[8] The plot of the film is influenced by William Shakespeare's play Hamlet,[2] and is believed to have been inspired by Osamu Tezuka's 1960s Japanese anime series Kimba the White Lion.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on VHS in the United States on October 27, 1998.
The film focuses on Simba and Nala's cub Kion, who as second-born to the throne, becomes leader of the Lion Guard, a group that protects the Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life.
Going against tradition, Kion chooses non-lions to be members of his guard; his friends Bunga the honey badger, Ono the egret, Beshte the hippo, and Fuli the cheetah.
Meanwhile, Janja the hyena and his clan, along with their new ally Ushari the cobra, orchestrate events that allow them to summon the spirit of Scar in order to defeat the Lion Guard and take over the Pride Lands.
[38] It was directed by Beyoncé herself, Emmanuel Adjei, Blitz Bazawule, Pierre Debusschere, Jenn Nkiru, Ibra Ake, Dikayl Rimmasch and Jake Nava.
The show ran for three seasons, airing on the syndicated block The Disney Afternoon and CBS in the United States, and BBS in Canada from September 8, 1995, to November 1, 1998.
It centers around Simba and Nala's second-born cub Kion, who becomes leader of the Lion Guard, a team that protects the Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life.
[44][45] New characters Bunga the honey badger, Ono the egret, Beshte the hippo, and Fuli the cheetah are Kion's friends and members of his Lion Guard.
[46][47] Find Out Why is a short educational series that features Timon and Pumbaa answering science questions like why there is lightning, why pandas don't live in deserts, why there is wind, and why an airplane flies.
[48] The Legend of the Lion King was an underground stage performance retelling the story of the film using fully articulated puppets in Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland.
The show uses songs, dance, puppetry and visual effects to create an African savannah setting filled with lions, elephants, giraffes, birds, zebras and gazelles.
Directed by Julie Taymor, produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, and written by the co-director of the original film, Roger Allers, with writer Irene Mecchi.
[57] In 1998, a party game titled The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, based on the direct-to-video film, was released for Microsoft Windows, developed by Disney Interactive Victoria.
In Kingdom Hearts II, the Pride Lands are a playable world and a number of characters from the film appear, including Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki and Mufasa, with Scar, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed serving as enemies.
A 70 mm film entitled Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable is shown in the Harvest Theater in The Land Pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.
It stars the characters from The Lion King, where the story follows Timon and Pumbaa chopping down trees and clogging up rivers to build the Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village.
In August 2024, it was announced that a Lion King area with a log flume ride based on the original 1994 animated film, will be added to Disney Adventure World at Disneyland Paris.
When Simba and his best friend Nala sneak off to the elephant graveyard, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, three hyenas aligned with Scar, attack and try to kill the two cubs, but they are stopped by Mufasa.
The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa follows the further adventures of the titular meerkat and warthog duo, as they continue to live by their problem-free philosophy Hakuna Matata.
Timon and Pumbaa are seen having their own (mis)adventures both within' and outside of the Serengeti, encountering new allies and enemies throughout their journey, such as Speedy the Snail, Boss Beaver, and human nemesis Quint.
One day, the young cub sneaks into the Outlands, the place in which a group of lions loyal to Scar called the Outsiders reside after Simba exiles them from the Pride Lands.
They attack Simba but, while chasing him, Nuka got killed by the logs, resulting in Zira blaming and scratching Kovu for his death giving him a scar over his left eye.
In Season 2, Scar, the antagonist of the original film, makes his return in the animated series as a flame spirit, and plots revenge against Simba and plans to overthrow him as King by gathering up all the Outlanders to form an army.
Working together in the animation department and in conjunction with the directors and story team, they tackled the unresolved emotional issues in the script and also added many comic situations.
Several distinct wildebeest characters were created in a 3D computer program, multiplied into hundreds, cel shaded to look like drawn animation, and given randomized paths down a mountainside to simulate the real, unpredictable movement of a herd.
[80][81][82] The sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride was directed by Darrell Rooney and produced by Jeannine Roussel, with Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus writing the screenplay.
Additionally, "The Morning Report", a song which was not present in the original theatrical film, was later added to the IMAX theater and to the DVD Platinum Edition release.
Rhythm of the Pride Lands was initially printed in a very limited quantity, but was later re-released in 2003, included in some international versions of The Lion King's special edition soundtrack with an additional track, "Circle of Life".
It includes two songs from the original film, "That's All I Need" and "Hakuna Matata", re-performed by Nathan Lane who took over the role of voicing the character Timon.