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The Lion King

2010-11-21T16:55:42Z

69.23.210.245:

[[Image:TLKVHScover.jpg|right|thumb|''The Lion King'' 1996 VHS cover.]]
'''''The Lion King''''' ('''TLK''') is an animated movie that was released by [[Wikipedia:Disney|Disney]] in 1994. 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.

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 movie is part of a three movie series:
* ''The Lion King'', released in 1994
* ''[[Simba's Pride]]'' or ''[[The Lion King 2]]'', released in 1998 as a direct to video in 1999 in California.
* ''[[The Lion King 1 1/2]]'' (''[[The Lion King 3]]'' in Europe) released as a direct to video in 2002.

== 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.

== Controversy ==

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 of 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.
* This Disney animated film was based on William Shakespeare's ''Hamlet''.
* 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. There are many parallels in characters and story points between the two movies that did make it into the final production. [http://www.kimbawlion.com/rant2.htm This page] goes deeper into the similarities between the two movies, including images of the two.

== 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 English names include:
*[[Pumbaa]] - careless; to be a fool; to be bewildered
*[[Rafiki]] - friend
*[[Zazu]] - bird
*[[Timon]] - 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:Disney Theatre|Disney Theatre]] on Broadway and the [[Wikipedia:Lyceum Theatre, California|Lyceum Theatre]] in the West End.

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

== 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

[[Category:Movies|Lion King, The]]
[[Category:1994 births|Lion King, The]]
[[Category:Theatrical productions]]

Scar

2010-11-21T16:54:38Z

69.23.210.245:

{{Cleanup}}

[[Image:Lionking-scar.jpg|right|thumb|Scar]]

'''Scar''' (also known as '''Taka''') is the uncle of [[Simba (The Lion King)|Simba]] in [[The Lion King]], and the brother of [[Mufasa]]. Unlike his brother, Scar is small and thin, and his mane is black. There is a scar over his left eye. He is voiced by [[Vincent Price]] in the English version of the movie.

==Childhood==

In his youth, Scar was known by the name of "Taka"--Swahili slang for "trash" or "dirt". In the book ''A Tale of Two Brothers'', he is depicted as being very jealous of his brother Mufasa. The source of this envy is the fact that Mufasa was chosen as heir over Scar. In the book, it is also revealed that Scar's friendship with [[Shenzi (The Lion King)|Shenzi]], [[Banzai]], and [[Ed]]--the trio of [[hyena]]s who were his henchmen in ''The Lion King''--lasted from his adolescence. Even as an adolescent, Scar was feared by the trio.

In ''A Tale of Two Brothers'', the Pridelands is in a terrible drought. In order to handle such matters, [[Ahadi]] breaks a promise he made to Taka to take the adolescent lion hunting. Taka becomes embittered and flees to speak with Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, and there he hatches a plan to make Mufasa look like a fool, believing that if Mufasa appeared inferior to Taka, Ahadi would rescind on his decision to appoint Mufasa as heir. Taka lures Mufasa to the waterhole, where Boma, a Cape buffalo, is hoarding all the water for himself. When Mufasa tries to reason with Boma, Taka interjects with an ultimatum: Boma should clear out, or challenge Mufasa to a fight. Boma becomes enraged and attacks Mufasa, but Mufasa is rescued by Rafiki. Taka, unfortunately, becomes the target of Boma and his herd. Taka is hit in the face by one of the buffalo's horns and knocked unconscious, but before he is killed, Ahadi appears with various other animals and stops the fight. Thereafter--because of the scar on his face--Taka is branded with the moniker "Scar".

==Adulthood==
{{spoiler}}
Scar's jealousy of Mufasa carried over into his adulthood. During Mufasa's reign, Scar became an aloof pridal member whose presence seemed tolerated by most.

When Simba was born--quelling any chances of Scar gaining the throne--Scar's envy grew. He began to scheme ways of killing off his nephew and brother. It was Scar who tricked Simba into venturing to the Elephant Graveyard. There, Simba; his betrothed, [[Nala]]; and the majordomo, [[Zazu]] were almost killed by the hyenas Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed. They were rescued by the timely arrival of Mufasa, which angered Scar. Once Mufasa had taken the others out of the Elephant Graveyard, Scar went back, and with the hyenas, he discussed his plans to kill Mufasa and Simba both.

Not long after the incident at the Elephant Graveyard, Scar lured Simba into the Gorge by telling him that his father had a surprise for him. He left Simba at the bottom of the Gorge and snuck off to signal the hyenas, who were waiting with a wildebeest herd on the cliffs above. The hyenas forced the wildebeests into a stampede that charged into the Gorge, right towards Simba.

While Simba ran for his life, Scar returned to Pride Rock and told Mufasa that Simba was in danger. Mufasa rushed to his son's aid and succeeded in getting Simba out of the way of the herd, but when he tried to climb to safety himself, Scar intercepted him on the cliff face. Mufasa pleaded for his brother's help, but Scar instead flung him off the cliff. Mufasa was trampled to death by the wildebeest.

When Simba returned to the bottom of the Gorge and found the body of Mufasa, Scar guilted Simba into believing that he was responsible for the death of his father and urged him to run away. Simba did so, and Scar sent the hyenas after him. However, Simba managed to escape into a patch of thorns, and the hyenas left him for dead.

Scar returned to Pride Rock and delivered the news that Mufasa and Simba were both dead. With no other heirs in place, Scar was able to claim the throne.

==Reign==
{{spoiler}}
Scar's first order of business as new king was to give the hyenas free range of the Pridelands. He also banned the mention of Mufasa's name.

Specific events during Scar's reign are sketchy at best. It is speculated that during this time, he fathered [[Nuka]] and [[Vitani]] with [[Zira]], though it has never been confirmed that Vitani or Nuka are his cubs. Neither Zira nor the two cubs appear in ''The Lion King''.

Scar's rule lasted for quite a long time--up until Simba's ascension to adulthood. During that time, thanks to Scar's irresponsible management, the Pridelands became over-hunted and barren. The pride members began to voice their desire to follow the herds to greener, more prosperous areas, but Scar would not listen. Food became so scarce that even the hyenas--Scar's avid supporters--began to murmur against him.

During this time, Nala fled the pride. Some speculate that her reasons for leaving stemmed from a confrontation she had with Scar, in which Scar attempted to make her his queen. This idea is supported by ''The Lion King on Broadway'' show, in which Scar makes overtures towards Nala during the song ''The Madness of King Scar''. However, when Nala explains her escape to Simba in the movie, she cites a desire to "find help" as her reason for leaving the pride.

When Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed complained to Scar about the lionesses not hunting, Scar demanded an explanation from [[Sarabi]], whom he had demoted from queen to huntress. Sarabi tried to explain to him that the herds had moved and that the pride should leave Pride Rock, but again Scar refused. Enraged, Sarabi compared Scar to Mufasa, and Scar struck her across the face. In that moment, Simba appeared and confronted Scar. It was then that he learned the truth of Mufasa's death, and when the lionesses heard, they rallied around Simba. The hyenas backed Scar, and a battle ensued.

Simba chased Scar up to the pinnacle of Pride Rock, where Scar pleaded for his life, telling Simba that the hyenas were the ones who plotted Mufasa's death. Simba agreed to spare Scar if he would run away. However, Scar opted to attack Simba instead. In the struggle, Scar was flung off of Pride Rock. There, the hyenas--who had heard him try to slough the blame of Mufasa's death off on them--turned on Scar and killed him.

==Legacy==
In the second movie, ''[[Simba's Pride]]'', it is alleged that before his death, Scar was able to father [[Nuka]] with [[Zira]] before he died. Some speculate that [[Vitani]] is also the offspring of this pairing, but it has not been confirmed. Despite having a cub of his own flesh and blood, Scar "hand-picked" [[Kovu]]--another one of Zira's offspring--as his heir before his death. In ''Simba's Pride'', Nuka reveals that--despite a striking resemblance to Scar--Kovu is not Scar's son.

After Scar's death, Zira and some of her fellow lionesses were banished from the Pridelands by Simba. They became known as [[Outlanders]], and they remained loyal to Scar. This has raised some controversy, because in ''The Lion King'', all the lionesses fought on Simba's side.
{{spoiler}}
In ''Simba's Pride'', Simba relives his father's death in a dream. In this dream, Simba finds Mufasa at the edge of a cliff. Simba reaches out to grab his paw but Scar appears and prevents him. Mufasa disappears into the stampede below. Simba looks up at Scar, and Scar grabs his [[paw]]. Scar then turns into [[Kovu]], and throws Simba off the cliff. Simba wakes up before he hits the ground.

[[category:The Lion King characters]][[Category:Lion characters]]

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

2010-11-21T16:49:12Z

69.23.210.245:

[[Image:TLK2DVDcover.jpg|right|thumb|''The Lion King 2'' 2005 DVD cover.]]
'''''Simba's Pride''''' is the sequel to ''[[The Lion King]]'' movie. It was released as a direct to video in 1998 in the United States and 1999 in America.

==Synopsis==
{{Spoiler}}
[[Simba (The Lion King)|Simba]]'s daughter, [[Kiara]], is born and will be the next monarch of the pridelands.

As a young child, Kiara goes off exploring the Pridelands, and decides to look in the Outlands, the place in which [[Scar]] and the hyenas once dwelled. She meets [[Kovu]], a dark lion who will be Scar's heir. The two form a friendship almost immediately, but are both caught by their feuding parents, [[Zira]] and Simba. They are then separated until adulthood.

By then, Kovu has been brainwashed to be an assassin to take out Simba so that the [[Outlander]]s can reign once more. A part of the plan to murder Simba involves getting his trust, so [[Vitani]] and [[Nuka]], Kovu's siblings, set the Pridelands ablaze while Kiara is hunting. Kovu must then go on a staged rescue to gain trust from Kiara and Simba. In the process, Kiara and Kovu recognise and remember each other, but Kovu is still intent on murder. Simba is not at all swayed by Kiara's rescue, but he allows Kovu to at least follow him home.

The next morning, Simba goes down to the water hole for a drink, alone, but Kovu is watching him and gettin in the ready position. However, Kiara is very much awake, and informs Kovu that he promised to teach her hunting last night. Grudgingly, Kovu goes with her to practice. While demonstrating on how to be sneaky, he stumbles upon [[Timon (character)|Timon]] and [[Pumbaa]], and the two being carefree, playful clowns, he gets caught up in a game and realises that he cares about Kiara and can't kill Simba.

Simba eventually warms up to Kovu, and while taking a private walk with him in the devastated grassland which the Outlanders burnt, the two are ambushed. Simba assumes that it was organised by Kovu, who is later banished. During the fight, Nuka is killed and Kovu is ostracized from his own pride.

Shortly afterwards, a war breaks out between the two prides. Kovu wants to run away, and Kiara states that they have to go convince their prides to at least have peace. They manage to stop the fighting, but Zira still wants Simba, as well as those who oppose her, dead. She accidentally falls off the cliff on which they are figting and drowns in the river below.

==Dropped ideas==
* Originally, Simba was going to die in the fight with the Outlanders in the burnt grassland.<ref name="rumor">[http://www.lionking.org/~vakasi/plot.html Plot Production Rumors]</ref>
* Kovu was originally going to be Scar's son, but that would have implied incest.<ref name="rumor"/>
* Nuka's last words would have been "At least I finally got your attention, didn't I?"<ref name=cut>[http://youtube.com/results?search_query=cut+scenes+lion+king&search=Search Deleted Scenes] on YouTube.</ref>
* Zira was going to commit suicide after dangling from the ledge while Kiara urged her to take her paw. Zira responded with "never!" and threw herself into the ravine.<ref name="cut"/>
* Kiara was once going to be named "Shani"<ref name="rumor"/> and have a brother named "Chaka".
* Vitani was originally named "Shetani".
* The hyenas would have been included.<ref name="rumor"/>
* Zazu was going to have a girlfriend named "Binti".<ref name="rumor"/>
* Nuka anid Vitani were originally going to attend Kiara's birth ceremony and report back to Zira.<ref name="cut"/>

== Multiplayer worlds ==

A number of [[:Category:The Lion King multiplayer worlds|multiplayer worlds]] have been set during or after ''Simba's Pride''. A currently-running RPG is [[Everything The Light Touches]]. Two [[MUCK]]s from years past are [[The Lion King II: Simba's Pride MUCK]] and [[The Prides MUCK]].

== References ==

<references/>

== External links ==

* ''[http://imdb.com/title/tt0120131/ The Lion King II: Simba's Pride]'' at the [[wikipedia:Internet Movie Database|Internet Movie Database]]
* [http://www.lionking.org/sequels/TLK2/ Movie synopsis from lionking.org]

[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:1998 births]]

The Lion King

2010-11-21T16:45:47Z

69.23.210.245:

[[Image:TLKVHScover.jpg|right|thumb|''The Lion King'' 1996 VHS cover.]]
'''''The Lion King''''' ('''TLK''') is an animated movie that was released by [[Wikipedia:Disney|Disney]] in 1994. 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.

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 movie is part of a three movie series:
* ''The Lion King'', released in 1994
* ''[[Simba's Pride]]'' or ''[[The Lion King 2]]'', released in 1998 as a direct to video in 1999 in California.
* ''[[The Lion King 1 1/2]]'' (''[[The Lion King 3]]'' in Europe) released as a direct to video in 2002.

== 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.

== Controversy ==

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 of 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.
* This Disney animated film was based on William Shakespeare's ''Hamlet''.
* 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. There are many parallels in characters and story points between the two movies that did make it into the final production. [http://www.kimbawlion.com/rant2.htm This page] goes deeper into the similarities between the two movies, including images of the two.

== 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 English names include:
*[[Pumbaa]] - careless; to be a fool; to be bewildered
*[[Rafiki]] - friend
*[[Zazu]] - bird
*[[Timon (The Lion King)|Timon]] - 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:Disney Theatre|Disney Theatre]] on Broadway and the [[Wikipedia:Lyceum Theatre, California|Lyceum Theatre]] in the West End.

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

== 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

[[Category:Movies|Lion King, The]]
[[Category:1994 births|Lion King, The]]
[[Category:Theatrical productions]]