The Lion King

Controversies

The Lion King was claimed to be the first animated Disney movie to be based on an original story, although the accuracy of this has become disputed. The Lion King bears a striking resemblance to a famous Japanese animated television show, Kimba the White Lion http://www.kimbawlion.com/rant2.htm, and claims have been made that The Lion King was inspired by it. Most characters in Kimba have an analogue in The Lion King, and various individual scenes are nearly identical in composition and camera angle. Disney's official stance is that any resemblances are a coincidence, and the directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff claim they were well into the development process before someone pointed out the Kimba similarity. The family of Osamu Tezuka, Kimba's creator, have not filed suit against Disney.

Related Topics:
Japan - Kimba the White Lion - Roger Allers - Rob Minkoff - Osamu Tezuka

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Despite recurring assertions of a resemblance to Shakespeare's Hamlet, any relationship between the two is very superficial. The argument is along these lines: The brother to the king (Scar to Mufasa; Claudius to King Hamlet) kills the king (this occurs before the play Hamlet begins). The brother marries the queen (Sarabi to Gertrude). The rightful heir does not avenge his father's death (Simba to Hamlet). Later, at the urging of his father's ghost, the prince recalls his duty (although Hamlet vacillates between action and inaction) and ultimately returns from exile to kill his uncle (but Hamlet was not in exile at the time, and Simba does not kill Scar). Much, much more occurs in Hamlet without any parallel at all in The Lion King. The Hamlet argument appears to have been promoted by Disney personnel after the Kimba controversy started.

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It does seem that there is some intentional resemblances between Shakespeare and the film. The character Timon is also the name of Shakespeare's play about a man who turns his back on society, just like the animated meerkat does. There are several Shakespeare quotes throughout the picture as well such as "What's in a name?"

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In one scene of the movie it appears as if animators had embedded the word "sex" into several frames of animation, which conservative activist Donald Wildmon asserted was a subliminal message intended to promote sexual promiscuity. According to Disney, however, it is supposed to read "SFX" (a common abbreviation of "special effects"), and was a sort of innocent "signature" signed by the effects animation team to the work they did. An examination of the actual frames in question supports this latter claim, as the lower part of the alleged "E" is indeed astray.

Related Topics:
Donald Wildmon - Subliminal message - Sexual promiscuity - Special effects - Effects animation team

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The use of the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" has led to disputes between Disney and the family of South African Solomon Linda, who composed the song (originally titled "Mbube") in 1939. In July 2004 the family filed suit, seeking $1.6 million in royalties.

Related Topics:
The Lion Sleeps Tonight - South Africa - Solomon Linda - 1939 - 2004

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It has been said that a part of a scene was removed from the American version of The Lion King stage musical. When Mufasa dies, the lionesses cry over his dead body: this is enacted using a Japanese bunraku puppet mourning technique in which ribbons flow out of the eyes to symbolize tears. To some, the story goes, this looks like the lionesses were crying out toilet paper, causing the audience to laugh at an inappropriate moment. However, the scene was not actually removed, nor does it provoke laughter or confusion during live play. The story can therefore be dismissed as an urban legend.

Related Topics:
Bunraku - Ribbon - Toilet paper - Urban legend

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Two of the child actors playing the lead roles of Simba and Nala in the Australian stage version were fired early in the show's run due to less than desirable singing and acting and inconsistent American accent.

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