The Lion King

2025-01-29T19:30:54Z

194.233.16.178: And you are not going back in until

{{Infobox media franchise
|title= ''The Lion King''
|image= [[File:TLKVHScover.jpg|250px]]
|caption= 1996 VHS cover for the original 1994 film.
|creator= [[W:Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Feature Animation]] [[W:Roger Allers|Roger Allers]] [[W:Rob Minkoff|Rob Minkoff]]
|owner= [[File:The Walt Disney Company logo.png|link=The Walt Disney Company|150px]]
|origin= ''The Lion King'' (1992)
|books= ''The Lion King: Six New Adventures''
|novels=
|comics=
|magazines=
|strips=
|films=''[[The Lion King (1992 film)|The Lion King]]'' (traditionally animated; 1994) ''[[W:The Lion King (2019 film)|The Lion King]]'' (computer animated; 2019)
|dtv= ''[[The Lion King II: Simba's Pride]]'' (1998) ''[[The Lion King 1½]]'' (2004)
|tv_films=
|tv=
|atv= ''[[Timon & Pumbaa (TV series)|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa]]'' (1995–1999) ''[[The Lion Guard]]'' (2016–present)
|shorts= ''[[Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable]]'' (1993)
|plays= ''[[The Legend of the Lion King]]'' (1994)
|musicals= ''[[The Lion King (musical)|The Lion King]]'' (1997) ''[[Festival of the Lion King]]'' (1998)
|games=
|rpgs=
|vgs= 
|radio=
|soundtracks=
|music=
|toys=
|attractions=
|footnotes=
}}
'''''The Lion King''''' is an animated film that was released by [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] in 1992. It is also the name of a media franchise that grew out of the film. It is popular in the [[furry]] community and is reported by some as their first introduction to the [[fandom]],{{fact}} especially since it was released right at the beginning of widespread public use of the Internet. Previous film Aladdin (1991) Next film The Wild Swans (1994)

Many participate in [[The Lion King MUCK]] or on one of the other large number of [[:Category:The Lion King multiplayer worlds|multiplayer worlds inspired by ''The Lion King'']]. In 2001, there were "about 10 or 12 TLK mucks out there, some doing better than others. There are about 40 or so private TLK RPG's out there (non forum) that are invite only. There are 40 or 50 or so forums".<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.lion-king/msg/a8e01ba402c80751?dmode=source The REASON Muck talk isn't liked by a lot of furs here..] August 12, 2001 post by Magnwa to [[TLK-L]]. Retrieved May 24, 2007.</ref>

''The Lion King'' is the third movie ever produced by Disney to feature a cast formed entirely of [[talking animal]]s, after ''[[Bambi (movie)|Bambi]]'' and ''[[Robin Hood]]''.

The 1994 film is part of a film series consisting of three traditionally animated films:
* ''The Lion King'', released in 1992
* ''[[The Lion King II: Simba's Pride]]'' or ''The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride'', released as a direct to video film in 1998 in North America.
* ''[[The Lion King 1½]]'' (''The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata'' in Europe), released as a direct to video film in 2004.

A photorealistic CGI remake of the original 1992 film was theatrically released in 2019.

== Plot summary ==
The movie centers on a pride of lions living around the area of '''Pride Rock''', a fertile region providing enough to sustain the pride and other inhabitants. [[Mufasa]] is their wise leader, and when his mate [[Sarabi]] gives birth to [[Simba (The Lion King)|Simba]] there is much rejoicing - except with his brother, [[Scar]], who decides that in order to control the pride he must eliminate both Simba and his father.

Through a series of unfortunate events, Scar manages to eliminate his brother and make it look to Simba as if he is responsible for the death. Wracked by guilt, Simba leaves the pride in Scar's control. However, he later returns with his friend [[Nala]] to cast his uncle out and reclaim his rightful place as leader.

During [[Scar]]'s reign, the land became barren, due to either mismanagement or other untold environmental issues. This might also be a form of the old myth of the intimate relationship between the King and the Land: the virtue of the King is reflected in the health of the land.

== Controveries ==
{{Disputed-section}}
There were a few points of controversy with the first movie:
* In one scene, [[Simba (The Lion King)|Simba]] flops down into the grass and stirs up some pollen. The pollen hovers in the air for a moment and appears to make a word in the sky before drifting off. Many people claimed they saw 'SEX' as the word, however, Disney claims the word is 'SFX' as in 'Special Effects'. While the scene was not modified in the VHS release of the movie, the DVD release has the word darkened out and hardly visible at all, as well in Disney+, as they completely censored it all together.
* There are many recorded similarities between the movie and the 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. There are many allegedly parallels in characters and story points between the two movies that did make it into the final production. As well, as indeed of have one concept art, have a proto-Simba as a white cub, which some people thought, must've been a tribute to Kimba. [http://www.kimbawlion.com/rant2.htm This page] goes deeper into the similarities between the two movies, including images of the two. However, over the years, after the original film released or the 'controversy' happened, it was concluded by some Disney historians, YouTubers like Yesterworld Entertainment<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI-LNKZy3tY The Lion King Lie - Did Disney Steal the Lion King? (Simba vs Kimba The White Lion Controversy)] on [[YouTube]]</ref>, or websites like TvTropes<ref>[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/PopCultureUrbanLegends/AnimatedFilms Popular Culture Urban Legends - Animated Films] on [https://tvtropes.org/ tvtropes.org]</ref> to be a coincidence (or indirectly inspired of the latter), of these two mediums to just happen of they share the kid-friendly African wildlife tropes as an example to disprove it.

== Usage of African languages ==

Although many people believe that the movie takes its inspiration entirely from the [[wikipedia:Swahili|Swahili]] language, all of the songs in the film are written in [[Wikipedia:Zulu|Zulu]] (while both are Bantu languages and therefore related<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=zul Zulu] on [http://www.ethnologue.com ethnologue.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=swh Swahili] on [http://www.ethnologue.com ethnologue.com]</ref>, they are not mutually intelligible). It should be noted, though, that many of the names and phrases in ''The Lion King'' are words in Swahili, although other non-African words are used. The most popular of these examples is the phrase ''Hakuna Matata'' (lit. "there are no worries").

Characters with Swahili names include:
*[[Simba (The Lion King)|Simba]] - lion
*[[Sarabi]] - mirage
*[[Pumbaa]] - careless; to be a fool; to be bewildered
*[[Rafiki]] - friend
*[[Banzai]] - skulk, lurk
*[[Shenzi (The Lion King)|Shenzi]] - uncouth, savage, demon, barbarous

== Stage production ==

'''''The Lion King''''' musical stage show is an adapation of ''[[The Lion King]]'' movie. The stage show uses a combination of masks, [[puppet]]ry and models to depict the animal characters. All of the costumes are designed to allow the [[human]] actors' faces to be seen as well as their [[animal]] personas, creating a deliberate duality. The show has been enormously successful, both on [[Wikipedia:Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and in London's [[Wikipedia:West End theatre|West End]].

''The Lion King'' currently plays at the [[Wikipedia:Minskoff Theatre|Minskoff Theatre]] on Broadway and the [[Wikipedia:Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]] in the West End.

Several new songs (many in Zulu) were added for the Broadway production.

== Impact on furry fandom ==
The film played a formative role in the development of the furry fandom's Internet presence. [[The Lion King Fan-Art Archive]] and [[The Lion King MUCK]] were both established in 1995 by [[Joshua C. Templin]] and [[Brian Tiemann]] and indirectly attracted untold numbers of Internet users to the concept of furry and anthropomorphic media. This occurred at the time when the World Wide Web was still considered to be an especially young platform for communication over the Internet, and a few other anthropomorphic media hosts were established in the same year to accommodate newer furry fans across wider distances, extending the furry presence on the Internet.

Multiple other Lion King MUCKs were established over the next 15 years, and other franchise-themed fan-operated roleplaying destinations were established soon after TLK MUCK.

==TV series==

The franchise has received two TV series. The first one, ''[[W:Timon & Pumbaa (TV series)|The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa]]'', aired from 1995 to 1999, focusing on the adventures of the meerkat and warthog. The other characters only appear in cameos, however. The second series, ''[[W:The Lion Guard|The Lion Guard]]'', aired from 2016 to 2019. This series focuses on the previously unseen son of Simba and Nala, Kion, the younger brother of Kiara, as he leads a team of animals who protect the Pride Lands and defend the Circle of Life. This series takes place during the time gap within ''The Lion King II: Simba's Pride'', except for the final two episodes of the show, which serve as a continuation to that film.

== References ==
<references/>

== See also ==
* ''[[Wikipedia:The Lion King|The Lion King]]'' at Wikipedia
* [[The Lion King/Who was the cub?|Debate on the identity of Simba and Nala's cub]]
* [[:Category:The Lion King characters|''The Lion King'' characters]]
* [[:Category:The Lion King fan fiction|''The Lion King'' fan fiction]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.lionking.org/ www.lionking.org] - The biggest TLK site on the net, this includes [[The Lion King Fan-Art Archive]].
* ''[http://imdb.com/title/tt0110357/ The Lion King]'' at the [[wikipedia:Internet Movie Database|Internet Movie Database]]
*[http://community.livejournal.com/thelionking/ Fans of The Lion King LJ community] on [[LiveJournal]]
* '''Russian:'''
** [[LionKing.ru|''The Lion King'' in Russia]]
** [http://www.pridelands.ru/ Pridelands in Russia] - Big site about ''The Lion King'' with music, pictures, etc.
* [[Wikipedia:The Lion King (musical)|The Lion King (musical)]] at Wikipedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lion King, The}}
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Musicals]]
[[Category:1994 births]]
[[Category:Media franchises]]
[[Category:The Lion King]]
{{featured article|Lion King, The}}

[[es:El Rey León]]
[[it:Il Re Leone]]
[[ru:Король Лев]]
[[fi:Leijonakuningas]]
[[sv:Lejonkungen]]
[[zh:獅子王]]

WikiFur - User contributions [en]

The Lion King