The Lion King 1994 Film
The Lion King is a 1994 animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd animated feature in the Disney animated feature canon, and the third highest-grossing animated feature film ever released in the United States.
The film focuses on a young lion in Africa named Simba, who learns of his place in the "Circle of Life" while struggling through various obstacles to become the rightful king. It is frequently alleged that The Lion King was based on Osamu Tezuka's 1960s animated series Kimba the White Lion, although many of the filmmakers deny this. The filmmakers do, however, acknowledge the influences of the Shakespeare play Hamlet, the Bible stories of Joseph and Moses, and the 1942 Disney animated feature Bambi.
The Lion King is a musical film, with songs written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, and a film score by Hans Zimmer. The score and one of its songs went on to win Academy Awards. Disney later produced two follow-up movies, a sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and a semi-prequel, The Lion King 1½.
The story of The Lion King takes place in the fictional Pride Lands of Africa, where a lion rules over the other animals as king.
At the beginning of the film, Rafiki the mandrill shaman presents Simba, the newborn cub of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, to a gathering of animals at Pride Rock. Meanwhile, Mufasa's brother, Scar, realizes that he is no longer the heir to the throne and plots to kill Simba and Mufasa.
Scar plants curiousity in Simba about the elephant graveyard, a place beyond the borders of the Pride Lands where Mufasa has forbidden Simba to go. Simba takes his friend, Nala, to the elephant graveyard. There, the cubs are chased by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, Scar's hyena minions. Mufasa rescues the cubs. Scar, plotting further, gathers more hyenas and later engineers a wildebeest stampede down into a gorge where Simba is. Mufasa rescues his son from the stampede, but after an attempted climb to safety, Scar throws him back into the stampede to his death. Scar makes Simba believe that the young cub was responsible for his father's death, and Simba flees the Pride Lands, ashamed and guilty. Scar assumes the throne.
Simba and Nala with their new cub, held by RafikiSimba collapses in a distant desert, where he is found by Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. The duo adopt and raise the cub in the jungle under their carefree "Hakuna Matata" lifestyle. When Simba is grown, he encounters his childhood friend Nala, who relays that Scar's tyrannical reign has devastated the Pride Lands. She requests Simba to return and take his rightful place as king, but Simba refuses, still guilty about supposedly causing his father's death. After some advice from Rafiki and the ghost of his father, Simba returns home, joined by Nala, Timon and Pumbaa.
Once back at Pride Rock, Simba confronts his uncle and the truth about Mufasa's death is revealed by an overly confident Scar. A fierce battle breaks out between the lionesses and the hyenas while Simba fights Scar. In the midst of their fight, Scar tries to blame everything on the hyenas, which angers them. Simba eventually triumphs over his uncle and kicks him down to where the hyenas are waiting. The hyenas surround their fallen leader and kill him. With the rightful king in place, the Pride Lands are restored. Rafiki lifts Simba and Nala's newborn cub high into the air, thus continuing the circle of life.
Clockwise from left: Ed, Scar, Shenzi,
Banzai, Rafiki, Mufasa, Simba, Sarabi,
Zazu, Timon, Pumbaa, Sarafina and Nala
