[5] Loosely based on Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's 1951 stage musical of the same name, it portrays a fictionalized account of English school teacher Anna Leonowens' historical encounter with king Mongkut of Siam and the royal court.

[6] Screenwriters Peter Bakalian, Jacqueline Feather, and David Seidler took creative liberties with the history and with the source material from the musical in an attempt to make the film palatable to all audiences.

The King and I earned $12 million at the box office,[3] and its gross was seen as disappointing compared to that of other animated films released at the time.

Kralahome, the Prime Minister, uses his powers of illusion to make it appear as if a massive sea serpent is attacking the ship as it's battered in a storm.

In the Grand Palace of Siam, Anna witnesses King Mongkut receive a gift in the form of a slave—a young woman named Tuptim from Burma.

With Kralahome still plotting to overthrow the King, he writes a letter to officials from the British Empire, led by Sir Edward, that claims Anna is in danger.

Kralahome then uses his powers on the statues in the room to try and attack the King, whose pet black panther, Rama, manages to fight them off with a roar.

He orders her to be sent back to Burma, but knowing that this will be a death sentence for her, Chulalongkorn turns against his father and fights off the guards, fleeing with Tuptim and escaping into the jungle with Louis on elephants.

Kralahome celebrates his apparent victory in the murder of the king but ends up exposing his true nature in front of Sir Edward and the royal guards.

An injured, bedridden Mongkut tells his son to be ready to lead Siam if he dies and allows him and Tuptim to be married and become king and queen.

However, it was the success of The Lion King (1994) that convinced other Hollywood studios to consider producing in-house animated feature films.

[9] In 1994, Arthur Rankin Jr., the head of Rankin/Bass Productions, had toured Thailand, where he considered adapting The King and I into an animated feature film.

[10] Together with his partner Jules Bass, they were able to convince the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, which held the copyright to the musical, that an animated feature film "would be a superb way" to expand the property.

According to then-president Ted Chapin, it was known within the organization that the changes would be a risk, but they hoped the film would "introduce a generation of younger people to the show earlier than they might have been under normal circumstances".

[16] William Ruhlmann of Allmusic.com gave the album a rating of 3 stars out of 5, describing it as a "surprisingly adequate" soundtrack to a "badly received" film.

[17] John Kenrick, in his article Comparative CD Reviews Part III, describes the 1999 recording as a "total disgrace" that sees "superb Broadway singers...labor against mindless cuts and gooey orchestrations".

[18] In a relatively negative review of the animated adaption, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia does say that "some of the songs survive nicely, and the singing vocals throughout are very proficient".

"[24] Historian Thomas Hischak wrote that it was "surprising to think that the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization allowed it to be made ... children have enjoyed The King and I for five decades without relying on dancing dragons".

Roger Ebert gave it 2 stars out of 4 and felt that animated adaptations of musicals have potential but found the film rather dull.