The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth animated film produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance. The Lion King was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff produced by Don Hahn and has a screenplay credited to Irene Mecchi Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton. Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice with a score by Hans Zimmer. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick James Earl Jones Jeremy Irons Jonathan Taylor Thomas Moira Kelly Nathan Lane Ernie Sabella Whoopi Goldberg Cheech Marin Jim Cummings and Rowan Atkinson.
The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa and was influenced by the Bible stories of Joseph and Moses and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The film was released on June 15 1994 to a mixed critical reception but was a massive commercial success grossing more than $966 million at the worldwide box office.
As of 2020 The Lion King is the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time the highest-grossing 2D animated film of all time and the ninth highest-grossing animated film of all time. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”) and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song (“Hakuna Matata”). It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 2016 the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally historically or aesthetically significant”.
The Lion King has been adapted into several stage productions. In 1997 a Broadway musical debuted at the New Amsterdam Theatre. It ran for 19 years making it the longest-running musical in Broadway history until it was surpassed by The Phantom of the Opera in 2006. The success of the film spawned several sequels and spin-offs including a live-action film directed by Jon Favreau that was released in 2019.
The vast majority of the animals featured in The Lion King are real lions antelopes zebras elephants ostriches and other such animals. However there are a few instances of cartoonish animals most notably Timon a meerkat and Pumbaa a warthog.
What animal is Simba?
A lion.
What animal is Nala?
A lioness.
What animal is Scar?
A lion.
What animal is Timon?
A meerkat.
What animal is Pumbaa?
A warthog.
What animal are the three hyenas Shenzi Banzai and Ed?
Hyenas.
What animal is Zazu?
A red-billed hornbill.
What animal are the vultures Flock 1 and Flock 2?
Vultures.
What animal is Rafiki?
A mandrill.
What animal is Mufasa?
A lion.
What animal is Sarabi?
A lioness.
What animal is Sarafina?
A lioness.
What animal are the animals in the Pride Lands?
Various animals including lions warthogs meerkats hyenas red-billed hornbills vultures and mandrills.
What is the name of Simba and Nala’s son?
Kopa (cub) later Kiara (teenager/adult).
What is the name of Simba and Nala’s daughter?
Kiara (cub) later Kopa (teenager/adult).
