The Lion King …. turned 20 years old!!

~~May 8, 2014~~

Oh, m’gosh! Another realization that time doesn’t stop for anyone. I remember when this movie came out. It’s become and old time classic. The storyline, the characters, the animation, Elton John’s music …. it coalesced together and became a timeless classic which later inspired a wonderful Broadway musical. 

Definitely one of my favorites!

The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classic series.

The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa, and was influenced by the biblical tales of Joseph and Moses and the Shakespeare play Hamlet. The film was 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 songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with an original score by Hans Zimmer. The film features a large ensemble voice cast led by Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly and Nathan Lane.

The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as king; however, after Simba’s uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is fooled into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile in shame and despair. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny.

Development of The Lion King began in 1988 during a meeting between Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney and Peter Schneider while promoting Oliver & Company in Europe. Thomas Disch wrote a film treatment, and Woolverton developed the first scripts while George Scribner was signed on as director, being later joined by Allers. Production began in 1991 concurrently with Pocahontas, which wound up attracting most of Disney’s top animators.

Some time after the staff traveled to Hell’s Gate National Park in Kenya to research on the film’s setting and animals, Scribner left production disagreeing with the decision to turn the film into a musical, and was replaced by Minkoff. When Hahn joined the project, he was dissatisfied with the script and the story was promptly rewritten. Nearly 20 minutes of animation sequences took place at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.Computer animation was also used in several scenes, most notably in the wildebeest stampede scene.

The Lion King was released on June 15, 1994 to a positive reaction from critics, who praised the film for its music, story and animation. Following a 3D re-release in 2011, with earnings of over US $987 million worldwide as of 2011, the film is the highest-grossing hand-drawn film in history, the highest-grossing 2D animated film in the United States and the 19th-highest-grossing feature film of all time. Adjusted after inflation, it is the highest grossing animated movie of all time.

The Lion King garnered two Academy Awards for its achievement in music and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The film lead to many derived works, such as a Broadway adaptation, two direct-to-video follow-ups – sequel The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998) and the prequel/parallel The Lion King 1½ (2004) — and the spin-off series Timon and Pumbaa.

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~~The Lion King – Circle of life~~

(with lyrics)

~~Uploaded on Sep 12, 2011~~

~~The Lion King (1994) Trailer~~

~~Uploaded on Nov 11, 2009~~

Directed by Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff

A young lion prince is born in Africa, thus making his uncle Scar the second in line to the throne. Scar plots with the hyenas to kill King Mufasa and Prince Simba, thus making himself King. The King is killed and Simba is led to believe by Scar that it was his fault, and so flees the kingdom in shame.

After years of exile he is persuaded to return home to overthrow the usurper and claim the kingdom as his own thus completing the “Circle of Life”.

We ALL are ONE!!