The Lion King is a 1994 American animated epic musical film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa, and was influenced by William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The film was produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance. The Lion King was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and has a screenplay credited to Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton. Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, and original scores were written by Hans Zimmer. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings.
The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as king; however, after Simba's uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile in shame and despair. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny.
The Lion King 1½ (also known as The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata outside of North America) is a 2004 American direct-to-video animated musical buddy comedy-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and DisneyToon Studios and released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on February 10, 2004. The film was also theatrically released internationally and in selected cities in the United States. It is the third and final (Chronologically, the second) installment in the Lion King trilogy. The DVD went to the Disney Vault in January 2005. The film is a prequel/parallel/midquel to the 1994's The Lion King, and focuses on the meerkat/warthog duo Timon and Pumbaa before, during and after the events of the original film. It's followed by a Disney television film, The Lion Guard, which is advertised as the fourth feature-length animated made-for-TV film, November 2015.
The original cast returns to re-voice their parts, save for a few exceptions: Rowan Atkinson (the original voice of Zazu) was again replaced by Edward Hibbert; Jonathan Taylor Thomas (originally Young Simba) is replaced by Matt Weinberg; and James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons (Mufasa and Scar respectively) did not reprise their roles, as the characters had silent cameos.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (later retitled The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride) is a 1998 American animated direct-to-video musical film sequel to the 1994 animated feature film, The Lion King.
Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Australia and released on October 27, 1998, the film centers on Simba and Nala's daughter Kiara, who falls in love with Kovu, a male rogue lion from a banished pride that was once loyal to Simba's evil uncle, Scar. Separated by Simba's prejudice against the banished pride and a vindictive plot planned by Kovu's mother, Kiara and Kovu struggle to unite their estranged prides and be together.
Most of the original cast returned to their roles from the first film, apart from Rowan Atkinson, who was replaced by Edward Hibbert as the voice of Zazu for this film and its prequel, The Lion King 1½. Madge Sinclair, the voice of Simba's mother Sarabi, died after the first film's release, and her character is subsequently written out of this sequel.
The Lion King 1½ is a 2003 Game Boy Advance video game based on the film The Lion King 1½, the third film in The Lion King franchise. It was developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Disney Interactive. The game was released for the Game Boy Advance on October 7, 2003.
Gameplay
The game puts the players in the role of Timon and Pumbaa in a quest to find Hakuna Matata. It features three modes of game play which are solo, cooperative and team mode. Solo mode lets the player play as either Timon or Pumbaa in a platforming gameplay completing levels. In cooperative mode, players alternate between both characters to solve puzzles and complete tasks. In team players use both the characters with Timon riding Pumbaa in chase sequences where they have to make sure he does not hit any obstacle. After each of the chapters are completed, players are awarded with special puzzle pieces. Upon collecting all of the puzzle pieces, an image of Hakuna Matata is displayed and five additional bonus levels are unlocked as well as video clips from the film. Collecting all bugs in a level unlocks time-limited bonus levels.