The Lion King (film)

&nbsp The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced and released by Walt Disney Feature Animation. It was released to theaters on June 15th, 1994 and stars the voices of Matthew Broderick, Moira Kelly, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Robert Guillaume and Madge Sinclair. The film follows the story of a young lion prince who is forced into exile after being tricked by his scheming, jealous uncle into thinking he killed his father and abandons his identity as future king.

The Lion King is a musical film and the original theatrical cut included five songs. All of these were written by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. Its music has won it two Academy Awards. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. When Disney released the two-disc special edition DVD of The Lion King in 2003, a new song was included. This song was originally only intended to be used in the Broadway adaption of the film. The film's original score was written by Hans Zimmer

During its 1994 release, The Lion King grossed $783,000,000 worldwide and was the highest grossing traditionally animated film of all time until the release of Pixar's computer-animated film Finding Nemo. However, The Lion King remains the highest-grossing traditionally animated film in the United States.

Plot
The film begins as the sun rises over the Pride Lands of Africa. Various animals make their way to Pride Rock to celebrate the birth of the new lion prince, Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub, Matthew Broderick as an adult). Simba is the son of King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Queen Sarabi (Madge Sinclair). Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), the wise old mandrill shaman, anoints the cub and holds him up for all to see ("Circle of Life"). After the ceremony, Simba's envious, scheming uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons) complains about how he is no longer next in line for the throne.

When Simba gets older, Mufasa takes him on a tour of the Pride Lands, explaining how every creature exists in a delicate balance and must be respected. Mufasa's majordomo, Zazu the hornbill (Rowan Atkinson), soon arrives to give Mufasa the daily news. Mufasa takes this opportunity to help Simba hone his pouncing skills, using Zazu as a target ("The Morning Report"). Soon, however, Mufasa has to leave abruptly when Zazu tells him that there are hyenas in the area. He orders Zazu to escort Simba home.

At Pride Rock, Simba finds Scar (who is still envious). Scar, who has a plan to kill Simba, "accidentally" tells him about an elephant graveyard beyond the kingdom's northern border, where Simba is forbidden to go. Curious, Simba runs off and finds his best friend Nala (Niketa Calame as a cub, Moira Kelly as an adult) and encourages her to come too. They tell Sarabi that they are going to the waterhole and she agrees, but only if Zazu goes with them. The cubs formulate a plan to evade Zazu ("I Just Can't Wait To Be King"), which works perfectly. After a brief wrestling match during which Nala pins Simba to the ground, they soon arrive at the graveyard, but Zazu soon reappears and orders that they get away from the graveyard at once. But then, the hyenas Shenzi (Whoopi Goldberg), Banzai (Cheech Marin) and Ed (Jim Cummings) slink out of the shadows and chase them. The cubs are eventually cornered, but Mufasa arrives just in time and chases them off. Mufasa is very disappointed that Simba deliberately disobeyed him.

Simba explains that he was only trying to be brave like his father. Mufasa explains that being brave doesn't mean to go looking for trouble. Simba asks Mufasa if they will always be together. Mufasa then explains that the Great Kings of the past look down on him from the stars. Whenever he feels alone, Simba should remember that those kings will always be there to guide him and so will Mufasa.

In a cave in the graveyard, Scar formulates a new plan: kill Mufasa ("Be Prepared"). He also wins the hyenas' trust by telling them that if they stick with him, they will "never go hungry again!". The next day, Scar tells Simba to wait for Mufasa in a gorge, because Mufasa apparently has a "surprise" for him. Scar seemingly goes to get Mufasa, telling Simba to work on his roar before leaving. However, Scar is actually giving a signal to the hyenas to start a wildebeest stampede.

Simba soon lets out a particularly loud roar which echoes around the canyon. Then, the huge wildebeest herd comes over the lip of the canyon, causing Simba to think he started the stampede with his roar. Simba runs for his life and manages to climb up a dead tree. Scar then goes to get Mufasa, who rushes to help Simba. Mufasa successfully saves Simba but is swept away in the stampede. Mufasa climbs a cliff and calls to Scar for help, but Scar simply utters the words "Long live the king" and throws Mufasa backwards into the stampede. Simba is heartbroken when Scar tells him his father is dead. Scar also convinces Simba that if it wasn't for him, Mufasa would still be alive and tells him to run away and never return. He then sends the hyenas to try to kill him again, but Simba escapes into the desert. The hyenas think he'll die anyway and decide not to tell Scar of their failure.

Scar announces to the pride that Simba and Mufasa are both dead, which greatly upsets Nala and Sarabi. Then, Scar assumes the throne himself and allows the hyenas into the Pride Lands. Even Rafiki believes Simba is dead and smudges over the drawing he has of him in his tree. Simba has collapsed from heat exhaustion and is being circled by buzzards. But then, the meerkat Timon and the warthog Pumbaa (Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, respectively) come to his rescue and chase the buzzards off. They take Simba to the oasis and revive him, then Simba reveals that he did "something terrible" and cannot return home. Timon and Pumbaa introduce Simba to their philosophy of "hakuna matata" which means no worries ("Hakuna Matata"). They even raise him on a diet of bugs. The years pass and Simba grows up into a handsome adult lion.

Back at Pride Rock, however, Scar has let the Pride Lands fall into a desperate state of disrepair and has even locked Zazu in a cage made of rib bones. The prey animals have left and even Shenzi, Banzai and Ed are complaining. While stargazing with Timon and Pumbaa one night, Simba is asked what he thinks the stars represent. Simba explains about the Great Kings, but Timon and Pumbaa laugh. Simba leaves them alone and flops down, sending dust flying into the air. The dust travels to Rafiki's tree and Rafiki realises that Simba is alive.

The next day, Timon and Pumbaa are out hunting for bugs. Pumbaa wanders off and is consequently attacked and chased by a hungry lioness. Simba fights the lioness, but when she flips him onto his back he recognises her as his old friend Nala. The two lions are overjoyed to be reunited, while Timon is left feeling very confused. Nala says she has missed Simba very much and he has missed her. The two begin falling in love ("Can You Feel The Love Tonight?"), but when Nala tries to convince Simba to return, they end up arguing, as Simba still believes he is responsible for Mufasa's death, but refuses to tell Nala this. Simba wanders out into the grasslands, where he meets Rafiki. Rafiki insists that Mufasa is still alive inside of Simba and leads the young lion to a water pool where the ghost of Mufasa appears.

Mufasa's ghost tells Simba to look inside himself and that he is more than what he has become. The ghost fades away into the clouds, repeating the phrase "Remember who you are". Afterwards, Simba decides to go back to the Pride Lands and take back the kingdom. Nala, Timon and Pumbaa soon join him. Simba makes his presence known after he sees Scar strike Sarabi down. Scar is initially shocked to see Simba alive, but soon regains his composure. When Simba explains that he has put the past behind him, Scar forces him to admit to the pride that he killed Mufasa. Scar then begins backing Simba up the promonotory of Pride Rock and Simba ends up dangling over the edge. Scar then whispers to Simba the truth of what happened that fateful day: "I killed Mufasa!". Simba leaps up, seizes Scar's throat and forces the truth out of him, after which a huge battle erupts that Timon, Pumbaa and Rafiki assist in.

Simba chases Scar to the top of Pride Rock and the two lions fight. Eventually Simba overthrows Scar and the hyenas turn the tables on him and kill him, after hearing him blame them. Simba climbs the promonotory of Pride Rock and takes his place as king. The Pride Lands turn green again and the prey animals return. Soon, Simba and Nala look on proudly as Rafiki holds their own cub up for all to see.

Cast
Matthew Broderick - Simba (adult)

Moira Kelly - Nala (adult)

Jeremy Irons - Scar

James Earl Jones - Mufasa

Nathan Lane - Timon

Ernie Sabella - Pumbaa

Robert Guillaume - Rafiki

Madge Sinclair - Sarabi

Rowan Atkinson - Zazu

Whoopi Goldberg - Shenzi

Cheech Marin - Banzai

Jim Cummings - Ed

Jonathan Taylor Thomas - Simba (cub)

Niketa Calame - Nala (cub)