With an award-winning soundtrack, a star-studded voice cast, and hand-drawn animation capturing the vast and colorful African savannah, Walt Disney Studios’ The Lion King (1994) roared into theaters three decades ago. Years of story treatments, hundreds of workers, and numerous hours of animal observation contributed to the evolution of this animated classic, making the development of The Lion King as grand a story as the film itself. On this 30th anniversary, let’s look back at how The Lion King became the King of the Box Office — despite the odds.
More than a dozen writers shaped the story of The Lion King. In Disney’s 50-plus year history up to that time, almost all of its animated stories were inspired by or based on another source. However, a concept based on animal life in Africa began to materialize in the late 1980s—a kind of ‘Bambi’ in Africa. Over several years many Disney staff writers and professional screenwriters contributed to the project. Final writing credits went to Linda Woolverton, Irene Mecchi, and Jonathan Roberts with input from lyricist Tim Rice. All these years of collaboration resulted in a Shakespearean coming-of-age tale set in the African savannah.
George Scribner, initially slated to direct a documentary-style film about African wildlife, was joined by Roger Allers. These two men, along with other crew members, visited Hell’s Gate National Park in Kenya for inspiration. Eventually, the decision was made to turn it into a musical. Scribner stepped down, and first-time director Rob Minkoff teamed with Allers.
There was little faith in The Lion King at the start. Many senior Disney animators chose to work on Pocahontas (1995), which was expected to be more successful. However, those who remained were keen on animal animation or saw it as their major big project. Animators worked closely with wildlife experts at zoos or via bringing lions and other animals to the studio so they could study their movements and behaviors precisely.
A Star-Studded Voice Cast
The voice actors were chosen before animation began so their mannerisms matched those of their animated counterparts. James Earl Jones lent his majestic voice to Mufasa while Jonathan Taylor Thomas played young Simba and Matthew Broderick took over as adult Simba. Jeremy Irons, fresh off his Oscar win for Reversal of Fortune, brought Scar to life.
The casting choice for adult Nala fell on Moira Kelly after some audition changes.
The Magical Music
The final piece of the puzzle was the music. While Tim Rice worked previously with Alan Menken on Aladdin, he suggested Elton John for this project since Menken was unavailable. Together they created five original songs with Hans Zimmer composing the score. The trio captured four Academy Award nominations; Zimmer won Best Original Score while Elton John and Rice won Best Original Song for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”
An Unlikely Box Office Success
The Lion King released partly on June 15, 1994, in just two theaters but managed to earn over $600,000 within two days! It had its nationwide release on June 24 and reached number one at the box office later that week before being overtaken by Forrest Gump.
It finished that year as the highest-grossing animated film ever then—and still remains as such among traditional animation. Its soundtrack has also achieved iconic status as one of the highest-selling film soundtracks ever!
The Everlasting Impact
Apart from impressive numbers at box offices worldwide is where lies The Lion King’s true legacy—bringing together different cultures through universal themes such as familial bonds treacherous foes overcoming adversity friendship growth maturity showcased wonderfully by magnificent animation refreshing narrative paired breathtakingly beautiful orchestrations from maestro Zimmer paired harmoniously unparalleled lyrical prowess from legendary duo Rice & John making possible indelible mark hearts minds generations past present future cumulative efforts hundreds dedicate passionate artists animators ultimately proving skeptics wrong cementing rightful place National Film Registry alongside celebrated timeless masterpieces classic cinema history forevermore.
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