The Lion King
2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Films
| The Lion King | |
|---|---|
 Promotional Poster for The Lion King |
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| Directed by | Roger Allers Rob Minkoff |
| Produced by | Don Hahn |
| Written by | Irene Mecchi Jonathan Roberts Linda Woolverton |
| Starring | Matthew Broderick James Earl Jones Jeremy Irons Jonathan Taylor Thomas Nathan Lane Ernie Sabella Robert Guillaume Moira Kelly Rowan Atkinson Whoopi Goldberg Cheech Marin Jim Cummings |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 15, 1994 (selected cities) June 24, 1994 (general) December 25, 2002 ( IMAX re-release) |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $79,300,000 (estimated) |
| Preceded by | Aladdin (1992) |
| Followed by | Pocahontas (1995) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Lion King 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. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to selected cities by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on June 15, 1994, and put into general release on June 24, 1994. It made a short return to theaters starting from November 18, 1994, less than half a year after its initial release, with a 3-minute preview of Pocahontas. The film was later re-released with digital enhancements to giant-screen IMAX theaters on December 25, 2002. Among fans, the film is commonly referred to as TLK.
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 prominent 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.
Production
The Lion King was originally called King of the Jungle during early stages of production. Like Bambi, animators studied real-life animals for reference, and some of the filmmakers went to Africa to observe the natural habitat that would be shown in the film.
The film's significant use of computers helped the filmmakers to present their vision in new ways. The most notable use of computer animation is in the "wildebeest stampede" sequence. Several distinct wildebeest characters were built in a 3D computer program, multiplied into the hundreds, cel shaded to look like drawn animation, and given randomized paths down a mountainside to simulate the real, unpredictable movement of a herd. Similar multiplication occurs in the "Be Prepared" musical number with identical marching hyenas.
The Lion King was once considered a secondary project to Pocahontas, both of which were in production at the same time. Most of the Disney Feature Animation staff preferred to work on Pocahontas, believing it would be the more prestigious and successful of the two. However, when the two films were released, The Lion King received much more positive feedback than Pocahontas.
Plot
The story of The Lion King takes place in the Pride Lands of Africa, where a lion rules over the other animals as king.
At the beginning of the film, King Mufasa and his mate, Queen Sarabi, have recently given birth to their child Simba. In a large-scale ceremony, Simba is presented to the animals of the Pride Lands by Rafiki, a wise witch doctor mandrill, from atop Pride Rock, home of the royal lion pride. Later that day, Mufasa confronts his younger brother, Scar, and questions his absence from the ceremony. Although claiming he forgot, Scar is actually jealous of his new-born nephew being heir to the throne, and believes that he himself is the rightful king.
Time passes and Simba grows into a playful and active cub. One day, Scar lures him to the elephant graveyard, the forbidden land that Mufasa had warned Simba not to visit. Unable to overcome his curiosity, the young cub goes there with his best friend, Nala. Upon their arrival, they encounter three hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, who try to kill them. At the last moment, Mufasa comes to the rescue by scaring off the hyenas.
Following this encounter, it is revealed that Scar had been plotting with the hyenas to kill Simba. After this failed attempt, Scar decides to get rid of both Mufasa and his son once and for all. Scar leads Simba into a large canyon, and disappears, leaving the young cub by himself. With his hyenas, Scar then engineers a wildebeest stampede which heads directly towards Simba. Mufasa, hearing that his son was once again in danger, rescues Simba from the herd, but is lost in the stampede himself. In the midst of the stampede, Mufasa makes one last great leap to cling to the rock face. As he climbs higher, he looks up to see Scar standing on the ledge above him and pleads to him for help. Instead of saving him, however, Scar throws Mufasa from the ledge with the mocking words "long live the king". Mufasa disappears in the stampede and is crushed under the hooves of the wildebeest. As Simba, who was too busy climbing up the rock face to see Scar kill Mufasa, sobs next to his father's lifeless body, Scar comes and tricks the cub into thinking that he was responsible for his father's death. As a devastated Simba runs off, Scar orders his hyena henchmen to kill him, but in the chase that follows, Simba escapes into the desert. The hyenas, fearing Scar's wrath while confident that the cub cannot survive in the wilderness, lie to Scar that they killed the young prince. Scar accepts the story, explaining to the remaining pride that the stampede took the lives of both Mufasa and Simba. He assumes the throne and becomes the new King of the Pride Lands.
Exhausted, Simba collapses in the desert in a state of near death; however, the cub is saved and befriended by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog, respectively, who teach Simba their life philosophy of " Hakuna Matata", or "no worries". The pair take Simba under their wing and allow him to live in the jungle with them. As time passes, the now adult Simba encounters his childhood friend, Nala, who has also reached adulthood. The pair bond as friends just as in the past, and they eventually fall in love with each other. Nala later explains that she left the Pride Lands in search for help against Scar's dictatorial rule. She urges Simba to return to the Pride Lands and take his rightful place as king, but Simba refuses, happy with his new "no worries" lifestyle — and still traumatized by the false belief that he caused his father's death, a secret that only he and Scar know. Although the two have fallen in love, they part: Nala angry with what she sees as Simba's irresponsibility, and Simba angry with Nala for scorning him while still in fear of revealing his true reasons.
Alone, Simba broods about his guilt-ridden loneliness, when help for Simba comes in the form of Rafiki, who claims that Mufasa is still alive. The shaman leads Simba to a pond that reveals that Mufasa's spirit still lives on inside Simba. At that revelation, the spirit of Mufasa appears in towering storm clouds. He demands that Simba look inside himself and understand that he is the rightful king. The clouds settle, and Rafiki advises Simba, saying that while the past does hurt, one can either run from it or learn from it. Inspired, Simba decides to return home.
When he arrives, Simba is horrified to find that his once joyful and prosperous kingdom has crumbled into a barren wasteland under Scar's rule. With the support of Nala, who rallies the lionesses, and Timon and Pumbaa, who lure some hyenas away, the lion confronts his uncle. Scar remains confident, and, with his hyenas, he forces Simba to admit that he was responsible for the death of Mufasa. Scar then backs a shaken Simba to the edge of the cliff as lightning strikes a dead tree and sets the Pride Lands ablaze. Simba slips and hangs onto the edge of Pride Rock, similar to Mufasa's situation before his death. Scar recalls this scene, and latches into Simba's paws with his claws. He then sadistically whispers the truth to Simba: that it was he, Scar, who killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba leaps upon Scar and forces him to publicly confess to killing Mufasa.
The hyenas then attack Simba and he starts fighting them off. The lionesses join in and the battle begins. During the fight, Simba spots Scar climbing up the side of Pride Rock, trying to escape, and chases him to the top. Panicked, Scar attempts to blame everything on the hyenas by calling them "the enemy". Simba is fed up with Scar's lies and pleas, but still shows mercy and tells Scar to run away from the kingdom and never return. Scar begins to slink off, only to scatter some burning embers into Simba's face, distracting him. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he attacks Simba once again. A climactic battle ensues and Simba is thrown to the edge of the cliff. Scar jumps through the flames in an attempt to finish Simba off, but it is Simba instead who throws his uncle over the edge of the cliff. Scar survives the fall, only to encounter the hyenas, who are enraged that he earlier tried to blame his awful doings on them. As Scar desperately begs for mercy, the large pack of hyenas surround and attack the tyrant. The fire from before is next seen engulfing Scar and hyenas, with their shadows on Pride Rock behind them.
Shortly thereafter, rain begins to fall, extinguishing the fire. In the film's denouement, Simba ascends Pride Rock, becoming the true king, and leads the Pride Lands back into times of prosperity and glory. In the ending moments of the film, Simba and Nala's newborn cub is presented by Rafiki in a triumphant ceremony mirroring the film's beginning.
Reaction
The Lion King became the second highest domestically-grossing film of 1994 (below Forrest Gump). Critical response was also positive; Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert called the film "a superbly drawn animated feature", and The Washington Post called it "an impressive, almost daunting achievement".
It went on to win two Academy Awards: Best Original Score and Best Original Song (" Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). Besides winning the same two categories in the Golden Globe Awards, it also won Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. 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.
Box office performance
| Source | Gross (USD) | % Total | All Time Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | $328,541,776 ($312,855,561 initially) | 41.9% | 19 |
| Foreign | $455,300,000 | 58.1% | N/A |
| Worldwide | $783,841,776 | 100.0% | 18 |
| Domestic Opening Weekend | $40,888,194 | 13.1% | 93 |
| Domestic Adjusted ( 2006) | $508,185,200 | N/A | 24 |
The film initially made US$312,855,561 domestically, but including its 2002 IMAX re-release the number would be $328,541,776. The initial gross includes the film's short return to theaters in November 1994.
It held the record for the most successful animated feature film in history until it was broken by the computer animated Finding Nemo in 2003. After Shrek 2 surpassed Nemo's gross in 2004, it now ranks third, but still remains the highest grossing film using traditional animation. 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). It also holds the top spot in highest theatre average gross in history.
Cast of characters
Unlike previous Disney animated films which featured only a select few famous voice actors alongside lesser-known performers, nearly all of the voice acting work for The Lion King was done by well-known actors.
- Simba, voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub and Matthew Broderick as an adult, is the protagonist of the movie, and destined to be the ruler of the Pride Lands.
- Mufasa, voiced by James Earl Jones, is King of the Pride Lands and Simba's father.
- Scar, voiced by Jeremy Irons, is the film's antagonist and Mufasa's brother, who aspires to take his place as King.
- Timon and Pumbaa, voiced by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella respectively, are the comical meerkat and warthog pair who live under the philosophy of " Hakuna Matata" (no worries).
- Rafiki, voiced by Robert Guillaume, is a wise mandrill who presents the newborn prince of the lions.
- Nala, voiced by Niketa Calame as a cub and Moira Kelly as an adult, is the childhood friend and intended mate of Simba.
- Zazu, voiced by Rowan Atkinson, is a loyal hornbill who serves as Mufasa's majordomo.
- Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings respectively, are a trio of hyenas who assist Scar.
- Sarabi, voiced by Madge Sinclair, is Simba's mother and the leader of the lionesses.
- Sarafina, voiced by Zoe Leader, is Nala's mother.
Music
Elton John and Tim Rice wrote five original songs for this film, and John performs "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" during the end credits. However, the major musical praise focused on Hans Zimmer's score which was supplemented with traditional African music and choir elements arranged by Lebo M.
The Lion King is heavily influenced by American musical theatre. The film's look changes drastically from the "realistic" world of the drama to the stylized world of the musical numbers. For instance, the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" number transitions from a background of natural savanna to abstract blue and pink African tribal patterns the instant the singing begins — but the scene transitions just as quickly back out of it when the music ends. Also, in the "Hakuna Matata" number, the characters sing in a jungle surrounding lit by spotlights that follow them from the sky.
The film went on to win Best Original Score and Best Original Song (" Can You Feel the Love Tonight") in both the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. 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.
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 new-born Simba is presented to the animals of the Pride Lands. Not a single line of dialogue is uttered by the characters. The song is reprised at the end of the film, only it is Simba and Nala's new-born cub who is being presented.
- " 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 Nala and himself 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 his evil plot to kill Mufasa and Simba to his loyal hyena minions. The scene where Scar sits on a cliff overlooking his hyenas marching mimics the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will, with Scar taking the place of Adolf Hitler; the hyenas' march is a reminiscent of the Nazi goose-step. The voice of Scar in this song switches from Jeremy Irons to Jim Cummings from the line "You won't get a sniff without me!" This was reportedly due to Irons's vocal cords giving out.
- " 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. Simba learns to eat bugs and grows up 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.
- "Morning Report" is a song originally not in the film, but was a song written for the film's Broadway musical. It was added to the film, with a whole-new 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.
Soundtrack and other albums
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" 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 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 and therefore has since become a collector's item. However, it was re-released in 2003, included in some international versions of The Lion King's special edition soundtrack with an additional track.
In 2001, Disney released Festival of The Lion King, a soundtrack of the Lion King-inspired attraction of the same name at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Sequels and spin-offs
The first spin-off was a 70mm film entitled Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable, which promoted environmental friendliness and shown in the Harvest Theatre in The Land Pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World in 1995. 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. The TV series implied that the story took place during the mid-20th century through the appearance of humans and technology.
Next, a direct-to-video sequel called The Lion King II: 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 and takes place in a parallel timeline that interweaves with the original Lion King, but from Timon and Pumbaa's perspective.
Home video
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. 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 included storyboards, character design artwork, concept art, rough animation, and a directors' commentary that the VHS edition didn't. These home video versions of The Lion King all went into moratorium in 1997.
On October 7, 2003, the film was re-released on VHS and released to 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 Theatre Mix. 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", which was originally written for the stage musical of the film. 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 in a black box. More than two million copies of the Platinum Edition DVD and VHS units were sold on the first day of release. A DVD boxed set of the three Lion King films (in two-disc Special Edition formats) was released on December 6, 2004. In January 2005, the film went back into moratorium.
The Platinum Edition of The Lion King was criticized by fans mainly for its false advertising — producer Don Hahn claimed that the film would be in its original 1994 theatrical version earlier, but it ended up being the "digitally enhanced" IMAX version which is slightly different than the original theatrical cut.
Musical
The film was adapted into an award-winning Broadway stage musical with the same title, directed by Julie Taymor, and featured actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. After the stage show first opened on July 31, 1997 in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre, it became an instant success; the show went on to be nominated for 11 Tony Awards, winning 6 including Best Musical and Best Director. Festival of the Lion King, an attraction in Disney's Animal Kingdom and Hong Kong Disneyland, is essentially a shortened version of the musical.
Controversies
Story origin
The Lion King was claimed to be the first animated Disney film not based on an already-existing story, although the accuracy of this is disputed. The Lion King bears a striking resemblance to a famous Japanese anime television show, Kimba the White Lion, and claims have been made that this was The Lion King 's inspiration. Starting with the protagonist's name (Simba/Kimba), most characters in Kimba have an analogue in The Lion King, and various individual scenes are nearly identical in composition and camera angle. Disney's official stance is that any resemblance is coincidental, and directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff claimed that they were well into the development process before the Kimba similarity was identified. The family of Osamu Tezuka, Kimba's creator, has not filed suit against Disney.
The filmmakers, however, admitted that the story of The Lion King was inspired by the 1942 Disney animated film Bambi, Joseph the Dreamer and Exodus from the Bible, and William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Christopher Vogler, in his book The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers, described how Disney approached him with a copy of Hamlet asking how to improve the plot of The Lion King by incorporating ideas from Shakespeare. Relationships between the two plots include: The brother to the king (Scar to Mufasa; Claudius to King Hamlet) kills the king (this occurs before the play Hamlet begins). The rightful heir (Simba/Hamlet) does not avenge his father's death at first. Later, at the urging of his father's ghost, the prince recalls his duty (although Hamlet vacillates between action and inaction unlike Simba) and ultimately returns from exile to kill his uncle (although Hamlet was not in exile at the time, and Simba does not personally kill Scar).
Subliminal message
In one scene of the film it appears as if animators had embedded the word "sex" into several frames of animation, which conservative activist Donald Wildmon asserted was a subliminal message intended to promote sexual promiscuity. However, several of the films's animators claim 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.
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
The use of the song " The Lion Sleeps Tonight" 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.
Impact on popular culture
Due to its popularity, The Lion King was referenced several times in different media. Most notable was the reference to it in the episode of the animated TV series The Simpsons, " '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, saying: "You must avenge my death, Kimba... dah, I mean Simba," a reference to the Lion King/Kimba the White Lion controversy.
In the 2002 comedy Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, an entire scene references The Lion King. While the main protagonist, The Chosen One, is pondering newly received information about his enemies and deceased family, a Mufasa-look-alike called "Mu-Shu Fasa" appears in the clouds. "Mu-Shu Fasa" even calls The Chosen One "Simba" before calling him "Chosimba".
One of its Oscar-nominated songs was also referenced in an episode of the 2005–2006 series of the British science fiction TV serial Doctor Who, " The Christmas Invasion". In the episode, the Tenth Doctor ( David Tennant) quotes the first few lines of the song " Circle of Life" when trying to persuade the Sycorax leader to spare humanity. Julie Gardner, the executive producer of Doctor Who, mentions in the audio commentary for this episode that the "Lion King speech" is one of her favorite parts of the episode.
In a 2006 episode of the US TV series The Office titled Grief Counseling, Ryan Howard tells the tale of "his cousin Mufasa" who was trampled by wildebeests, in an effort to satisfy his boss, Michael Scott, who insists the staff work through their "grief" over the death of a company man they never knew.
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. Also in 1995, the live-action Man of the House had a scene in which Jonathan Taylor Thomas (who voiced young Simba) reads a Lion King comic book. Pumbaa made brief appearances in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Aladdin and the King of Thieves, both released in 1996. The 1997 animated film Hercules paid homage to both The Lion King and the Nemean Lion, where Scar's skin is worn by Hercules while he is posing for a painting on a Greek vase (not by coincidence, Andreas Deja was the supervising animator of both Scar and Hercules). Another 1997 film, George of the Jungle, referenced the scene where Simba is presented at Pride Rock.
Video games
Two video games based on the film have been released. The first, simply called 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 second, entitled The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure, was published in 2000 by Activision and was released on PlayStation and Game Boy Colour.
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. Unlike its counterparts, the U.S. version clearly shows the title The Lion King 1½ on the box.
Trivia
- The story stays true to the natural cycle of weather in Africa and lions' lifelines. On the subject of weather, Africa goes through dry seasons, during which the animals move on to find new grazing and hunting grounds (this occurs during Scars reign as king, although he refuses to allow the pride to move on in search of food. This would have caused them to starve, as Queen Sarabi pointed out to Scar).
As for lions lifelines, males leave the pride (Simba being exiled by Scar) albeit at an older age, usually as teenagers. When fully grown, they try to find a pride (Simba returns to Pride Rock) and attempt to drive out the male in charge (Simba tries to exile Scar and they end up fighting). If sucessful, they take over the pride (Simba reclaims his title as king).
- It could be said that colour is used effectively throughout the movie. In certain scenes, mostly shades of a certain colour are used. Some examples are:
The song "Be Prepared". For the first half mostly green is used, a colour used to represent envy. The later parts are red, which symbolises blood.
Simba running away from the hyenas after being exiled. Shades of red are used, again symbolising blood as the hyenas have been commanded to kill Simba.
Pride Rock during Scar's reign. Pride Rock is shown in shades of grey, a colour of illness or death. This is probably due to the lack of food or water in the Pride Lands.