A protagonist (from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής prōtagōnistḗs 'one who plays the first part, chief actor') is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot , primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a story contains a subplot , or is a narrative made up of several stories, then each subplot may have its own protagonist.
161-479: Simba is a fictional character and the main protagonist of Disney 's The Lion King franchise . First appearing as a lion cub in The Lion King (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, King Mufasa , is killed by his treacherous uncle, Scar . Several years later, Simba returns home as an adult to reconcile his childhood trauma , confront Scar, and reclaim his rightful place as King of
322-407: A gulag camp. Leo Tolstoy 's War and Peace depicts fifteen major characters involved in or affected by a war. Though many people equate protagonists with the term hero and possessing heroic qualities, it is not necessary, as even villainous characters can be protagonists. For example Michael Corleone from The Godfather (1972–1990) film series (1978–1983). In some cases, the protagonist
483-422: A hero (masculine) or heroine (feminine) protagonist is typically admired for their achievements and noble qualities. Heroes are lauded for their strength, courage, virtuousness, and honor, and are considered to be the "good guys" of the narrative. Examples include DC Comics' Superman (hero) and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games (heroine). An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine
644-581: A "Savannah Summit" so that the other leaders within the Pride Lands can discuss unity between the diverse species and the future of the kingdom, and maintain relations to the Pride Lands' neighboring kingdoms. He also temporarily becomes the leader of the Lion Guard in the episode "The Trail to Udugu" as Kion goes on a journey with Nala and Kiara. Simba was featured as a guest in the animated series House of Mouse , in which he alternates between being
805-481: A bad boy, and then the hero appeal that some audiences will be drawn to". During the film's opening song, " Circle of Life ", Rafiki introduces a newborn Simba to a large crowd of onlooking animals gathered at the foot of Pride Rock by standing towards the edge and holding the cub high above their heads, while Mufasa and Sarabi observe from behind them. The scene is considered to be one of the most famous from The Lion King , and has been parodied in several projects since
966-409: A character who could be irresponsible yet likeable enough to redeem himself "in a very heroic way". Minkoff recalled that the actor was able to humanize the character, preventing the hero from "becoming 2-dimensional" using a combination of sensitivity, thoughtfulness, and humor. The actor also lowered his pitch slightly to establish Simba's maturity once he decides to become king. Having been involved in
1127-461: A check." Williams explained to New York magazine that his previous Mork & Mindy merchandising was different because "the image is theirs. But the voice, that's me; I gave them myself. When it happened, I said, 'You know I don't do that.' And they [Disney] apologized; they said it was done by other people." Disney attempted to assuage Williams by sending him a Pablo Picasso painting worth more than $ 1 million, but this move failed to repair
1288-402: A child, ushering in hope for the future of the Pride Lands. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998), Simba and Nala commemorate the birth of their daughter, Kiara , who Simba is overprotective of since she grows up to be adventurous and rebellious like he was as a cub. Simba discovers that Kiara has visited the forbidden Outlands – home to an enemy pride of Scar's exiled followers known as
1449-672: A cub and an adult. The success of The Lion King led to the production of a Broadway musical based on the film . Directed by Julie Taymor , with a book by Irene Mecchi and Roger Allers, The Lion King premiered at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 13, 1997, where it ran for nine years until being moved to the Minskoff Theatre on June 13, 2006. The role of Simba was originated by Scott Irby-Ranniar and Jason Raize , with Irby-Ranniar portraying young Simba and Raize portraying adult Simba. Raize auditioned for
1610-489: A day getting to know Kovu. Realizing that Kovu is beginning to side with Simba due to his feelings for Kiara, Zira ambushes Simba and convinces him that Kovu orchestrated the attack. After narrowly escaping with his life, Simba exiles Kovu and forbids Kiara from seeing him, prompting her to leave. When a battle ensues between the Pride Landers and Outsiders, Kiara and Kovu return to stop them, with Kiara helping Simba and
1771-409: A deal securing $ 100,000 upfront and lifetime royalties . Weaver receives a portion of the film's revenue every time it is re-released, and his total earnings have since exceeded Disney's initial offer. Voice actor Frank Welker provided the roars of adult Simba and all other lions, simulating the effect using a trash can. Disney has long denied that The Lion King is based on the anime series Kimba
SECTION 10
#17327656177191932-525: A human handmaiden for the princess. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker joined the production, picking Aladdin from three projects offered, which also included an adaptation of Swan Lake and King of the Jungle — that eventually became The Lion King . Before Ashman's death in March 1991, he and Menken composed "Arabian Nights", "Friend Like Me", " Prince Ali " and Ashman's last song, "Humiliate
2093-528: A little bigger, they could be a little floppier than when he’s an adult". Although Henn and Aquino did not spend much time discussing the character's design with each other, both artists referenced live lions and received input from the same research team to determine how Simba should look and behave. Catherine Hinman of the Orlando Sentinel observed that the animators' extensive research resulted in "a lion cub who moves like his aristocratic cousins on
2254-677: A playable character in Disney Interactive Studios ' Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure , released on September 3, 2003, for Game Boy Advance , PlayStation 2 , GameCube and Xbox , Simba is one of the central characters in Disney Friends , released for Nintendo DS on February 26, 2008, where the player can interact with him. Simba is a playable character to unlock for a limited time in Disney Magic Kingdoms . Live versions of Simba appear in
2415-423: A poet named Thespis introduced the idea of one actor stepping out and engaging in a dialogue with the chorus. This was the invention of tragedy, and occurred about 536 B.C. Then the poet Aeschylus , in his plays, introduced a second actor, inventing the idea of dialogue between two characters. Sophocles then wrote plays that included a third actor. A description of the protagonist's origin cited that during
2576-456: A power ... underlying that seemingly soft exterior". He was also responsible for making sure Simba's appearance remained consistent between himself, the directors, and other animators. When it came to animating the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" musical sequence, Henn considered it essential that Simba remain on all-fours, despite the fact that the character is exhibiting human characteristics by dancing. The animators would often observe and film
2737-628: A predator is on the loose, Timon and Pumbaa (especially Timon) suspect that Simba has reverted to his carnivorous nature due to a tarsier's warning, but the tarsier turns out to be a disguised wolf who has spent months trying to lure Timon and Pumbaa away from Simba, therefore turning out to be the real threat. In the episode "Shake Your Djibouti", Timon and Pumbaa are forced to train Simba to protect them from an escaped laboratory monster, fearing that he lost his confidence. Another episode, entitled "Rome Alone", shows Simba having been captured by Romans and
2898-403: A proud, unlikeable character. Originally, Simba was intended to remain with his pride after Mufasa 's death until this was revised to make him a more sympathetic character . Additionally, one of the earliest iterations of Scar was a rogue lion unrelated to Simba, whereas Simba was meant to be raised by Scar in another version. According to Disney Theatrical Group president Tom Schumacher , Scar
3059-554: A public apology to Williams. In turn, Williams would reprise the role in the second sequel, Aladdin and the King of Thieves , in 1996. Aladdin was the third — after The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast — and the final Disney film that Alan Menken and Howard Ashman had collaborated on, with Tim Rice as lyricist after Ashman had died in March 1991. Although fourteen songs were written for Aladdin , only seven are featured in
3220-673: A quarter century etched into pop culture". Chhavi Puri of Pinkvilla said characters such as Simba "defined our childhood". The same publication named Simba the second-best Disney character of all-time and "undoubtedly one of the best male Disney characters", while The A.V. Club ranked him 29th. According Toons Mag , Simba is one of the 10 best Disney cartoon characters of all time and "one of Disney's most significant characters". Looper ranked Simba Disney's 37th best character of all-time. Variety named Simba one of Disney's 25 most iconic characters. According to Arunkumar Sekhar of Cinema Express and Rachel Ulatowski of Screen Rant , Simba
3381-513: A story set in the Middle East would be commercially appealing, and their project was removed from active development. Ashman and Menken were soon recruited to compose songs for Beauty and the Beast . Linda Woolverton , who had also worked on Beauty and the Beast , used their treatment and developed a draft with inspired elements from The Thief of Bagdad , such as a villain named Jaf'far, an aged sidekick retired human thief named Abu, and
SECTION 20
#17327656177193542-567: A supporting protagonist appears, the story is told from the perspective of a character who appears to be minor. This character may be more peripheral from the events of the story and are not as involved within the "main action" of the plot. The supporting protagonist may be telling the story while viewing another character as the main influence of the plot. One example is Nick in The Great Gatsby . Euripides ' play Hippolytus may be considered to have two protagonists, though one at
3703-432: A time. Phaedra is the protagonist of the first half, who dies partway through the play. Her stepson, the titular Hippolytus, assumes the dominant role in the second half of the play. In Henrik Ibsen 's play The Master Builder , the protagonist is the architect Halvard Solness. The young woman, Hilda Wangel, whose actions lead to the death of Solness, is the antagonist. In Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet , Romeo
3864-409: A vision shared with Desson Howe of The Washington Post , who also said that "kids are still going to be entranced by the magic and adventure". Warner Bros. Cartoons director Chuck Jones called the film "the funniest feature ever made", and James Berardinelli gave the film three and a half stars out of four, praising the "crisp visuals and wonderful song-and-dance numbers". Roger Ebert of
4025-573: A young leading man, more of a teen-hunk version than before." –John Musker on Aladdin's early design Designed by a team led by supervising animator, Glen Keane , Aladdin was initially going to be as young as thirteen, and was originally made to resemble actor Michael J. Fox . During production, it was decided that the design was too boyish and lacked appeal, so the character was made "seventeen to eighteen", and redesigned to add elements derived from actor Tom Cruise and Calvin Klein models. For
4186-593: Is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes such as idealism, courage, and morality. Examples include Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye , Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind , Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby , and Walter White from Breaking Bad . A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy. Examples include Oedipus from Oedipus Rex and Prince Hamlet from Shakespeare's Hamlet . The protagonist
4347-417: Is appropriate for fans to consider the character attractive, because he is a cartoon lion. Several publications, such as Refinery 29 , HuffPost , Seventeen , The Edge , YourTango , The Daily Edge , Pride , and Thought Catalog , included Simba in listicles about their most memorable "cartoon crushes", while Elle ranked him the fourth most attractive Disney prince. Polygon ranked Simba
4508-526: Is attached to his lamp, and Jafar to the Sultan — and is represented visually by the prison-like walls and bars of the Agrabah palace and the scene involving caged birds, which Jasmine eventually frees. Jasmine is also depicted as a different type of Disney Princess , being rebellious against the royal life and the social structure. A large promotion campaign preceded Aladdin ' s debut in theaters, with
4669-521: Is based on the Arabic folktale " Aladdin " from One Thousand and One Nights . The film was produced and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements from a screenplay they co-wrote with the writing team of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio . Featuring the voices of Scott Weinger , Robin Williams , Linda Larkin , Jonathan Freeman , Frank Welker , Gilbert Gottfried and Douglas Seale , the film follows
4830-471: Is based on the work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld , which production designer, Richard Vander Wende , also considered appropriate to the theme, due to similarities to the flowing and swooping lines found in Arabic calligraphy . Jafar's design was not based on Hirschfeld's work, because Jafar's supervising animator, Andreas Deja , wanted the character to be contrasting. Each character was animated alone, with
4991-537: Is beautifully drawn, with near-classic songs and a cast of scene-stealing characters." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+" grade, on a scale of A+ to F. Most critics praised Robin Williams's performance as the Genie, with Janet Maslin of The New York Times declaring that children "needn't know precisely what Mr. Williams
Simba - Misplaced Pages Continue
5152-427: Is destined to become the next King of the Pride Lands. However, Simba's jealous uncle Scar plots against him in order to seize the throne for himself, killing Mufasa after he rescues Simba from a wildebeest stampede, and convincing Simba that he is responsible for Mufasa's death. Crippled with guilt, Simba flees to the jungle where he befriends Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog duo who raise him and teach him to live
5313-405: Is evoking to understand how funny he is". Brian Lowry of Variety praised the cast of characters, describing the expressive magic carpet as "its most remarkable accomplishment", and considered that " Aladdin overcomes most story flaws thanks to sheer technical virtuosity". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone stated that the film's comedic aspect made it accessible to both children and adults,
5474-429: Is forced to either eat Timon and Pumbaa or get into a gladiatorial battle with another lion named Claudius. In "Once Upon a Timon", Zazu informs Rafiki about Simba's royal reputation being at stake and is concerned about Timon and Pumbaa's influence on him, telling him that Simba still only eats bugs. Simba later arrives to Rafiki's tree to confront Zazu, as Zazu had an appointment with him in which he neglected because he
5635-496: Is his own antagonist). Sometimes, a work will have a false protagonist , who may seem to be the protagonist, but then may disappear unexpectedly. The character Marion in Alfred Hitchcock 's film Psycho (1960) is an example. A novel may contain a number of narratives, each with its own protagonist. Alexander Solzhenitsyn 's The First Circle , for example, depicts a variety of characters imprisoned and living in
5796-522: Is later stolen by Iago and brought to Jafar. Now the Genie's master, Jafar uses his first two wishes to become sultan, then a powerful sorcerer, and sends Aladdin to a frozen wasteland. Using the magic carpet, Aladdin escapes and returns to Agrabah, where he fights Jafar for the lamp. Aladdin taunts Jafar for being less powerful than the Genie, tricking him into using his last wish to become a genie himself. This causes Jafar to become trapped in his new lamp, taking Iago with him. The Genie throws Jafar's lamp into
5957-590: Is not a human: in Richard Adams ' novel Watership Down , a group of anthropomorphised rabbits, led by the protagonist Hazel, escape their warren after seeing a vision of its destruction, starting a perilous journey to find a new home. Aladdin (1992 Disney film) This is an accepted version of this page Aladdin is a 1992 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution under Walt Disney Pictures . It
6118-484: Is not always conventionally good. Contrasting the hero protagonist, a villain protagonist is a protagonist who is a villain , driving the story forward regardless of the evil qualities the main character has. These traits can include being cruel, malicious, and wicked. Examples include Humbert Humbert in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita and Richard III in the eponymous play by William Shakespeare . When
6279-923: Is one of the studio's most iconic animated characters. In a 1995 article ranking "The most powerful people in entertainment", Entertainment Weekly likened Disney chairman Michael Eisner 's success story to that of Simba. Publications such as World Animal Protection , the Los Angeles Times , Wilmington Star-News , and the Birmingham Mail consider Simba to be one of the most famous lions in popular culture . Richard Fink of MovieWeb declared him "the most famous lion in all of cinema". Charlotte Cripps of The Independent ranked Simba Disney's second best role-model for children. Comic Book Resources ranked Simba Disney's 12th most likeable prince character, due to his relatability. Collider ranked Simba The Lion King 's fourth-best character, as well as
6440-542: Is only a rectangular shape that expresses itself through pantomime — "It's sort of like acting by origami ". Cartwright kept folding a piece of cloth while animating to see how to position the Carpet. After the character animation was done, the carpet's surface design was applied digitally. "In early screenings, we played with him being a little bit younger, and he had a mother in the story. [...] In design he became more athletic-looking, more filled out, more of
6601-469: Is possible, she had never written Simba and Nala as cousins or siblings. Although Woolverton admitted that songs such as " Hakuna Matata " were non-essential to the plot and arrived later during the writing process, she confirmed that it helps demonstrate Simba during his "lost boy" phase. Some of Disney's marketing team doubted Simba's marketability, since most of Disney's lead characters at the time were female or princesses. Actor Matthew Broderick provided
Simba - Misplaced Pages Continue
6762-485: Is the Swahili word for "lion". Unlike Disney's three previous romantic films The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and Aladdin (1992), The Lion King focuses on Simba's relationship with his father. In April 1992, the filmmakers hosted a "brainstorming session" in which much of the film, including Simba's personality, was re-written. Story supervisor Brenda Chapman realized they had written
6923-419: Is the protagonist. He is actively in pursuit of his relationship with Juliet, and the audience is invested in that story. Tybalt, as an antagonist, opposes Romeo and attempts to thwart the relationship. In Shakespeare's play Hamlet , Prince Hamlet, who seeks revenge for the murder of his father, is the protagonist. The antagonist is the character who most opposes Hamlet, Claudius (though, in many ways, Hamlet
7084-615: The Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film 3 stars out of 4, and commented that Williams and animation "were born for one another." However, he considered the music to be inferior to The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast , and claimed that Aladdin and Jasmine were "pale and routine". He criticized what he saw as the film's use of ethnic stereotypes, writing, "Most of the Arab characters have exaggerated facial characteristics—hooked noses, glowering brows, thick lips—but Aladdin and
7245-700: The Lion King musical and in the parades and shows at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts . Simba was also the main character in "Legend of the Lion King," a former Fantasyland attraction in Walt Disney World 's Magic Kingdom , which retold the story of the film using fully articulated puppets. Other Disney attractions that have featured Simba include the Mickey's PhilharMagic 3D show and
7406-427: The Los Angeles Times said Simba was outshone by his sidekicks, describing him as "irritatingly callow". Joshua Starnes of ComingSoon.net panned Simba as a main character, describing him as the film's "weak link being both blandly designed and blandly performed". Acknowledging the character's Shakespearean roots, The Baltimore Sun ' s Stephen Hunter called Simba a less compelling version of Hamlet, Morris
7567-713: The Hong Kong Disneyland version of It's a Small World . He appeared as one of the main characters at Epcot's Land Pavilion 12-minute edutainment film Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable , until its closure in 2018. He currently appears in animatronic form in Festival of the Lion King at Disney's Animal Kingdom . Reception towards Simba has been generally mixed. The Christian Science Monitor ' s David Sterritt hailed him as "a superbly realized character". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly described Simba as "marvelously expressive", to
7728-655: The Walt Disney Classics line, although it was not officially advertised until October 1. In its first three days of availability, Aladdin sold 10.8 million copies, setting the fastest sales record and grossing about $ 265,000,000 (equivalent to $ 559,000,000 in 2023) in the United States. In less than three weeks, the VHS release of Aladdin sold more than 16 million units and grossed over $ 400,000,000 (equivalent to $ 840,000,000 in 2023) in
7889-428: The franchise 's merchandising, Simba has appeared in various The Lion King -related products. The character's likeness has been used in and adapted into a variety of items, including plush toys and figurines, clothing, bedding, household decor, and appliances. The success of the stage musical has also led to its own line of merchandising, including the Simba beanbag doll, based on the character's appearance and costume in
8050-399: The most famous lions in popular culture . The character's likeness has been used in several tie-in products, including merchandise, television series, and video games. In 1997, The Lion King actors Scott Irby-Ranniar and Jason Raize originated the role on Broadway . In 2019, Donald Glover and JD McCrary voiced the character in a photorealistic remake of the film. The Lion King
8211-525: The 100 that were considered. Yahoo! News UK reported that Simba was one of the most popular pet names in Britain in 2016. Corresponding with the Lion King remake in 2019, Simba was that year's most popular male cat name. According to Daily Hive , Simba ranked among Toronto's 10 most popular dog names in 2021. Protagonist The protagonist is the character whose fate is most closely followed by
SECTION 50
#17327656177198372-440: The Arab world". The ADC also complained about the portrayal of the lead characters, Aladdin and Jasmine. They accused the filmmakers of anglicizeing their features and giving them Anglo-American accents, in contrast to the other characters in the film, which have "foreign accents, grotesque facial features, and appear villainous or greedy". In October 2020, in response to the criticism and in acknowledgment of racial stereotypes in
8533-563: The Boy". Musker and Clements wrote a draft of the screenplay, and delivered a story reel to studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg in April 1991. Katzenberg thought that the script "didn't engage", and on a day known by the staff as "Black Friday", he demanded that the entire story be rewritten without rescheduling the film's November 25, 1992, release date. Katzenberg requested for Clements and Musker to not be heavily dependent on Ashman's vision, and
8694-615: The Broadway show. Since the film's 1994 debut, Simba has appeared as a playable character in several video games, both directly and indirectly associated with the Lion King franchise. The character's first appearance as a video game character was in The Lion King (1994), which follows the plot of the original film and features Simba as both a cub and an adult. Simba appears in The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure (2000), which encompasses 10 levels that incorporate
8855-580: The Cat , and Sylvester the Cat . Hunter also found adult Simba to be even less interesting than young Simba, while film critic Gene Siskel found the character boring. Johnny Brayson of Bustle described Simba as "not as great as you remember" despite the character's popularity, criticizing his privileged upbringing, arrogance, and immaturity. Jonathan Allford of The Guardian called Simba "a happy, slightly dislikable lion cub". In 2022, Rachel Ulatowski of Screen Rant wrote that despite differing opinions about
9016-508: The Cave of Wonders. The Genie encourages Aladdin to use his third wish to regain his royal title and legally marry Jasmine. Aladdin instead decides to keep his promise, wishing the Genie free. The Sultan allows Jasmine to marry whomever she chooses, and she gladly chooses Aladdin. The Genie bids the group a fond farewell and leaves to explore the world, while Aladdin and Jasmine start their new life together. In 1988, lyricist Howard Ashman pitched
9177-410: The Genie uses Aladdin's second wish to rescue him. Returning to the palace, Aladdin reveals Jafar's plot to Jasmine and the Sultan, but Jafar realizes Aladdin's identity and escapes from the guards. With everything seemingly resolved, the Genie requests his freedom; however, Aladdin declines, worried that he needs the Genie's facade to stay with Jasmine. The Genie, offended, retreats into his lamp, which
9338-497: The King of Thieves , an animated television series , and a Broadway adaptation . A live-action film adaptation directed by Guy Ritchie was released May 24, 2019. Jafar , a sorcerer and the royal vizier of the Middle Eastern city of Agrabah , seeks a magic lamp hidden within the Cave of Wonders that only "the diamond in the rough" can retrieve. Meanwhile, Princess Jasmine is unsatisfied with her sheltered life in
9499-518: The Outsiders – and befriended Kovu , the younger son of the pride's leader, Zira . Unbeknownst to them, Zira is grooming Kovu to avenge Scar by usurping Simba. Several years later, Kovu rescues Kiara from a wildfire started by Kovu's siblings, Nuka and Vitani. Simba reluctantly lets Kovu, who claims to have left the Outsiders, live with them, but continues to act coldly towards him. Witnessing Kiara and Kovu's growing friendship, Simba decides to spend
9660-440: The Pride Lands. He subsequently appears in sequels The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1½ . Simba was originally voiced by actors Matthew Broderick and Jonathan Taylor Thomas as an adult and cub, respectively; various actors have voiced the character in sequels, spin-offs, and related media. Created by screenwriters Irene Mecchi , Jonathan Roberts , and Linda Woolverton , Simba underwent several changes as
9821-427: The Sultan, inspired by Aladdin's altruism, changes the law to make it legal for Jasmine to able to marry anyone she deems worthy. Screenwriting duo Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were brought in to rework the story, and the changes they made included the removal of Aladdin's mother, the strengthening of the character of Princess Jasmine, and the deletion of several of Ashman and Menken's songs. Aladdin's personality
SECTION 60
#17327656177199982-411: The Sultan. Meanwhile, Aladdin arrives in Agrabah as Prince Ali, but Jasmine is uninterested in his grandstanding. Later, Aladdin takes Jasmine on a romantic ride on the carpet. After she deduces that Aladdin is the boy she'd met earlier, he lies that he sometimes dresses as a commoner to escape palace life. After Aladdin brings Jasmine home, Jafar has the guards capture him and throw him into the sea, where
10143-463: The Tramp (1955), and The Jungle Book (1967) . Aquino based his early drawings of Simba on Broderick, whose voice he said offers the character "a lot of humor and vulnerability ... which really gave me something to go on and made it easier for me to flesh out my performance". Aquino would quietly sketch Broderick live during his sessions, which would end up informing each other's performances. Because
10304-549: The United States. On release of the Sega Genesis video game adaptation in November, Aladdin sold approximately 30 million home video units, earning more than $ 500,000,000 (equivalent to $ 1,050,000,000 in 2023) in the United States. It was the best-selling home video release until a record broken by The Lion King . This VHS edition entered moratorium on April 30, 1994. A THX -certified widescreen LaserDisc
10465-585: The White Lion , Disney claims Simba was not inspired by Kimba. Mark Henn and Ruben A. Aquino were supervising animators for the cub and adult Simba, respectively, with both animators researching live lions and drawing inspiration from the character's voice actors. Simba has received a mixed reception from film critics, some of whom praised his design but found him uninteresting as a main character. However, several publications have ranked Simba among Disney's most iconic characters, and consider him to be one of
10626-430: The White Lion , despite similarities between the names "Simba" and "Kimba", as well as some concept drawings depicting Simba as a white lion . The studio maintains that any parallels are coincidental. However, Broderick claims he thought he had originally been cast in an American remake of Kimba because the characters seemed so similar at first. Because Disney was prioritizing Pocahontas (1995) over The Lion King ,
10787-406: The adult version of the character is introduced mildly depressed , Aquino originally drew him with sad, soulful eyes and a disheveled mane, but redesigned him to look more heroic at Hahn's request. As a result, Simba ended up resembling Mufasa. To make sure the character looked believable, Aquino studied live lions loaned to the studio and consulted with zoologists. Henn animated Simba's scenes from
10948-460: The album, Disneymania 3 . The pop duo version of the song, " A Whole New World ", performed by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle , which plays over the end credits, is, as of 2024 , the only Disney song to win a Grammy Award for Song of the Year . "The original story was sort of a winning the lottery kind of thing ... Like having anything you could wish for would be the greatest thing in
11109-747: The animators consulting with each other to make scenes with interrelating characters. Because Aladdin's animator, Glen Keane , was working in the California branch of Walt Disney Feature Animation , and Jasmine's animator, Mark Henn , was in Florida at Disney-MGM Studios , they had to frequently phone, fax or send designs and discs to each other. The animators filmed monkeys at the San Francisco Zoo to study their movements for Abu's character. Iago's supervising animator, Will Finn , tried to incorporate some aspects of Gottfried's appearance into
11270-528: The antagonists darker ones, such as red and black, and Agrabah and its palace use the neutral color, yellow. Computer animation was used for several elements of the film, such as the tiger entrance of the Cave of Wonders and the scene in which Aladdin tries to escape the collapsing cave. Some of the software that was used was Pixar 's RenderMan . Musker and Clements created the Genie with Robin Williams in mind; although Katzenberg suggested actors such as John Candy , Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy , Williams
11431-474: The beginning of the film until approximately the "Hakuna Matata" sequence, including Simba's first appearance as an adult towards the end of the musical number. Before The Lion King , his experience as a supervising animator was limited to predominantly female characters, having previously worked on Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989), Belle from Beauty and the Beast (1991), and Jasmine from Aladdin (1992). He initially campaigned heavily to animate
11592-585: The best protagonist of the Disney Renaissance . Contributor Tyler B. Searle said Simba "has one of the strongest character arcs of any Disney protagonist". Writing for the same publication, Anas Yamin said Simba has the best character development of all Disney main characters. Comic Book Resources ranked Simba eighth in their ranking, including him among "some of the most beloved and iconic main characters in animation history". Simba's appearance has also generated online debates discussing whether it
11753-535: The carefree lifestyle, but, for some reason, Simba hadn't noticed that he continuously struggles to ignore his past, just for close attention. Years later, Simba's childhood friend Nala finds him and convinces him to return to the Pride Lands, which has grown barren under Scar's rule. After being visited by Rafiki and Mufasa's spirit, who reminds him of his responsibilities, Simba confronts Scar, who finally admits to killing Mufasa, and defeats him, reclaiming his rightful place as king. With order restored, Simba and Nala have
11914-538: The character, "Audiences cannot deny that Simba's design perfectly embodies his role as the tragic hero " with "an intriguing appearance that is heroic, bold, charming, but also weary and disheveled at times. The contrasting elements paint him perfectly as an exiled prince who has been through tragedy in his life". Despite the character's mixed reviews, several critics have praised Broderick's performance, including The Washington Post ' s Desson Howe . Annette Basile of FilmInk described Broderick as "excellent" in
12075-564: The chief or first part', combined of πρῶτος ( prôtos , 'first') and ἀγωνιστής ( agōnistḗs , 'actor, competitor'), which stems from ἀγών ( agṓn , 'contest') via ἀγωνίζομαι ( agōnízomai , 'I contend for a prize'). The earliest known examples of a protagonist are found in Ancient Greece . At first, dramatic performances involved merely dancing and recitation by the chorus. Then in Poetics , Aristotle describes how
12236-675: The condition that neither his name nor image be used for marketing, and that his character take no more than 25% of space on advertising artwork, since Williams's film, Toys , was scheduled for release one month after Aladdin ' s debut. For financial reasons, the studio reneged on both counts, especially in poster art, by having the Genie in 25% of the image but having other major and supporting characters portrayed considerably smaller. The Disney Hyperion book, Aladdin: The Making of an Animated Film , lists both of Williams's characters, "the Peddler" and "the Genie", ahead of main characters, but
12397-438: The damaged relationship, as the painting was a self-portrait of Picasso, as the artist, Vincent van Gogh , and apparently really "clashed" with the Williams's wilder home decor. Williams refused to sign for the 1994 direct-to-video sequel The Return of Jafar , and he was replaced by Dan Castellaneta as the Genie's voice actor. When Jeffrey Katzenberg was replaced by Joe Roth as chairman at Walt Disney Studios, Roth organized
12558-466: The early period of Greek drama, the protagonist served as the author, the director, and the actor and that these roles were only separated and allocated to different individuals later. There is also a claim that the poet did not assign or create the protagonist as well as other terms for actors such as deuteragonist and tritagonist primarily because he only gave actors their appropriate part. However, these actors were assigned their specific areas at
12719-641: The film earned Broderick legions of younger fans, ranking it his sixth best film. MovieWeb ranked Simba the greatest performance of Thomas' career, praising his "wide range of emotions". However, Janet M. Walker of the New York Amsterdam News criticized Disney for casting white actors as Simba, considering his parents are voiced by Black actors James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair . Christopher Null of Contactmusic.com panned Weaver's performance, likening his singing to Michael Jackson and saying "You almost don't want him to succeed". When
12880-623: The film on a Diamond Edition Blu-ray on October 13, 2015. The film was released on Digital HD on September 29, 2015. In its first week of release on home media in the United States, the film topped the Blu-ray sales chart and debuted at number 2 at the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks overall disc sales behind the disaster film, San Andreas . The film's Blu-ray release sold 1.81 million units and grossed $ 39 million, as of 2017 . Aladdin
13041-579: The film prioritizes Simba's personal growth over his romantic relationship with Nala, but found Broderick's performance "nondescript". Vox described Simba as "the least compelling character in The Lion King ", acknowledging this might be a controversial opinion. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post gave the character a negative review, questioning Simba as a hero and nicknaming him "the Lion Country incarnation of Fabio ". Kenneth Turan of
13202-464: The film since early development, Broderick said he had always assumed The Lion King was an adaptation of Hamlet , elements of which were most prominent when he was first cast. Broderick worked on the film on-and-off for two-three years, often re-recording his work to match what the animators had drawn several months later. Although Broderick recorded most of his lines alone, he briefly recorded with an actress who had originally been cast as Nala until she
13363-500: The film was released, some viewers alleged that during one of Simba's scenes, he creates a dust cloud that appears to spell the word "SEX" in the night sky. In a lawsuit filed against Disney in Texas, the studio was accused of including sexual subliminal messages in a family-oriented film, while Catholic activist organization American Life League demanded an apology for including sexual material in its films. Animator Tom Sito claims
13524-550: The film's planned but ultimately cancelled IMAX reissue in 2003, and a second disc with bonus features. Accompanied by a $ 19 million marketing campaign, the DVD sold about 3 million units in its first month. The film's soundtrack was available in its original Dolby 5.1 track or in a new Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix. The DVD went into moratorium in January 2008 with its sequels. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released
13685-462: The film's release. Several fans have recreated the image using their own children or pets, including, controversially, singer Michael Jackson in 1992, and Brendan Fraser at the end of the film George of the Jungle (1997). During the third season finale of Once Upon a Time , the main character Emma Swan asked her parents Snow White and David Nolan if they were going to hold up her yet unnamed baby brother like in The Lion King . Since
13846-463: The film's story was revised, including making him a more sympathetic character, and notably establishing his familial relation to Scar. Although conceived as an original character, Simba was inspired by Moses and Joseph from the Bible , and Prince Hamlet from William Shakespeare 's Hamlet . Despite sharing several similarities with the title character from the anime television series Kimba
14007-819: The film's trailer attached to most Disney VHS releases (including One Hundred and One Dalmatians in April 1992 and Beauty and the Beast in October that year), and numerous tie-ins and licensees being released. Aladdin was released on November 11, 1992, in two theaters (the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles and the City Cinemas 1, 2 and 3rd Avenue in New York City), and grossed $ 196,664 in its first 5 days. The film expanded to 1,131 theaters on November 25, 1992, grossing $ 19.2 million for
14168-495: The film's villain, Scar, because he wanted to do something different than the princesses he had become known for, but Hahn convinced him to work on Simba due to his experience with main characters. Hahn reminded Henn that the success of the entire film hinges on Simba's design, since he is considered the most important character in The Lion King , and the animator found it a welcome departure from leading ladies nonetheless. Aside from Andreas Deja who ultimately animated Scar, Henn
14329-402: The film, three by Ashman and four by Rice. Menken, Ashman and Rice were praised for creating a soundtrack that is "consistently good, rivaling the best of Disney's other animated musicals from the '90s". The Special Edition soundtrack released in 2004 included four songs in early animation tests and a music video of one, " Proud of Your Boy ", performed by Clay Aiken , which also appears on
14490-495: The final film. Williams claims Broderick was upset that Disney had decided to dub him. He recorded "Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight" for the film. Impressed by Weaver's performance as a young Michael Jackson in the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), songwriters Elton John and Tim Rice recruited him to record "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" and " Hakuna Matata " while The Lion King
14651-462: The first number from a Disney feature to earn a Grammy Award for Song of the Year , for the film's " A Whole New World ", sung by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle . The film's home VHS release set a sales record, grossing approximately $ 500 million in the United States. Aladdin ' s success led to various derived works and other material inspired by the film, including two direct-to-video sequels, The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and
14812-469: The former of which most of their experienced animators gravitated towards since the studio considered it the more promising of the two films, Simba was one of the few Lion King characters animated at the studio's main California location. This proved challenging for the production team, since Simba shares several scenes with characters who were animated in Florida . The role of Simba's supervising animator
14973-556: The gay references in the film offended him, such as a scene in which the Genie becomes an " effeminate clothier ", and another in which he tells Aladdin, "I really like you too, kid, but that doesn't mean I want to pick out curtains with you". Schumacher responded that such references were in "good fun", remarking that "I know we all argue amongst ourselves, but why try to deny the fact that swishy fashion designers exist? They do! What are we running from? Show me ten hairdressers; I'll show you eight gay men." The design for most characters
15134-444: The highest-grossing 1992 film domestically. In the United States, the film held the top spot five times weekly and breaks the record for the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, with $ 32.2 million during its 22-week run. Aladdin was the most successful film of 1992, grossing $ 217 million in the United States, and over $ 504 million worldwide. It was the biggest gross for an animated film until The Lion King two years later, and
15295-455: The idea of an animated musical adaptation of Aladdin. Ashman had written a 40-page film treatment , remaining faithful to the plot and characters of the original story but envisioned as a campy 1930s-style musical with a popular 1930s-style Genie. With partner, Alan Menken , Ashman composed several songs and added original characters to the story, such as Aladdin's friends, Babkak, Omar and Kassim. However, Michael Eisner did not think that
15456-879: The lack of other actors on set. Due to his busy schedule, Thomas recorded some his dialogue on the Home Improvement set, the sitcom on which he was starring at the time, since both productions were filmed on Disney's Burbank lot . His recording sessions were video recorded, which animators used to incorporate some of Thomas' expressions and mannerisms into their drawings, namely the actor's "sly smile". His appearance and personality served as creative inspiration for supervising animator Mark Henn in particular. The actor found Simba's curiosity similar to his own. He also likened Simba to his Home Improvement character Randy Taylor , describing both as curious, intuitive, confident, and quick-witted. Hahn recalled "rough[ing Thomas] up" during certain recording sessions when his character
15617-400: The lamp from the cave. The cave's guardian grants Aladdin entry, but warns him to touch only the lamp. Aladdin finds both the lamp and a flying magic carpet inside, but Abu grabs a large jewel and triggers a cave-in. They flee to the entrance and give the lamp to Jafar, who throws the pair into the cave. While trapped underground, Abu reveals to Aladdin that he stole the lamp back. Aladdin rubs
15778-512: The lamp, from which the Genie emerges. The Genie grants Aladdin three wishes, although Aladdin tricks him into freeing them from the cave without using a wish. Upon learning the Genie's desire to be released from servitude, Aladdin promises to use his last wish to free him. To woo Jasmine, Aladdin uses his first wish to become a prince. At the suggestion of his parrot sidekick, Iago , Jafar plans to marry Jasmine and then kill both her and her father,
15939-587: The letters actually spelled "SFX", an abbreviation for special effects , and was an easter egg animated by the film's special effects department. Beginning in 2002, the letters were edited out of re-releases of The Lion King , and replaced with standard dust clouds. According to a Vox writer, Simba is not as iconic as Scar or Mufasa, which they attributed to the character's perceived lack of agency and tendency to rely on instructions from other characters. Contrarily, Marc Snetiker of Entertainment Weekly described Simba as an iconic character who has "spent nearly
16100-673: The location of the film was changed from Baghdad to the fictional Arabian city of Agrabah due to the Gulf War . Because the war prevented them from travelling to Baghdad for research, most of their research took place at the Saudi Arabian expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. According to a 1994 article in The Advocate , Katzenberg asked Thomas Schumacher , an openly gay producer, if any of
16261-512: The movie is quite inaccurate in its depictions of Arab societies. The main palace is inspired by Mughal architecture , but many of the clothes are Turkish in origin, and the outside environment is closer to that of the Arabian Desert . Entertainment Weekly ranked Aladdin in a list of the most controversial films in history due to this incident. The number has been described in reviews as "simultaneously glamorizing and barbarizing
16422-425: The name on its list of "Trendiest Dog Names". According to YouPet, Simba is the 17th most popular cat name out of 100 candidates. Care2 included Simba in its article "All-around Cool Cat Names," while DutchNews.nl reported that Simba ranks among the country's most popular cat names as of July 2013. In its list of "Top Popular Pet Names," BabyNames.com placed Simba at number 64 on its list of most popular dog names out of
16583-504: The only one". In 2019, the pop culture website Punkee published an article asking readers "Why Are We All So Thirsty For Simba?", which author Jenna Guillaume attributed to the character's long mane, smile, "flirty eyebrow raise", and Broderick's voice. Senior lecturer Dr. Lauren Rosewarne theorized that Simba's story and character development throughout The Lion King offers several opportunities for viewers to find him attractive, progressing from wounded, ostracized cub to “potentially offers
16744-527: The original film did, stating that "[Jon] was very keen in making sure we saw [Simba's] transition from boy to man and how hard that can be when there's been a deep trauma". On November 1, 2017, JD McCrary was cast as young Simba. McCrary said that "Donald Glover is so talented that [he] actually did have to take it into consideration, because if Simba is going to grow up to be some sort of figure and you know of it, you have to keep that motive". The success of The Lion King and popularity of its characters led to
16905-437: The other, but you can't." Although hundreds of children auditioned for the role of young Simba, the casting process was far less grueling for Irby-Ranniar who, according to Taymor, simply "walked in and he had the part." In 1994, a six-volume book set titled The Lion King: Six New Adventures were released. Set after the events of the first film , they featured a cub named Kopa, who was the son of Simba and Nala. As an part of
17066-458: The palace. One day, she escapes the palace and encounters a young street urchin named Aladdin , and his pet monkey, Abu. As a bond between Aladdin and Jasmine develops, Jafar has the palace guards capture and imprison Aladdin, who learns Jasmine's identity. Jasmine demands that Jafar release Aladdin, but he lies and claims that Aladdin has already been beheaded. Disguised as an elderly beggar, Jafar frees Aladdin and Abu and orders them to retrieve
17227-533: The parrot's design, especially his semi-closed eyes and the always-appearing teeth. Some aspects of the Sultan were inspired by the Wizard of Oz , to create a bumbling authority figure. Andreas Deja, Jafar's supervising animator, tried to incorporate Jonathan Freeman's facial expressions and gesturing into the character. Animator Randy Cartwright described working on the Magic Carpet as challenging, since it
17388-614: The plot of both The Lion King and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride as "Simba ... matures from a precocious cub to an adult lion". In the Kingdom Hearts video game franchise, Simba appears as a friend and ally of the series' main character, Sora , in Kingdom Hearts , Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts III , and as a companion in battle in Kingdom Hearts II . Simba also appears as
17549-506: The point where he appears to be more human-like than Aladdin and The Little Mermaid 's human characters. In a review for The Fresno Bee , author John Scalzi called Simba "the cutest little lion club you'd ever care to see", and film critic Roger Ebert described him as "cute" several times throughout his review of the film. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone and About.com 's David Nusair were moved by Simba's relationship with Mufasa. James Berardinelli of ReelViews enjoyed that
17710-456: The pride and reconciles with his daughter. In The Lion King 1½ (2004), Simba appears as a less prominent character because the film's primary focus is on Timon and Pumbaa's behind-the-scenes role and involvement in the events of The Lion King. Although the two films technically share the same story and timeline, the plot of The Lion King 1½ focuses more on Timon and Pumbaa. The meerkat and warthog unknowingly coexist alongside Simba, and
17871-429: The prides reconcile their differences peacefully. Zira attacks Simba as he is about to accept the Outsiders back into his pride, but he she is intercepted by Kiara, causing the pair of lionesses to tumble over the edge of a cliff. Having landed safely on a ledge, Kiara offers to help Zira, who is struggling to hang on. However, Zira, consumed by resentment, refuses help and falls to her death. Simba finally accepts Kovu into
18032-422: The princess look like white American teenagers." The film did not go without criticism. In a scathing review, Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine described the film as racist, ridiculous, and a "narcissistic circus act" from Robin Williams. One of the verses of the opening song "Arabian Nights", in which the speaker uses the lyric "where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face" to describe his homeland,
18193-547: The production of The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa , an animated spin-off television series starring Timon and Pumbaa , which ran from 1995 to 1999. Simba makes several appearances, including the newly animated wraparound segment in the Around the World with Timon & Pumbaa international VHS tape and DVD, where Timon drags him out to try to revive Pumbaa's lost memory. In the episode "Congo On Like This", upon discovering that
18354-408: The reader or audience, and who is opposed by the antagonist . The antagonist provides obstacles and complications and creates conflicts that test the protagonist, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist's character, and having the protagonist develop as a result. The term protagonist comes from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής ( prōtagōnistḗs ) 'actor who plays
18515-484: The relationship among the three characters as Timon and Pumbaa struggle to raise Simba as adoptive "parents" and disapprove of his relationship with Nala, portraying Simba as he grows from an energetic young lion cub, into an incorrigible teenager and, finally, an independent young lion. On July 19, 2019, Walt Disney Pictures released a CGI of the remake film. The film was directed and produced by Jon Favreau and written by Jeff Nathanson . In this film, Donald Glover
18676-413: The release of The Lion King in 1994, the name "Simba" has increased in use and popularity among pet owners, specifically dogs and cats. According to Comcast in 2010, the use of Simba as a dog name reemerged in popularity in 2009 after experiencing a noticeable decline in 2001, ranking the name ninth out of 10 on its list of "Top 10 Trendiest Dog Names of the Year". In May 2013, Yahoo! Lifestyle included
18837-418: The removal of Aladdin's mother, remarking, " Eighty-six the mother. The mom's a zero." Katzenberg also influenced changing the plot element about Jasmine's marriage, which originally had her to be married by age sixteen as required by law, to remove the age — the Sultan says only, "your next birthday" — and make it more specific that her suitor needed to be a prince, which would also set up the ending in which
18998-405: The role of adult Simba after hearing that Taymor was looking to cast an actor who was of "unidentifiable ethnicity." Raize revealed in an interview that there was a lot of competition for the role because the musical required "triple-threat work – singing, dancing and acting – that you don't get to such an extent in other shows. It was more the sense of who can take the challenge and not be daunted by
19159-444: The role, while Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called him "sumptuous". Digital Spy ' s Mayer Nissim described Broderick's work as "wonderful". Several critics and publications have ranked The Lion King among his best films and performances. According to the actor's biography on PBS , Broderick's work in the film and its sequels ironically delivered him "his greatest screen success (to date) in relative anonymity". Gold Derby said
19320-516: The savannah but acts like the kid down the street". Tom Bancroft, an animator who worked on Simba under Henn, described his supervisor as the fastest animator at Disney at the time, making it difficult for other animators to acquire their own scenes to animate as Henn would typically do them himself. According to the Academy of Art University , Henn's work on Simba "further cemented his place in [animation] history". Some journalists believe Simba's mane
19481-505: The scenery design, various architectural elements seen in 19th-century orientalist paintings and photographs of the Arab world were used for guidance. Other inspirations for design were Disney's animated films from the 1940s and '50s and the 1940 film The Thief of Bagdad . The coloring was done with the computerized CAPS process, and the color motifs were chosen according to the personality —the protagonists use light colors, such as blue,
19642-400: The script, Simba was meant to lose his final fight to Scar, being thrown from Pride Rock before his uncle ultimately dies in a fire. Nala's younger brother Mheetu, who Simba was to have rescued from a stampede, was also written out of the film, as well as a trio of Simba's childhood friends. For a while, the story team struggled to come up with a convincing reason as to why Simba would believe he
19803-482: The sixth "hottest animated animal character", and Mashable ranked him eighth. Refinery29 's Anne Cohen lamented that the 2019 remake lacks the "Hot Simba Energy" of the original film. Kayla Cobb of Decider theorized that Disney wanted audiences to know that "in the lion world, Simba is a babe" by drawing him with traditionally attractive and masculine features. Louis Costello, a writer for Pedestrian , said "yes it’s okay to be attracted to adult Simba and yes you’re not
19964-459: The speaking voice of adult Simba. The first actor cast for The Lion King , Broderick learned that Disney was interested in him for the lead role while he was vacationing in Ireland, to where Disney sent him sketches of Simba. The filmmakers hired him based on his performance in the teen comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). According to Hahn, Broderick was cast because his voice invoked
20125-419: The stage with the protagonist always entering from the middle door or that the dwelling of the deuteragonist (second most important character) should be on the right hand, and the tritagonist (third most important character), the left. In Ancient Greece, the protagonist is distinguished from the term "hero", which was used to refer to a human who became a semi-divine being in the narrative. In literary terms,
20286-453: The story fills in the two characters' backstories and events that led up to their long-lasting friendship, coinciding with and often initiating the events that affect Simba's life during the first film. These events include the commemorative bow that occurs during the opening " Circle of Life " musical number and the collapsing of the animal tower that takes place during " I Just Can't Wait to Be King ". The film also explores, in further detail,
20447-452: The supervising animator for the Genie, reviewed Williams's recorded dialogue, and selected the best gags and lines that his crew would create character animation to match. The producers added many in-jokes and references to Disney's previous works in the film, such as a "cameo appearance" from directors, Clements and Musker, and drawing some characters based on Disney workers. Beast , Sebastian and Pinocchio make brief appearances, and
20608-469: The task." Raize, who instantly felt that he "had a connection with Simba," eventually won the role with the approval of Taymor and choreographer Garth Fagan , with Fagan admiring the fact that Raize was "willing to try, to fail, and then to try again." Once cast, Raize found it difficult to maintain Taymor's "sense of duality" because Simba is "both man and beast." He said, "The tendency is to sacrifice one for
20769-511: The time gap in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (except the final episode titled "Return to The Pride Lands," which takes place after the film), it features Kion who is the son and youngest child of Simba and Nala, who as the second-born cub, is tasked with assembling a team to protect the Pride Lands. The series shows Simba doing several royal duties, such as attending a funeral for his wise old elephant friend Aminifu, holding
20930-545: The titular Aladdin , an Arabian street urchin who finds a magic lamp containing a genie . With the genie's help, Aladdin disguises as a wealthy prince and tries to impress the Sultan of Agrabah to win the heart of his free-spirited daughter, Princess Jasmine , as the Sultan's evil vizier , Jafar , plots to steal the magic lamp. Lyricist Howard Ashman pitched the idea, and the screenplay went through three drafts before Disney Studios president, Jeffrey Katzenberg , agreed to its production. The animators based their designs on
21091-479: The voice actors' recording sessions, using their mannerisms as visual reference, with Thomas proving particularly influential on Simba's design and personality. Henn described his version of the character as a young, cocky, inexperienced cub who had yet to mature, which he hoped would remind viewers of their younger selves. Compared to adult Simba, Henn described him as "looser" and less physically assured, which allowed him to draw him "a little more awkward, his feet were
21252-475: The wardrobe of the Genie at the end of the film — a Goofy hat, a Hawaiian shirt, and sandals — are a reference to a short film that Robin Williams did for the Disney-MGM Studios tour in the late 1980s. In gratitude for his success with Touchstone Pictures 's Good Morning, Vietnam , Robin Williams voiced the Genie for SAG scale pay ($ 75,000) instead of his usual asking fee of $ 8 million, on
21413-517: The week of November 26. It set an opening weekend record in South Africa . By 2002, the film grossed $ 287 million overseas and $ 504 million worldwide. It sold an estimated 52.4 million tickets in the United States and Canada. When adjusted for inflation (in 2022 dollars), its domestic gross totaled $ 491.4 million. The film was first released in VHS on September 29, 1993, as part of
21574-542: The weekend, finishing second at the U.S. box office, behind Home Alone 2: Lost in New York . It took eight weeks for the film to surpass Beauty and the Beast as the most successful animated Disney film at the domestic box office (surpassed by The Lion King in 1994). For its eighth week of release, Aladdin collected $ 15.6 million and reached the number one spot at the box office, beating A Few Good Men . By February 1993, it surpassed Batman Returns to become
21735-448: The work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld , and computers were used for both finishing the artwork and creating some animated elements. The musical score was composed by Alan Menken , and features six songs with lyrics written by both Ashman and Tim Rice , the latter of whom took over following Ashman's death. Aladdin was released on November 11, 1992. It received positive reviews from critics (particularly for Williams's performance). It
21896-405: The world and having it taken away from you is bad, but having it back is great. We didn't really want that to be the message of the movie." –Ron Clements The filmmakers thought that the moral message of the original tale was inappropriate, and decided to "put a spin on it" by making the fulfillment of wishes seem like a great solution, but eventually becoming a problem. Another major theme
22057-402: The writers credited with creating the character, joined the film to revise its screenplay, which included providing Simba with a stronger adversary by changing the rogue lion into Simba's uncle. She felt the change contributed more Shakespearean elements to the story. The character has often been compared to Prince Hamlet from William Shakespeare 's tragedy Hamlet . In an earlier version of
22218-560: Was King of the Jungle . According to producer Don Hahn , this title was intended to serve as an allegory about Simba needing to survive and grow up in both a literal and metaphorical jungle. However, they renamed it The Lion King upon realizing lions don't live in jungles, and wanting to shift focus to a simpler story about a lion becoming king. Some filmmakers nicknamed the film " Bambi in Africa" due to similarities between The Lion King and Disney's own Bambi (1942). The name "Simba"
22379-433: Was a commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1992 , with an earning of over $ 504 million in worldwide box-office revenue. On release, it became the first animated feature to reach the half-billion-dollar mark, and was the highest-grossing animated film of all time until it was surpassed by The Lion King . Aladdin garnered two Academy Awards , as well as other accolades for its soundtrack , which had
22540-542: Was altered to "where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense" following complaints from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). The revision first appeared on the 1993 video release. The original lyric was intact on the initial CD soundtrack release, but the rereleases use the edited lyric. The Broadway adaptation also uses the edited line. The subsequent line, however, "It's barbaric, but hey, it's home",
22701-435: Was approached and eventually accepted the role. Williams came for voice recording sessions during breaks while filming two films he was making at the time, Hook and Toys . Unusual for an animated film, much of Williams's dialogue was ad-libbed . For some scenes, Williams was given topics and dialogue suggestions, but allowed to improvise his lines. It is estimated that Williams improvised 52 characters. Eric Goldberg ,
22862-401: Was avoiding an attempt to be what the person is not — both Aladdin and Jasmine get into trouble pretending to be different people, and Prince Ali's persona fails to impress Jasmine, who falls for Aladdin only when she finds out who he truly is. Being "imprisoned" is also presented, a fate that occurs to most of the characters — Aladdin and Jasmine are limited by their lifestyles, while the Genie
23023-437: Was based on how singer Jon Bon Jovi styled his hair during the 1980s. Simba spends 55% of his screen time as a cub, and the remaining 45% as an adult lion. At the time of the film's release, Simba had the most screen time of any Disney hero, appearing in 49.71% of the film (or 43 minutes and 51 seconds). Simba first appears in The Lion King (1994) as a cub, the son of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi . As Mufasa's heir, Simba
23184-475: Was cast as the speaking voice of young Simba. He was 12 years-old at the time. Thomas did not alter his voice for the character, but simply spoke "with a real kid spirit" since Simba had been described to him by the film's directors as "energetically cocky". Thomas recorded his lines in hour-long sessions over the course of a year and a half. Because he was working by himself, he improvised much of what other characters were supposed to be saying to his character due to
23345-518: Was cast for the role of adult Simba. Glover said that "[ The Lion King is] a timeless story, but [he thinks] the way Favreau has constructed it, it's a very timely story as well" and said that "[he] just wanted to be a part of a global good". The actor had previously worked with Favreau on the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Glover said that the film will focus more on Simba's time growing up than
23506-401: Was conceived in 1988. Although considered an original story that follows a young lion, Simba, becoming an adult and learning to take responsibility for his actions, the film's creators drew inspiration for the character from various sources, namely several coming-of-age stories and the biblical figures Moses and Joseph . The film underwent several title changes, one of the earliest of which
23667-614: Was divided between Ruben A. Aquino and Mark Henn, the former of whom was the first animator hired for The Lion King . Henn served as the supervising animator of Simba as a cub, and Aquino animated him as an adult. Aquino and Henn worked on the character from Disney's California and Florida studios, respectively. According to Aquino, animating four-legged creatures is difficult because artists are required to draw twice as many legs as human characters, while still incorporating human-like qualities. For assistance, Aquino drew inspiration from Disney's previous animal films such as Bambi , Lady and
23828-456: Was forced to refer to him as only "the actor signed to play the Genie". Disney, while not using Williams's name in commercials as per the contract, used his voice for the Genie in the commercials and used the Genie character to sell toys and fast food tie-ins, without having to pay Williams additional money. Williams unhappily quipped at the time, "You realize when you work for Disney why the mouse has only four fingers--because he can’t pick up
23989-456: Was intended to sound active or out of breath, in order to deliver a convincing performance. Although Broderick recorded his character's songs twice, the studio opted not to use his vocals in the final film, which the actor attributed to Disney being interested in a poppier sound than he was capable of delivering. Toto lead singer Joseph Williams and actor Jason Weaver provided the singing voices of adult and young Simba, respectively. Williams
24150-470: Was issued on September 21, 1994, and a Spanish-dubbed VHS for the American market was released on April 14, 1995. In Japan, 2.2 million home video units were sold by 1995. On October 5, 2004, Aladdin was rereleased onto VHS and for the first time released on DVD , as part of Disney's Platinum Edition line. The DVD release featured retouched and cleaned-up animation, which had been prepared for
24311-421: Was left intact. The film has also been subject to criticism for its use of Orientalist stereotypes that depict Arab societies as exotic and foreign. The ADC has pointed out that the characters in the movie that the viewer is supposed to identify and sympathize with are generally presented with more white features, while the villains are presented with more Arab features. Other people have pointed out that
24472-470: Was originally hired to record all of Aladdin 's vocals. However, Aladdin 's songwriters preferred a more theatrical voice over Williams', and ultimately replaced him with actor Brad Kane . Several months later, Disney's music supervisor Chris Montan invited Williams back to record some demos , which ultimately became the songs used in The Lion King . Although Williams speculated that he would be replaced similar to Aladdin , all of his vocals were retained in
24633-421: Was planned to kill Simba and Mufasa at the same time, only for other characters to mistake him for saving Simba from the stampede. Instead of meeting Timon and Pumbaa , this version of Simba would have grown up a slacker under Scar's reign, making him easier to overthrow. A short scene depicting a young Simba wandering the desert before meeting Timon and Pumbaa was also cut. Screenwriter Linda Woolverton , one of
24794-596: Was re-released on HD and 4K digital download on August 27, 2019, with a physical media re-release on Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 10, 2019, as part of the Walt Disney Signature Collection . The review aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes , reports that 95% of 79 critics give the film a positive review, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's consensus reads: "A highly entertaining entry in Disney's renaissance era, Aladdin
24955-439: Was responsible for Mufasa's death, without killing him. Story artist Chris Sanders explained that the key to this was eventually accepting that a young child in an extremely emotional state would simply believe what their uncle told them. Addressing online speculation that Simba and Nala could potentially be related since Mufasa and Scar are the only adult male lions identified in the film, Woolverton acknowledged that although it
25116-540: Was rewritten to be "a little rougher, like a young Harrison Ford "; the parrot, Iago, originally conceived as an uptight British archetype, was reworked to a comic role after the filmmakers saw Gilbert Gottfried in Beverly Hills Cop II , who was cast for the role. By October 1991, Katzenberg was satisfied with the new version of Aladdin . As with Woolverton's screenplay, several characters and plot elements were based on The Thief of Bagdad , although
25277-533: Was so invested in Rafiki's story of Timon's past, but persuades Rafiki to finish telling the tale. Simba also makes brief appearances in "Zazu's Off-By-One Day" and "Beethoven's Whiff". He also appears in the music video segment " The Lion Sleeps Tonight ". In January 2016, a new series called The Lion Guard premiered, following a television pilot film The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar in November 2015. Set within
25438-534: Was still in its early stages and little animation had been completed. Weaver recorded "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" only a few days after completing the miniseries, with John in particular vouching for his involvement in The Lion King . Impressed by his performance, the directors considered offering Weaver the speaking role as well before learning that negotiations with Thomas had already been finalized. Disney originally offered Weaver $ 2 million USD for his work on The Lion King , but Weaver's mother declined in favor of
25599-402: Was the first full-length animated film to gross $ 200 million in the United States and Canada. Additionally, it was the first film to cross that mark since Terminator 2: Judgment Day . Outside of the United States and Canada, the film grossed $ 200 million in 1993, and $ 250 million by January 1994. In Europe, Aladdin defeated Jurassic Park to become the continent's box-office leader for
25760-675: Was the most tenured animator on The Lion King , whose roster mostly consisted of newer or first-time animators. Simba proved to be a challenge because Henn was tasked with creating an animated character who would both appear and behave like a real lion cub for the first time. To achieve believability, Henn visited zoos, studied live lion cubs that were loaned to the studio for research, and consulted with wildlife professionals. Henn maintained that animators can not simply use their cats as reference models due to their different anatomies. Recalling their efforts to make his character as realistic as possible, Henn said that, unlike domestic cats, lion cubs “have
25921-412: Was ultimately replaced with Moira Kelly , which Broderick only learned had happened at the film's premiere. The actor said he sometimes felt left out when recording his lines, which were more somber in comparison to the film's supporting cast. Disney auditioned dozens of child actors for the role of young Simba, searching for an actor who could embody "a scrappy young kid". Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas
#718281