The story, without spoilers
On the African savanna, the animals gather at Pride Rock to greet Simba, the newborn son of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi. Simba grows into a bold, curious cub who cannot wait to be king, cheerfully ignoring the fussy advice of the hornbill Zazu and the warnings of his father about the shadowy lands beyond the border.
Not everyone celebrated his birth. Mufasa's brother Scar, who had expected to be next in line, has been cultivating friends among the hyenas Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. When a family tragedy drives Simba far from home, he is taken in by a meerkat and a warthog, Timon and Pumbaa, whose philosophy of life is a carefree “Hakuna Matata”. The question the film carries is whether he can keep running from who he is.
The film moves quickly, with an 88-minute running time, and much of its storytelling happens in song. “Circle of Life” sets out the world in its first minutes, “I Just Can't Wait to Be King” shows Simba's impatience, and “Hakuna Matata” marks the turn in his life. The animation of the savanna, from stampeding herds to the night sky, carries as much feeling as the dialogue.
Behind the scenes
The story draws on several sources: Disney's own Bambi (1942), Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Bible. When the studio decided to reimagine the project as a musical, it brought in Elton John and Tim Rice to write original songs, among them “Circle of Life”, “I Just Can't Wait to Be King”, “Be Prepared”, “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”. John's own recording of the love song plays over the end credits.
Hans Zimmer wrote the score. The voice cast mixed screen stars and comedians: Matthew Broderick as adult Simba, Jeremy Irons as Scar, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella as Timon and Pumbaa, and Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings as the hyenas. Jonathan Taylor Thomas voiced young Simba, with Jason Weaver singing for the cub, and Jim Cummings also sang part of “Be Prepared” for Scar.
The project began as discussions among Disney executives, with early treatments submitted under the title King of the Jungle. George Scribner, the original director, imagined it as something close to a nature documentary, with Roger Allers joining him as co-director. Scribner left over the studio's decision to make it a musical, and Rob Minkoff replaced him in April 1992. Linda Woolverton, who had written Beauty and the Beast, drafted early scripts before Irene Mecchi and Jonathan Roberts took over the revisions, and the creative team visited Kenya for research.
Why it still matters
The Lion King finished its first run with $763 million, the highest-grossing film of 1994 and the second-highest-grossing film of all time behind Jurassic Park. It remained the highest-grossing animated film until Finding Nemo in 2003, and re-releases have since taken it to $979 million on a $45 million budget.
Its afterlife is enormous. It launched a franchise that includes a Broadway adaptation, direct-to-video follow-ups, television series and a 2019 photorealistic remake. For many viewers it remains the peak of Disney's 1990s revival, the one that made an animated film feel as grand as any live-action epic.
It is still the highest-grossing traditionally animated film ever made, it was the best-selling film on home video, and in 2016 the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry.