WikiFur:This week's featured article/Week 42, 2006

The Lion King is an animated movie released by Disney in 1994. It is popular in the furry community and is reported by some as their first introduction to the fandom. Many participate in The Lion King MUCK or on one of the other large number of multiplayer worlds inspired by The Lion King. The characters of The Lion King have also been featured in numerous works of fan fiction.

Disney went on to form a three movie direct to video series, releasing Simba's Pride or The Lion King 2, released in 1998 in the US, and The Lion King 1 1/2 (The Lion King 3 in Europe) in 2004. There is also a Lion King musical on Broadway.

There are many similarities between the movie and a Japanese anime series called Kimba the White Lion. Originally, The Lion King was to be called King of the Jungle and was to include a white lion as the lead.

Although many people believe that the movie takes its inspiration entirely from the Swahili language, all of the songs in the film are written in Zulu. However, many of the names and phrases in The Lion King are words in Swahili. The most popular of these examples is the phrase Hakuna Matata (lit. "there are no worries"). (more...)