum Edition, as part of Disney's Platinum Edition line of animated classic DVDs. The DVD release featured a remastered version of the film created for the 2002 IMAX release and a second disc with bonus features. The film's soundtrack was available in its original Dolby 5.1 track or in a new Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix. The DVD was the first of Disney DVDs to include the Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix.^[21] By means of seamless branching, the film could be viewed either with or without a newly-created scene — a short conversation in the film replaced with a complete song, "The Morning Report". A Special Collector's Gift Set was also released, with the DVD set, five exclusive lithographed character portraits (new sketches created and signed by the original character animators), and an introductory book entitled The Journey.^[20] More than two million copies of the Platinum Edition DVD and VHS units were sold on the first day of release.^[19] A DVD boxed set of the three The Lion King films (in two-disc Special Edition formats) was released on December 6 2004. In January 2005, the film went back into moratorium.^[22]

The Platinum Edition of The Lion King was criticized by fans mainly for its false advertising: producer Don Hahn had earlier stated that the film would be in its original 1994 theatrical version, but it was confirmed after release that it was the "digitally enhanced" IMAX version instead, which is slightly different than the original theatrical cut. One of the most noticeable differences features re-drawn crocodiles in the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" scene.^[23]

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Story origin

Main article: Kimba the White Lion#The Lion King controversy

The Lion King was originally advertised as being the first animated Disney film not based on an already-existing story. However, elements of the film bear a resemblance to a famous 1960s Japanese anime television show, Kimba the White Lion.^[24] One similarity between the two is that the protagonists' names (Kimba and Simba) are very alike. Other coincidences include that most characters in Kimba have an analogue in The Lion King and that various individual scenes are nearly identical in composition and camera angle. Early production artwork on the Lion King Platinum Edition DVD even depicts a white lion.^[25] Disney's official stance is that any resemblance is coincidental, and directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff stated that they were well into the development process before the Kimba similarity was identified. Despite the resemblances between the film and the series, the family of Osamu Tezuka, Kimba's creator, has not filed a lawsuit.

The character designs and scenes are the only things that have been speculated to be taken from Kimba, the story from the anime and the Lion King story are quite different. The filmmakers, however, admitted that the story of The Lion King was inspired by the 1942 Disney animated film Bambi, the Joseph and Moses stories from the Bible, and William Shakespeare's Hamlet.^[26] Christopher Vogler, in his book The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers, described Disney's request that he suggest how to improve the plot of The Lion King by incorporating ideas from Hamlet.^[27]

The plot is noted as sharing some striking elements with the West African Epic of Sundiata.^[28]

[edit] Alleged subliminal message

In one scene of the film's original VHS and LaserDisc releases, it appears that the word "SEX" was embedded into the dust flying in the sky when Simba flops down. ^[29] which conservative activist Donald Wildmon asserted was a subliminal message intended to promote sexual promiscuity. However, the films' animators have stated that the letters spell "SFX" (a common abbreviation of "special effects"), and was a sort of innocent "signature" signed by the effects animation team to the work they did. Because of the controversy it caused, the image has been edited out of the 2003 DVD and VHS editions.

[edit] "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

The use of the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in a scene with Timon and Pumbaa has led to disputes between Disney and the family of South African Solomon Linda, who composed the song (originally titled "Mbube") in 1939. In July 2004, the family filed suit, seeking $1.6 million in royalties from Disney. In February 2006, Linda's heirs reached a legal settlement with Abilene Music, who held the worldwide rights and had licensed the song to Disney for an undisclosed amount of money.^[30]

[edit] Alleged racism

Upon its release, some critics complained that the hyenas in the film depicted negative racial stereotypes of urban blacks and Hispanics ^[31]. It has been argued the "despicable hyena storm troopers speak...in racially coded accents that take on the nuances of the discourse of a decidedly urban, black and Latino youth" ^[32].

[edit] Hamas' propaganda

In August 2007, the Hamas militant organization produced an animated propaganda film that allegedly mimicked the style of The Lion King. The program was aired via their television station, Al-Aqsa TV. Hamas was portrayed as a lion that chased and killed rats that bared the likenesses of members of the secular Fatah organization in Gaza. The program was briefly aired but was pulled off the air for revision.^[33][34]

[edit] Impact on popular culture

Because of its popularity, The Lion King has been referenced in various media. For instance, the animated TV series The Simpsons spoofed the film in the episode, "'Round Springfield". Towards the end of the episode, the ghost of Mufasa appears in the clouds with Bleeding Gums Murphy, Darth Vader and James Earl Jones (who actually voiced both Mufasa and Darth Vader in their respective movie appearances), saying: "You must avenge my death, Kimba... dah, I mean Simba," a reference to the Lion King/Kimba the White Lion controversy.^[35] The scene is concluded with "this is CNN" (also voiced by James Earl Jones). A similar parody scene appeared in the film Kung Pow! Enter the Fist.

Disney has also referenced The Lion King in its own films. In the Disney-released, Pixar-produced 1995 computer animated film Toy Story, the song "Hakuna Matata" can be heard playing in Andy's car during the film's climax. Coincidentally, Tim Allen, who voiced Buzz Lightyear was in Home Improvement with Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who voiced Cub Simba ^[36]

In one scene in Episode 166 of Home Improvement, Tim Allen is seen playing with a stuffed Cub Simba toy. He says "Well, I've never played a lion before," just as Jonathan Taylor Thomas comes on screen and replies, "I have and it's a tough gig. Everybody expects you to be king."

Pumbaa made brief appearances in The Hunchback of Notre Dame^[37] and Aladdin and the King of Thieves,^[38] both released in 1996.

The 1997 animated film Hercules paid homage to both The Lion King and the Nemean Lion: Scar's skin is worn by Hercules while he is posing for a painting on a Greek vase.^[39]

A frog species, Philautus simba, first found in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka, was named in reference to The Lion King's protagonist.^{[citation needed]} It is interesting to note that "Sinharaja" means "Lion King" or "Royal Lion" in the local Sinhalese language, though this is not a result of the movie in any way.^{[citation needed]}

The 2000 South Park episode "A Very Crappy Christmas" features a spoof of "The Circle of Life" called "The Circle of Poo," wherein Mr. Hankey, literally a talking piece of excrement, shows his son Cornwallis his place in the food chain. The musical number ends with Mr. Hankey holding Cornwallis in the air just as Rafiki holds Simba.

[edit] Video games

Two video games based on the film have been released. The first, entitled, The Lion King, was published in 1994 by Virgin and was released on NES, SNES, Game Boy, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Game Gear, PC and Amiga. The NES version, however, was only released in Europe, and was not identical to the SNES version. The second game, entitled The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure, was published in 2000 by Activision and was released on PlayStation and Game Boy Color.

In 1996, Disney Interactive and 7th Level released Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games for the PC. It was later seen on the SNES. Games include one where Pumbaa uses his gas to destroy fruits and bugs (and even a kitchen sink) that fall out of trees, a variation on a pinball game, a game where you use a peashooter to hit enemy creatures in the jungle, a game where Timon has to jump onto hippos over a river to deliver bugs to Pumbaa, and a variation on Tetris.

A third game was published in 2004 simply called The Lion King for Game Boy Advance in Europe and Asia, but was in fact a game based on the direct-to-video prequel/midquel The Lion King 1½ with Timon and Pumbaa as the playable characters.

Part of the main plot of The Lion King is retold in the 2005 Square Enix PlayStation 2 game Kingdom Hearts II. The characters of the film appear in "Pride Land", one of the many Disney "worlds" in the game. The plot is altered and new dialogue was recorded to accommodate the presence of the three main protagonists (Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy). Simba also appears as a Summon and Summon Card in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, respectively.

[edit] See also

• The Lion King: Six New Adventures, a boxed set of books released after the film's success. The books provide some backstory for the film (such as how Scar received his scar) and chronicle events that take place between the film and Simba's Pride.
• The Lion King: The Brightest Star, a book and cassette tape set telling the story of Simba's great-grandfather Mohatu.
• The Lion King: Friends In Need, a children's book that provides backstory on the characters Mufasa, Sarabi, and Zazu
• Kingdom Hearts II, a video game that features The Lion King as one of its worlds.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Lion King at the Internet Movie Database
• The Lion King at the Big Cartoon DataBase

v • d • e The Lion King
Films	The Lion King · The Lion King 1½ · The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
Characters	Simba · Mufasa · Nala · Rafiki · Scar · Shenzi, Banzai and Ed · Timon and Pumbaa · Zazu  · Others
Songs	"Circle of Life" · "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" · "Be Prepared" · "Hakuna Matata" · "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" · "He Lives in You · "We are One"
Books	The Brightest Star · Friends In Need · Six New Adventures
Games	The Lion King · Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games · The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure
Park attractions	Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable · Festival of the Lion King · The Lion King Celebration
Soundtracks	Original motion picture soundtrack · Rhythm of the Pride Lands · Festival of the Lion King soundtrack
Other media	The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa · Broadway musical
Misc.	Kings of the Pride Lands
See also	"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" · Kingdom Hearts II · Kimba the White Lion controversy

v • d • e Disney theatrical animated features
Official canon	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) • Pinocchio (1940) • Fantasia (1940) • Dumbo (1941) • Bambi (1942) • Saludos Amigos (1942) • The Three Caballeros (1944) • Make Mine Music (1946) • Fun and Fancy Free (1947) • Melody Time (1948) • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) • Cinderella (1950) • Alice in Wonderland (1951) • Peter Pan (1953) • Lady and the Tramp (1955) • Sleeping Beauty (1959) • One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) • The Sword in the Stone (1963) • The Jungle Book (1967) • The Aristocats (1970) • Robin Hood (1973) • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) • The Rescuers (1977) • The Fox and the Hound (1981) • The Black Cauldron (1985) • The Great Mouse Detective (1986) • Oliver & Company (1988) • The Little Mermaid (1989) • The Rescuers Down Under (1990) • Beauty and the Beast (1991) • Aladdin (1992) • The Lion King (1994) • Pocahontas (1995) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) • Hercules (1997) • Mulan (1998) • Tarzan (1999) • Fantasia 2000 (1999) • The Emperor's New Groove (2000) • Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) • Lilo & Stitch (2002) • Treasure Planet (2002) • Brother Bear (2003) • Home on the Range (2004) • Chicken Little (2005) • Meet the Robinsons (2007) • Bolt (2008) • The Princess and the Frog (2009) • Rapunzel (2010)
Live-action films with animation	The Reluctant Dragon (1941) • Victory Through Air Power (1943) • Song of the South (1946) • So Dear to My Heart (1949) • Mary Poppins (1964) • Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) • Pete's Dragon (1977) • Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) • Enchanted (2007)
DisneyToon features	DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990) • A Goofy Movie (1995) • Doug's 1st Movie (1999) • The Tigger Movie (2000) • Recess: School's Out (2001) • Return to Never Land (2002) • The Jungle Book 2 (2003) • Piglet's Big Movie (2003) • Teacher's Pet (2004) • Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005)
Other	The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) • James and the Giant Peach (1996) • Dinosaur (2000) • A Christmas Carol (2009)
See also	Pixar • Walt Disney Animation Studios

v • d • e A series on Shakespeare's Hamlet
Characters	Hamlet • Claudius • Gertrude • Ghost • Polonius • Laertes • Ophelia • Horatio • Rosencrantz and Guildenstern • Fortinbras • Yorick • Full character list	Image:Garrick-Left.png
Speeches	"To be, or not to be" • "What a piece of work is a man" • "Speak the speech"
Sources & Criticism	Legend of Hamlet • The Spanish Tragedy • Ur-Hamlet • Critical approaches to Hamlet • Literary influence of Hamlet
References	Phrases from Hamlet in common English • References to Hamlet • References to Ophelia
Performances	Hamlet in performance • Moscow Arts Theatre (1911)
Adaptations	The Lion King • Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead • Hamletmachine • Hamlet (opera) • Strange Brew
Hamlet on screen	Hamlet (1920 film) • Hamlet (1948 film) • Hamlet (1964 film) • Hamlet (1969 film) • Hamlet (1990 film) • Hamlet (1996 film) • Hamlet (2000 film)

Preceded by Mrs. Doubtfire

Golden Globe: Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy 1994

Succeeded by Babe

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