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The Lion King is a 1994 American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, released in theaters on June 15, 1994 by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd film in the Disney animated feature canon. The film was the highest grossing animated film of all time before the release of Finding Nemo , a Disney/Pixar film released nearly a decade later that would overshadow the record of The Lion King .

The story, influenced by the Shakespearean play Hamlet and Disney's 1942 classic Bambi , focuses on a young lion in Africa named Simba, who learns of his place in the great "circle of life" and overcomes many obstacles to claim his place as the rightful king.

A musical film, The Lion King garnered two Academy Awards for its achievement in music. Songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with an original score by Hans Zimmer. Disney later produced two related movies: a sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride ; and a part prequel/part midquel, The Lion King 1½ . This movie belongs to the successful period known as Disney Renaissance.

Story

The Lion King takes place in the fictional Pride Lands of Africa, where a lion rules over the other animals as king. At the beginning of the film, Rafiki, a wise old mandrill shaman, (commonly mistaken as a baboon), anoints Simba, the newborn cub of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, and presents him to a massive gathering of animals at Pride Rock ("Circle of Life"). Meanwhile, Mufasa's younger brother, Scar, realizes that he is no longer the heir to the throne and plots to kill Mufasa and Simba in order to usurp it.

When Simba has grown into a young cub, Mufasa takes him on a tour of the Pride Lands, teaching him about the Circle of Life, the delicate balance affecting all living things, which the king must maintain. The tour is cut short when Mufasa's adviser, the hornbill Zazu, alerts him of hyena sightings in the Pride Lands, and Mufasa sends a disappointed Simba home while he deals with the threat. Back at Pride Rock, Scar piques Simba's curiosity about the elephant graveyard, a place beyond the northern borders of the Pride Lands, where Mufasa has forbidden Simba to go. Simba, trying to prove his courage, takes his best friend Nala to the elephant graveyard, fooling Zazu along the way ("I Just Can't Wait to Be King"). At the graveyard, the cubs are greeted by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, Scar's hyena minions who attempt to kill the cubs. Fortunately, they are rescued by Mufasa at the nick of time.

Mufasa scolds Simba on the way home and orders Zazu to escort Nala back to Pride Rock, and explains to Simba that being brave doesn't mean looking for trouble. When Simba asks if his father will always be with him, Mufasa tells his son that the great kings of the past watch from the stars, just as he will watch over Simba one day when the sun sets on his time. Meanwhile, Scar becomes furious, as he intended for the hyenas to kill the cubs. Plotting further, Scar gathers more hyenas and buys their loyalty by claiming that if he becomes king, they'll never go hungry again ("Be Prepared").

Some time later, Scar lures Simba into a gorge for a "surprise from his father," while the hyenas engineer a wildebeest stampede down into the gorge where Simba is. Alerted by an insincerely dramatic Scar, Mufasa races to rescue his son from the stampede. Mufasa successfully saves his son, but struggles to bring himself to safety. As Mufasa helplessly clings on to a steep cliff, he asks Scar for help, but Scar flings his brother into the raging stampede below, after mocking him with the words "long live the king." Simba, who sees his father fall, (but not the reason for the fall) rushes down to his father's body, and tries to wake up the dead king to no avail. An approaching Scar convinces Simba that the young cub was responsible for his father's death, and recommends that he flee the Pride Lands, never to return. As Simba is running off, Scar sends his hyena henchmen to kill Simba again, but as Simba flees through a thornbush-covered embankment, the hyenas break off pursuit and let him escape. Hurling threats that he will be killed if ever seen again, the hyenas return to Scar and lie that they have murdered the cub. Informed that both Mufasa and Simba were killed, the pride regretfully allows Scar to assume the throne as the closest of kin. Still mourning, they are told the hyenas are now part of the pride.

In a distant desert Simba is found unconcscious by Timon and Pumbaa, a comical meerkat-warthog duo who adopt and raise the cub under their carefree "Hakuna Matata" lifestyle. When Simba has grown into an adult, he is discovered by his childhood friend Nala, who relays that Scar's tyrannical reign has devastated the Pride Lands, turning it into a barren wasteland. She asks Simba to return and take his rightful place as king, but Simba refuses, still guilty about supposedly causing his father's death.

Simba then shows Nala around and they find themselves in love ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). But immediately afterwards, Nala tells Simba that she doesn't understand why he won't return to Pride Rock. The two become angry, confused, and end up in a quarrel. However, Rafiki shows up and indirectly persuades Simba to return home with a series of metaphors. Combined with an appearance of the ghost of Mufasa, Simba realizes his responsibility and heads back to Pride Rock, followed by Timon, Pumbaa and Nala.

Once back at Pride Rock, Simba is shocked finding out how true Nala's description of how the once-majestic kingdom he remembered turned out to be. Convinced of what must be done, he decides to find Scar, encouraging Timon and Pumba to distract the hyenas and Nala to rally the lionesses. Meanwhile, after seeing his mother struck by Scar for criticizing him, Simba steps in. A bewildered Scar falsely believes that Mufasa has come back. However, Simba has announced his return to his battered mother, while confronting Scar. Afraid of losing the throne, Scar announces to the pride that Simba was responsible for Mufasa's death. He then corners Simba at the edge of Pride Rock with his hyenas, resulting in a scene similar to Mufasa's death. At the same time, lightning strikes the dry brush, surrounding Pride Rock with flames. As Simba dangles over the edge of Pride Rock with flames below him, an over-confident Scar reveals the truth about Mufasa's death. Enraged, Simba leaps up and pins Scar to the ground, forcing him to admit his wrongdoings. A fierce battle between the lionesses and the hyenas ensues. Rafiki, Zazu, Timon, and Pumbaa join the fray as well.

Atop Pride Rock's peak, Simba finally corners Scar. Attempting to gain Simba's mercy, Scar tries to surreptitiously blame everything on the hyenas, but Shenzi, Banzai and Ed overhear this betrayal. Simba demands that Scar leave the Pride Lands and never return, like Scar told Simba to do years earlier. Scar pretends to leave, but promptly attacks Simba, resulting in a violent final duel. Simba triumphs over his uncle by kicking him over a low cliff. Scar manages to survive and staggers to his paws, but finds himself surrounded by the now resentful hyenas. The hyenas approach their fallen leader and devour him alive, just as everything is seemingly enveloped by the fire.

A downpour extinguishes the brushfire, however, and Simba subsequently reconciles with his family. Rafiki then directs Simba to Pride Rock's overlook with the words "it is time". As Simba reaches the top of the overlook, he see the stars shining down on him and hears the voice of his father booming, "Remember..." Emboldened, Simba roars to signify that he is now king of the Pride Lands. With Simba and Nala as the new king and queen, the Pride Lands become green with life again. The movie concludes with Rafiki lifting Simba and Nala's newborn cub high into the air for all the animals to see, thus continuing the circle of life.

Characters

• Simba , voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub and Matthew Broderick as an adult, is the protagonist of the movie and the prince of the Pride Lands. His singing voice is provided by Jason Weaver as a cub and Joseph Williams as an adult. He struggles after being exiled from the Pride Lands in the jungle, but also grows up there.
• Scar , voiced by Jeremy Irons , is the film's antagonist and King Mufasa's scheming brother, who desires the throne. Scar is named so because of the scar he has across his left eye.
• Mufasa , voiced by James Earl Jones , is the King of the Pride Lands and Simba's father. His death causes Simba to leave the Pride Lands, but Mufasa also helps him, making appearances in the clouds.
• Timon and Pumbaa , voiced by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella respectively, are the comical meerkat and warthog duo who live under the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata" (no worries). They become Simba's provisional guardians during his exile. They also provide comic relief for the movie and become his best friends, teaching him for most of his adolescent life.
• Nala , voiced by Niketa Calame as a cub and Moira Kelly as an adult, is the childhood friend and intended mate of Simba. She goes to the jungle, this bringing Simba back to the Pride Lands to realize his desti