Fallon, Kevin (June 24, 2014). " 'The Lion King' Turns 20: Every Crazy, Weird Fact About the Disney Classic". The Daily Beast . Retrieved October 31, 2021. Likewise, it's hard to imagine anyone but Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella's voices coming out of the mouths of Timon and Pumbaa, respectively. This scene-stealing pair of social outcasts are a reliable comic relief duo, providing lots of irreverent glee and cheeky mischief to the animated family film — notably after its darkest moment. Their boisterous chemistry and rambunctious free spirits are richly indebted to these charismatic and charming voice performers, and it wouldn't be the same movie without them playing these memorable personalities. Which is why it's surprising to know that initially, Disney didn't have them in mind for these characters. In particular, Nathan Lane was sought for a number of side characters before he became Timon. Nathan Lane auditioned for Zazu, and Ernie Sabella for one of the hyenas. Upon meeting at the recording studio, Lane and Sabella–who were starring together in a Broadway production of Guys and Dolls at the time–were asked to record together as hyenas. The directors laughed at their performance and decided to instead cast them as Timon and Pumbaa. [41] [43] For the hyenas, the original intention was to reunite Cheech & Chong, but while Cheech Marin agreed to voice Banzai, Tommy Chong was unavailable. His role was changed into a female hyena, Shenzi, voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, who insisted on being in the film. [22] The English double act Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer auditioned for roles as a pair of chipmunks; according to Mortimer, the producers were enthusiastic, but he and Reeves were uncomfortable with their corporate attitude and abandoned the film. [44] Rowan Atkinson was initially uninterested in the studio's offer to voice Zazu, later explaining that "voice work is something I generally had never done and never liked [...] I'm a visual artist, if I'm anything, and it seemed to be a pointless thing to do". His friend and fellow Mr. Bean writer/actor Robin Driscoll convinced him to accept the role, and Atkinson retrospectively expressed that The Lion King became "a really, very special film". [45] Madge Sinclair as Queen Sarabi, Mufasa's mate, Simba's mother, and the leader of the lioness hunting party. [i]

Wiseman, Andreas (August 26, 2021). " 'The Lion King' Prequel: Kelvin Harrison Jr. & Aaron Pierre To Lead Cast For Disney & Barry Jenkins". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021 . Retrieved August 26, 2021. The Lion King (in 3D)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014 . Retrieved April 6, 2014. Welkos, Robert W. (November 29, 1993). "Will 'Lion King' Be Disney's Next 'Beast'?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014 . Retrieved April 5, 2014.a b c d " The Lion King (1994)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020 . Retrieved January 23, 2021. Kelts, Roland (2007). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the US (reprinted.). Palgrave Macmillan. p.45. ISBN 978-1-4039-8476-0. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020 . Retrieved June 5, 2020.

a b c d Daly, Steve (July 8, 1994). "Mane Attraction". Entertainment Weekly. No.230. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014 . Retrieved September 30, 2020. The Lion King – 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Review | High Def Digest". ultrahd.highdefdigest.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018 . Retrieved January 22, 2019.VanOrd, Kevin (October 28, 2011). "Disney Universe Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014 . Retrieved April 13, 2014. Jeremy Irons as Scar, Mufasa's younger brother and rival, the film's main antagonist, who seizes the throne. [b] Mayo, Mike (December 30, 1994). "The Hits and Misses at the Movies in '94". The Roanoke Times (Metroed.). p.1.

It held the record for the highest-grossing animated feature film (in North America, outside North America, and worldwide) until it was surpassed by the computer-animated Finding Nemo (2003). With the earnings of the 3D run, The Lion King surpassed all the aforementioned films but Toy Story 3 (2010) to rank as the second-highest-grossing animated film worldwide—later dropping to ninth, and then tenth, surpassed by its photorealistic CGI remake counterpart—and it remains the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated film. [95] It is also the biggest animated movie of the last 50 years in terms of estimated attendance. [128] The Lion King was also the highest-grossing G-rated film in the United States from 1994 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2019 until its total was surpassed by the computer-animated Toy Story 4 (2019) (unadjusted for inflation). [129] Original theatrical run

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Knolle, Sharon (June 14, 2014). " 'The Lion King': 20 Things You Didn't Know About the Disney Classic". Moviefone. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014 . Retrieved July 11, 2014. Kroyer, Bill; Sito, Tom (2019). "Roger Allers Interview". In Diamond, Ron (ed.). On Animation: The Director's Perspective—Volume 1. CRC Press. pp.255–292. ISBN 978-1-138-06653-3. Grover, Ronald (February 16, 1998). "The Entertainment Glut". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017 . Retrieved May 1, 2017. The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. AMPAS. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014 . Retrieved November 20, 2011. Simon, Jeff (January 1, 1995). "Movies: Once More, with Feeling". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020 . Retrieved July 19, 2020.

C.S.Strowbridge (March 1, 2012). "Blu-ray Sales: Vamp Defeat Tramp". The Numbers. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015 . Retrieved March 1, 2012. Rubin, Rebecca; Lang, Brent (September 29, 2020). " 'The Lion King' Follow-Up in the Works With Director Barry Jenkins". Variety. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020 . Retrieved September 29, 2020. Kit, Borys (August 2, 2017). "Chiwetel Ejiofor in Talks to Voice Scar in Disney's 'Lion King' ". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017 . Retrieved August 7, 2017. Brew, Simon (November 8, 2019). "How 1994's The Lion King had to be completed in people's spare rooms". Film Stories. Koenig, David (1997). "The Lion King". Mouse Under Glass: Secrets of Disney Animation & Theme Parks. Irvine, California: Bonaventure Press. pp.227–232. ISBN 978-0-96406-051-7.

Cumulative Broadway Grosses by Show". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014 . Retrieved February 9, 2014. Kehr, Dave (December 27, 2002). "The Lion Evolves". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014 . Retrieved April 5, 2014. Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings as the three leaders of a clan of spotted hyenas, supposed "friends" of Scar who participate in his plot in the death of Mufasa and Simba. [j] Disney released two direct-to-video films related to The Lion King. The first was sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, released in 1998 on VHS. The film centers around Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara, who falls in love with Kovu, a male lion who was raised in a pride of Scar's followers, the Outsiders. [226] The Lion King 1½, another direct-to-video Lion King film, saw its release in 2004. It is a prequel in showing how Timon and Pumbaa met each other, and also a parallel in that it also depicts what the characters were retconned to have done during the events of the original movie. [227]