Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate "production numbers".
177-869: The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. The film was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff (in their feature directorial debuts) and produced by Don Hahn , from a screenplay written by Irene Mecchi , Jonathan Roberts , and Linda Woolverton . The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick , Moira Kelly , James Earl Jones , Jeremy Irons , Jonathan Taylor Thomas , Niketa Calame, Nathan Lane , Ernie Sabella , Whoopi Goldberg , Cheech Marin , Rowan Atkinson , and Robert Guillaume . Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice , with
354-459: A " Bambi in Africa" idea with lions. Katzenberg balked at the idea at first, but nevertheless encouraged Fink and his writers to develop a mythos to explain how lions serviced other animals by eating them. Another anecdote states that the idea was conceived during a conversation between Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney, and Schneider on a flight to Europe during a promotional tour. During the conversation,
531-507: A $ 101.14 million income. The Lion King was once again released to home media as part of the Walt Disney Signature Collection first released on Digital HD on August 15, 2017, and on Blu-ray and DVD on August 29, 2017. The Lion King was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and 4K digital download on December 3, 2018. Musical film The musical film was a natural development of the stage musical after
708-625: A Bollywood-style song-and-dance number during the film's end credits, Tallika (2022) was the first movie with Maximum Genres of Music Composed by Maharaja and registered as a World Record Holder in Music, Spain has a history and tradition of musical films that were made independent of Hollywood influence. The first films arise during the Second Spanish Republic of the 1930s and the advent of sound films . A few zarzuelas (Spanish operetta ) were even adapted as screenplays during
885-514: A Hawaiian version; and in 2019 the film Frozen II (2019) was dubbed into Northern Sami , even though Frozen (2013) was not. By 2022, 45 language adaptations of the film had been produced. The special Zulu dubbing was made available on the streaming platform Disney+ in October 2022, together with the Māori dubbing of Moana , and the special Arapaho dubbing of Bambi . Following the success of
1062-467: A Sixpence , The Happiest Millionaire , Star! , Darling Lili , Goodbye, Mr. Chips , Paint Your Wagon , Song of Norway , On a Clear Day You Can See Forever , 1776 , Man of La Mancha , Lost Horizon , and Mame . Collectively and individually these failures affected the financial viability of several major studios. In the 1970s, film culture and the changing demographics of filmgoers placed greater emphasis on gritty realism, while
1239-605: A carefree life under their motto " hakuna matata " ("no worries" in Swahili ). Years later, an adult Simba rescues Timon and Pumbaa from a hungry lioness, who is revealed to be Nala. Simba and Nala fall in love , and she urges him to return home, telling him that the Pride Lands have become drought -stricken under Scar's reign. Still feeling guilty over Mufasa's death, Simba refuses and leaves angrily. He encounters Rafiki, who tells Simba that Mufasa's spirit lives on in him. Simba
1416-412: A composing partner. As Menken was unavailable, the producers accepted Rice's suggestion of Elton John , after Rice's invitation of ABBA fell through due to Benny Andersson 's commitments to the stage musical Kristina från Duvemåla . John expressed an interest in writing "ultra-pop songs that kids would like; then adults can go and see those movies and get just as much pleasure out of them", mentioning
1593-440: A dopey dad instead of [a] grand king". 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. For
1770-479: A few dramas) included their own musical numbers. The Marx Brothers ' films included a musical number in nearly every film, allowing the Brothers to highlight their musical talents. Their final film, entitled Love Happy (1949), featured Vera-Ellen , considered to be the best dancer among her colleagues and professionals in the half century. Similarly, the vaudevillian comedian W. C. Fields joined forces with
1947-408: A few well-received films, but even their popularity waned by 1932. The public had quickly come to associate color with musicals and thus the decline in their popularity also resulted in a decline in color productions. The taste in musicals revived again in 1933 when director Busby Berkeley began to enhance the traditional dance number with ideas drawn from the drill precision he had experienced as
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#17327722458642124-622: A frame-by-frame technique. Motion capture by itself is not an animation technique. In addition, a significant number of the major characters must be animated, and animation must figure in no less than 75 per cent of the picture's running time. —Rule Seven – Special Rules for the Animated Feature Film Award: I. Definition The chart below lists the highest-grossing animated films. Figures are given in United States dollars (USD). Many films that were released during
2301-445: A lawsuit, seeking $ 1.6 million in royalties from Disney. In February 2006, Linda's heirs reached a settlement with Abilene Music, who held the worldwide rights and had licensed the song to Disney for an undisclosed amount of money. For The Lion King ' s first film trailer, Disney opted to feature a single scene, the entire opening sequence with the song "Circle of Life". Buena Vista Pictures Distribution president Dick Cook said
2478-566: A month, as his songs for the film needed to work in the narrative continuity. Rice's lyrics—which were reworked up to the production's end—were pinned to the storyboards during development. Rewrites were frequent, with animator Andreas Deja saying that completed scenes would be delivered, only for the response to be that parts needed to be reanimated because of dialogue changes. Due to the rewrites, The Lion King missed its initial release window for Thanksgiving 1993, with The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) assuming its release slot. Hahn stated
2655-526: A musical and India producing the most movies in the world (formed in 1913), the first Bollywood film to be a complete musical, Dev D (directed by Anurag Kashyap ), came in 2009. The second musical film to follow was Jagga Jasoos (directed by Anurag Basu ), in 2017. Bollywood musicals have their roots in the traditional musical theatre of India , such as classical Indian musical theatre , Sanskrit drama , and Parsi theatre . Early Bombay filmmakers combined these Indian musical theatre traditions with
2832-426: A pond, but those are the kinds of images that we tried to get." The filmmakers also watched the films of John Ford and other filmmakers, which also influenced the design of the film. Because the characters were not anthropomorphized , all the animators had to learn to draw four-legged animals, and the story and character development was done through the use of longer shots following the characters. Computers helped
3009-545: A possible influence of The Jungle Book (1967), where he felt the "music was so funny and appealed to kids and adults". Rice and John wrote five original songs for The Lion King (" Circle of Life ", " I Just Can't Wait to Be King ", " Be Prepared ", " Hakuna Matata ", and " Can You Feel the Love Tonight "), with John's performance of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" playing over the end credits. The IMAX and DVD releases added another song, "The Morning Report", based on
3186-725: A renaissance of the genre. The Guru and The 40-Year-Old Virgin also feature Indian-style song-and-dance sequences; the Bollywood musical Lagaan (2001) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film ; two other Bollywood films Devdas (2002) and Rang De Basanti (2006) were nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language ; and Danny Boyle 's Academy Award winning Slumdog Millionaire (2008) also features
3363-489: A score by Hans Zimmer . Inspired by African wildlife , the story is modelled primarily on William Shakespeare 's stage play Hamlet with some influence from the Biblical stories of Joseph and Moses , and follows a young heir apparent who is forced to flee after his uncle kills his father and usurps the throne. After growing up in exile, the rightful king returns to challenge the usurper and end his tyrannical rule over
3540-519: A show-biz plot about two sisters competing for a charming song-and-dance man. Advertised by MGM as the first "All-Talking, All-Singing, All-Dancing" feature film, it was a hit and won the Academy Award for Best Picture for 1929. There was a rush by the studios to hire talent from the stage to star in lavishly filmed versions of Broadway hits. The Love Parade (Paramount 1929) starred Maurice Chevalier and newcomer Jeanette MacDonald , written by Broadway veteran Guy Bolton . Warner Brothers produced
3717-418: A soldier during World War I . In films such as 42nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Berkeley choreographed a number of films in his unique style. Berkeley's numbers typically begin on a stage but gradually transcend the limitations of theatrical space: his ingenious routines, involving human bodies forming patterns like a kaleidoscope, could never fit onto a real stage and the intended perspective
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#17327722458643894-593: A song discarded during development that eventually featured in the live musical version of The Lion King . The score was composed by Hans Zimmer , who was hired based on his earlier work on two films in African settings, A World Apart (1988) and The Power of One (1992), and supplemented the score with traditional native African music and choir elements arranged by Lebo M . Zimmer's partners Mark Mancina and Jay Rifkin helped with arrangements and song production. The Lion King original motion picture soundtrack
4071-521: A special preview for Walt Disney Pictures ' then-upcoming animated feature film Pocahontas (1995), in which the title character (voiced by Judy Kuhn ) sings the musical number " Colors of the Wind ". In addition, Deluxe Editions of both formats were released. The VHS Deluxe Edition included the film, an exclusive lithograph of Rafiki and Simba (in some editions), a commemorative "Circle of Life" epigraph , six concept art lithographs, another tape with
4248-533: A string of successes with live action fantasy adaptations of several of their animated features , Disney produced a live action version of Beauty and the Beast , the first of this live action fantasy adaptation pack to be an all-out musical, and features new songs as well as new lyrics to both the Gaston number and the reprise of the title song. Bill Condon , who directed Dreamgirls , directed Beauty and
4425-501: A two-disc version with Blu-ray and DVD; a four-disc version with Blu-ray, DVD, Blu-ray 3D, and digital copy ; and an eight-disc box set that also includes the sequels The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1½ . A standalone single-disc DVD release also followed on November 15, 2011. The Diamond Edition topped the Blu-ray charts with over 1.5 million copies sold. The film sold 3.83 million Blu-ray units in total, leading to
4602-498: A way to break away from their typecasting. For instance, the multi-talented James Cagney had originally risen to fame as a stage singer and dancer, but his repeated casting in "tough guy" roles and mob films gave him few chances to display these talents. Cagney's Oscar -winning role in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) allowed him to sing and dance, and he considered it to be one of his finest moments. Many comedies (and
4779-405: Is adopted by Kwashi, a baboon , and Mabu, a mongoose . He is later raised in a community of baboons. Simba battles an evil jackal named Ndogo, and reunites with his pride. Later that same year, Fink recruited his friend J. T. Allen, a writer, to develop new story treatments. Fink and Allen had earlier made several trips to a Los Angeles zoo to observe the animal behavior that was to be featured in
4956-416: Is alerted by his majordomo , the hornbill Zazu, and rescues the cubs. Though disappointed with Simba for disobeying him and endangering himself and Nala, Mufasa forgives him. He explains that the great kings of the past watch over them from the night sky, from which he will one day watch over Simba. Scar visits the hyenas and convinces them to help him kill Mufasa and Simba in exchange for hunting rights in
5133-432: Is considered the first African American A-list film star. Celebrated director Howard Hawks also ventured into the genre with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes . In the 1960s, 1970s, and continuing up to today, the musical film became less of a bankable genre that could be relied upon for sure-fire hits. Audiences for them lessened and fewer musical films were produced as the genre became less mainstream and more specialized. In
5310-501: Is the first Disney film to have been dubbed in Zulu , the only African language aside from Egyptian Arabic to have been used for a feature-length Disney dub. In the Pride Lands of Tanzania , a pride of lions rule over the kingdom from Pride Rock. King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi's newborn son, Simba , is presented to the gathering animals by Rafiki the mandrill , the kingdom's shaman and advisor. Mufasa's younger brother, Scar , covets
5487-403: Is the first time a language adaptation has translated Elton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" for the ending credits. The film was re-issued on December 25, 2002, for IMAX and large-format theaters. Don Hahn explained that eight years after The Lion King had its original release, "there was a whole new generation of kids who haven't really seen it, particularly on the big screen." Given
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5664-421: Is the highest-grossing animated franchise of all time with $ 5.6 billion; it is also one of three animated franchises ( Toy Story and Frozen ) with at least two films grossing over $ 1 billion worldwide. Frozen is the only animated franchise where every installment grossed $ 1 billion; it has the highest per-film average, with nearly $ 1.4 billion unadjusted, and along with Inside Out , are
5841-467: Is the only franchise to hold the record twice. Frozen was the most recent animated film to be original and to hold the record. The following is a timeline of highest-grossing computer-animated films. Toy Story is the only franchise to hold the record on multiple occasions doing so with the first three films. Pixar is the only studio to hold the record on multiple occasions doing so seven times, while A Bug's Life and Finding Nemo both held
6018-535: Is viewing from straight above. Musical stars such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were among the most popular and highly respected personalities in Hollywood during the classical era; the Fred and Ginger pairing was particularly successful, resulting in a number of classic films such as Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936), and Shall We Dance (1937). Many dramatic actors gladly participated in musicals as
6195-540: Is visited by the spirit of Mufasa in the night sky, who tells him that he must take his place as king. After Rafiki advises him to learn from the past instead of running from it, Simba decides to return to the Pride Lands. Aided by his friends, Simba sneaks past the hyenas at Pride Rock and confronts Scar, who taunts Simba over his supposed role in Mufasa's death. Scar then whispers to Simba, admitting for having killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba retaliates and forces Scar to confess
6372-524: The Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep franchises are on the list, with Wallace and Gromit being the most represented franchise on the list, with three films. The films on this list have all had a theatrical run (including re-releases) since 1975 . The following chart is a list of the highest-grossing traditionally-animated films. The two films in the animated Jungle Book franchise appear on
6549-568: The Academy Award for Best Original Song (1938), the film earned an ASCAP Film and Television Award (1989) for Bob Hope's signature song " Thanks for the Memory ". During the late 1940s and into the early 1950s, a production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer headed by Arthur Freed made the transition from old-fashioned musical films, whose formula had become repetitive, to something new. (However, they also produced technicolor remakes of such musicals as Show Boat , which had previously been filmed in
6726-563: The Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy . It is considered by many to be among the greatest animated films ever made . The film has led to many derived works , such as a Broadway adaptation in 1997; two direct-to-video follow-ups—the sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998), and the prequel/ parallel , The Lion King 1½ (2004); two television series, The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa (1995–1999) and The Lion Guard (2016–2019),
6903-608: The Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy in their respective years, while such films as The Phantom of the Opera , Hairspray , Mamma Mia! , Nine , Into the Woods , The Greatest Showman , Mary Poppins Returns , Rocketman , Cyrano , Tick, Tick... Boom! , Elvis , and The Color Purple were only nominated. Chicago was also the first musical since Oliver! to win Best Picture at
7080-659: The Sherman Brothers . Starting with 1989's The Little Mermaid , the Disney Renaissance gave new life to the musical film. Other successful animated musicals included Aladdin , The Hunchback of Notre Dame , and Pocahontas from Disney proper, The Nightmare Before Christmas from Disney division Touchstone Pictures, The Prince of Egypt from DreamWorks, Anastasia from Fox and Don Bluth, Eight Crazy Nights from Columbia, and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut from Paramount. Beauty and
7257-477: The best-selling videotape of all time: 4.5 million tapes were sold on the first day and ultimately sales totaled more than 30 million before these home video versions went into moratorium in 1997. The VHS releases have sold a total of 32 million units in North America, and grossed $ 520 million in sales revenue. In addition, 23 million units were shipped overseas to international markets. In
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7434-467: The highest-grossing film of 1994 and the second-highest-grossing film of all time , behind Jurassic Park (1993). It also held the title of being the highest-grossing animated film , until it was overtaken by Finding Nemo (2003). The film remains the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time , as well as the best-selling film on home video , having sold over 55 million copies worldwide. It received two Academy Awards , as well as
7611-402: The highest-grossing films overall those years . Computer-animated films have been the highest earners in 1995, 1998–2019, and every year since 2021 while 1975 and 1993 are the only years when a stop motion animated feature grossed the highest. Traditional animated films have topped every other year. The Ice Age franchises have had the most entries be the highest-grossing animated films of
7788-600: The "Golden Age" of Hindi cinema . Some of the most critically acclaimed Hindi films of all time were produced during this period. Examples include Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), directed by Guru Dutt and written by Abrar Alvi , Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas , and Aan (1952), directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Dilip Kumar . These films expressed social themes mainly dealing with working-class life in India , particularly urban life in
7965-478: The 1930s it was clear that if the Soviet cinema was to compete with its Western counterparts, it would have to give audiences what they wanted: the glamour and fantasy they got from Hollywood. The musical film, which emerged at that time, embodied the ideal combination of entertainment and official ideology. A struggle between laughter for laughter's sake and entertainment with a clear ideological message would define
8142-527: The 1930s, the musical films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers became massive cultural fixtures in the eyes of the American public. These films included, Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet , Swing Time (both 1936), and Shall We Dance (1937). Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz (1939) would become a landmark film for movie musical as it experimented with new technology such as Technicolor . During
8319-666: The 1930s.) In 1939, Freed was hired as associate producer for the film Babes in Arms . Starting in 1944 with Meet Me in St. Louis , the Freed Unit worked somewhat independently of its own studio to produce some of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre. The products of this unit include Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949), An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in
8496-700: The 1940s and 1950s, musical films from MGM musicals regularly premiered. These works included: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949), An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), High Society (1956), and Gigi (1958). During this time, films outside the Arthur Freed unit at MGM included Holiday Inn (1942), White Christmas (1954), and Funny Face (1957) as well as Oklahoma! (1955), The King and I (1956), Carousel , and South Pacific (1958). These films of
8673-639: The 1960s created specifically for film were Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book , two of Disney's biggest hits of all time. The phenomenal box-office performance of The Sound of Music gave the major Hollywood studios more confidence to produce lengthy, large-budget musicals. Despite the resounding success of some of these films, Hollywood also produced a large number of musical flops in the late 1960s and early 1970s which appeared to seriously misjudge public taste. The commercially and/or critically unsuccessful films included Camelot , Finian's Rainbow , Hello Dolly! , Sweet Charity , Doctor Dolittle , Half
8850-672: The 1960s, films based on stage musicals continued to be critical and box-office successes. These films included, West Side Story (1961), Gypsy (1962), The Music Man (1962), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), My Fair Lady , Mary Poppins (both 1964), The Sound of Music (1965), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum , How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , Thoroughly Modern Millie (all 1967), Oliver! , and Funny Girl (both 1968). In
9027-631: The 1960s, the critical and box-office success of the films West Side Story , Gypsy , The Music Man , Bye Bye Birdie , My Fair Lady , Mary Poppins , The Sound of Music , A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum , The Jungle Book , Thoroughly Modern Millie , Oliver! , and Funny Girl suggested that the traditional musical was in good health, while French filmmaker Jacques Demy 's jazz musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort were popular with international critics. However popular musical tastes were being heavily affected by rock and roll and
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#17327722458649204-750: The 1970s, film culture and the changing demographics of filmgoers placed greater emphasis on gritty realism, while the pure entertainment and theatricality of classical-era Hollywood musicals was seen as old-fashioned. Despite this, Scrooge (1970), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Cabaret (1972), 1776 (1972), Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), and Pete's Dragon (1977), as well as Grease and The Wiz (both 1978), were more traditional musicals closely adapted from stage shows and were strong successes with critics and audiences. Throughout
9381-520: The 1980s and 1990s, musicals tended to be mainly coming from the Disney animated films of the period, from composers and lyricists, Howard Ashman , Alan Menken , and Stephen Schwartz . The Disney Renaissance started with 1989's The Little Mermaid , then followed by Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), and Mulan (1998). In
9558-557: The 1990s, the three biggest Bollywood movie stars have been the " Three Khans ": Aamir Khan , Shah Rukh Khan , and Salman Khan . Combined, they have starred in most of the top ten highest-grossing Bollywood films . The three Khans have had successful careers since the late 1980s, and have dominated the Indian box office since the 1990s, across three decades. Baz Luhrmann stated that his successful musical film Moulin Rouge! (2001)
9735-412: The 20th century do not appear on this list as figures have not been adjusted for inflation, and as a result the films on this list have all had a theatrical run (including re-releases) since 2004 . Films that have not played since then do not appear on the chart due to ticket price inflation, population size, and ticket purchasing trends not being considered. If inflation were adjusted for, Snow White and
9912-561: The 21st century, the musical genre has been rejuvenated with darker musicals, musical biopics, musical remakes, epic drama musicals and comedy drama musicals such as Moulin Rouge! (2001), Chicago (2002), The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Rent (2005), Dreamgirls (2006), Across the Universe , Enchanted , Hairspray , Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (all 2007), Mamma Mia! (2008), Nine (2009), The Muppets (2011), Les Misérables (2012), Into
10089-564: The Academy Awards. Joshua Oppenheimer 's Academy Award-nominated documentary The Act of Killing may be considered a nonfiction musical. One specific musical trend was the rising number of jukebox musicals based on music from various pop/rock artists on the big screen, some of which based on Broadway shows. Examples of Broadway-based jukebox musical films included Mamma Mia ! ( ABBA ), Rock of Ages , and Sunshine on Leith ( The Proclaimers ). Original ones included Across
10266-469: The Beast (1991), and Aladdin (1992). Allers brought in Brenda Chapman and Chris Sanders , whom he had worked with on Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin , to serve as head of story and production designer, respectively. Woolverton, who had just wrapped up work as screenwriter for Beauty and the Beast , wrote the initial draft of the screenplay for this film, but following her departure from
10443-419: The Beast , Finding Nemo (2003), Monsters, Inc. (2001), and The Little Mermaid (1989) during 2012 and 2013. However, none of the re-releases of the first three films achieved the enormous success of The Lion King 3D and the theatrical re-release of The Little Mermaid was ultimately cancelled. In 2012, Ray Subers of Box Office Mojo wrote that the reason why the 3D version of The Lion King succeeded
10620-525: The Beast , The Lion King , and others were adapted for the stage after their blockbuster success. In the 21st century, movie musicals were reborn with darker musicals, musical biopics, epic drama musicals and comedy drama musicals such as O Brother, Where Art Thou? , Moulin Rouge! , Chicago , Walk the Line , Dreamgirls , Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , Les Misérables , La La Land , and West Side Story ; all of which won
10797-488: The Beast . The second film of this live action fantasy adaptation pack to be an all-out musical was Aladdin and features new songs. The third film of this live action fantasy adaptation pack to be an all-out musical was The Lion King and features new songs. The fourth film of this live action fantasy adaptation pack to be an all-out musical was The Little Mermaid and features new songs with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda , replacing Ashman. Pixar also produced Coco ,
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#173277224586410974-412: The Bollywood blockbuster format. Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973), directed by Hussain and written by Salim-Javed, has been identified as the first masala film and the "first" quintessentially "Bollywood" film. Salim-Javed went on to write more successful masala films in the 1970s and 1980s. Masala films launched Amitabh Bachchan into the biggest Bollywood movie star of the 1970s and 1980s. A landmark for
11151-829: The Chocolate Factory , Pete's Dragon , and Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks were also released in the 1970s, the latter winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects . By the 1980s, financiers grew increasingly confident in the musical genre, partly buoyed by the relative health of the musical on Broadway and London's West End . Productions of the 1980s and 1990s included The Apple , Xanadu , The Blues Brothers , Annie , Monty Python's The Meaning of Life , The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas , Victor/Victoria , Footloose , Fast Forward , A Chorus Line , Little Shop of Horrors , Forbidden Zone , Absolute Beginners , Labyrinth , Newsies , Evita , and Everyone Says I Love You . However, Can't Stop
11328-663: The Flame (1930), Song of the West (1930), Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1930), Under a Texas Moon (1930), Bride of the Regiment (1930), Whoopee! (1930), King of Jazz (1930), Viennese Nights (1930), and Kiss Me Again (1930). In addition, there were scores of musical features released with color sequences. Hollywood released more than 100 musical films in 1930, but only 14 in 1931. By late 1930, audiences had been oversaturated with musicals and studios were forced to cut
11505-470: The Gershwins, respectively. Warner Bros. produced Calamity Jane and A Star Is Born ; the former film was a vehicle for Doris Day , while the latter provided a big-screen comeback for Judy Garland, who had been out of the spotlight since 1950. Meanwhile, director Otto Preminger , better known for "message pictures", made Carmen Jones and Porgy and Bess , both starring Dorothy Dandridge , who
11682-676: The Habit (1993) in theaters; by then, only a third of The Lion King had been completed. Audience reaction was enthusiastic, causing Hahn to have some initial concerns as he became afraid of not living up to the expectations raised by the preview. Prior to the film's release, Disney did 11 test screenings . Upon release, The Lion King was accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign which included tie-ins with Burger King , Mattel , Kodak , Nestlé , and Payless ShoeSource , and various merchandise, accounting 186 licensed products. In 1994, Disney earned approximately $ 1 billion with products based on
11859-593: The Jedi (1983) in March 1997. The film also achieved the fourth-highest September opening weekend of all time. It held off very well on its second weekend, again earning first place at the box office with a 27 percent decline to $ 21.9 million. Most box-office observers had expected the film to fall about 50 percent in its second weekend and were also expecting Moneyball (2011) to be at first place. After its initial box-office success, many theaters decided to continue to show
12036-692: The Music , starring the Village People , was a calamitous attempt to resurrect the old-style musical and was released to audience indifference in 1980. Little Shop of Horrors was based on an off-Broadway musical adaptation of a 1960 Roger Corman film, a precursor of later film-to-stage-to-film adaptations, including The Producers . Many animated films of the period – predominately from Disney – included traditional musical numbers. Howard Ashman , Alan Menken , and Stephen Schwartz had previous musical theater experience and wrote songs for animated films during this time, supplanting Disney workhorses
12213-509: The Musical (all 2022), The Little Mermaid , Wonka , The Color Purple (all 2023), Mean Girls , Wicked , Mufasa: The Lion King , Joker: Folie à Deux , A Complete Unknown (all 2024). The 1930s through the early 1950s are considered to be the golden age of the musical film, when the genre's popularity was at its highest in the Western world . Disney 's Snow White and
12390-471: The Māori dub of Moana , a Māori version of The Lion King was announced in 2021, and released theatrically on June 23, 2022, to align with the Māori holiday of Matariki . Much of the Matewa Media production team, including producer Chelsea Winstanley , director Tweedie Waititi , and co-musical director Rob Ruha had previously worked on the Māori language version of Moana . The Lion King Reo Māori
12567-500: The Philippines, the film was released on VHS in March 1995 by Magnavision. The film sold more than 55 million video copies worldwide by August 1997, making it the best-selling home video title of all time. On October 7, 2003, the film was re-released on VHS and released on DVD for the first time, titled The Lion King: Platinum Edition , as part of Disney's Platinum Edition line of DVDs. The DVD release featured two versions of
12744-413: The Pride Lands. Scar sets a trap for Simba and Mufasa. He lures Simba into a gorge and signals the hyenas to drive a large herd of wildebeest into a stampede to trample him. Scar alerts Mufasa, who saves Simba and tries to escape the gorge; he begs for Scar's help, but he throws Mufasa into the stampede to his death. Scar tricks Simba into believing that Mufasa's death was his fault and tells him to leave
12921-496: The Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953) and Gigi (1958). Non-Freed musicals from the studio included Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954 and High Society in 1956, and the studio distributed Samuel Goldwyn 's Guys and Dolls in 1955. This era saw musical stars become household names, including Judy Garland , Gene Kelly , Ann Miller , Donald O'Connor , Cyd Charisse , Mickey Rooney , Vera-Ellen , Jane Powell , Howard Keel , and Kathryn Grayson . Fred Astaire
13098-597: The Seven Dwarfs would appear at the top of the chart with an adjusted gross of $ 1,977,000,000. All except the original 1994 version of The Lion King , which is traditionally animated film—are computer-animated films. Despicable Me is the most represented franchise with all six films (including the Minions films) in the top 50 highest-grossing animated films. The top 11 films on this list, each having grossed in excess of $ 1 billion worldwide, are also ranked among
13275-459: The Seven Dwarfs , the earliest Disney animated feature film, was a musical which won an honorary Oscar for Walt Disney at the 11th Academy Awards . Musical short films were made by Lee de Forest in 1923–24. Beginning in 1926, thousands of Vitaphone shorts were made, many featuring bands, vocalists, and dancers. The earliest feature-length films with synchronized sound had only a soundtrack of music and occasional sound effects that played while
13452-487: The Soviet musical was first and foremost a form of propaganda. Vladimir Lenin said that cinema was "the most important of the arts". His successor, Joseph Stalin , also recognized the power of cinema in efficiently spreading Communist Party doctrine. Films were widely popular in the 1920s, but it was foreign cinema that dominated the Soviet filmgoing market. Films from Germany and the U.S. proved more entertaining than Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein 's historical dramas. By
13629-929: The Unicorn , and Spellbound . Biopics about music artists and showmen were also big in the 21st century. Examples include 8 Mile ( Eminem ), Ray ( Ray Charles ), Walk the Line ( Johnny Cash and June Carter ), La Vie en Rose ( Édith Piaf ), Notorious ( Biggie Smalls ), Jersey Boys ( The Four Seasons ) Love & Mercy ( Brian Wilson ), CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story ( TLC ), Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B ( Aaliyah ), Get on Up ( James Brown ), Whitney and I Wanna Dance With Somebody ( Whitney Houston ), Straight Outta Compton ( N.W.A ), The Greatest Showman ( P. T. Barnum ), Bohemian Rhapsody ( Freddie Mercury ), The Dirt ( Mötley Crüe ), Judy ( Judy Garland ), Rocketman ( Elton John ), Respect ( Aretha Franklin ) and Elvis ( Elvis Presley ). Grossing over $ 900 million at
13806-487: The United States as well as Helios theaters across Poland on October 8. In conjunction with the film's 30th anniversary, The Lion King was re-released on July 12, 2024. During its opening weekend, the film earned an estimated $ 1.08 million in the United States from 1,330 theaters. The Lion King was first released on VHS and LaserDisc in the United States on March 3, 1995, under Disney 's "Masterpiece Collection" video series. The VHS edition of this release contained
13983-590: The Universe ( The Beatles ), Moulin Rouge! (various pop hits), Idlewild ( Outkast ) and Yesterday ( The Beatles ). Disney also returned to musicals with Enchanted , The Princess and the Frog , Tangled , Winnie the Pooh , The Muppets , Frozen , Muppets Most Wanted , Into the Woods , Moana , Mary Poppins Returns , Frozen II , Encanto , Better Nate Than Ever , Disenchanted , Wish , Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King . Following
14160-542: The Woods (2014), La La Land (2016), Beauty and the Beast , The Greatest Showman (both 2017), Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! , A Star Is Born , Mary Poppins Returns , Bohemian Rhapsody (all 2018), Aladdin , Rocketman , The Lion King (all 2019), In the Heights , Respect , Dear Evan Hansen , Cyrano , Everybody's Talking About Jamie , Tick, Tick… Boom! , West Side Story (all 2021), Elvis , Spirited , Disenchanted , Matilda
14337-496: The actors portrayed their characters just as they did in silent films: without audible dialogue. The Jazz Singer , released in 1927 by Warner Brothers , was the first to include an audio track including non- diegetic music and diegetic music, but it had only a short sequence of spoken dialogue. This feature-length film was also a musical, featuring Al Jolson singing "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie", " Blue Skies ", and " My Mammy ". Historian Scott Eyman wrote, "As
14514-426: The animators of Walt Disney Feature Animation decided to work on instead, believing it would be the more prestigious and successful of the two. The story artists also did not have much faith in the project, with Chapman declaring she was reluctant to accept the job "because the story wasn't very good", and Burny Mattinson telling his colleague Joe Ranft : "I don't know who is going to want to watch that one." Most of
14691-1096: The big screen. It set a new template for Bollywood musical romance films that defined Hindi cinema in the 1990s. The period of Hindi cinema from the 1990s onwards is referred to as "New Bollywood" cinema, linked to economic liberalisation in India during the early 1990s. By the early 1990s, the pendulum had swung back toward family-centric romantic musicals. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was followed by blockbusters such as Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Chandni (1989), Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Raja Hindustani (1996), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). A new generation of popular actors emerged, such as Aamir Khan, Aditya Pancholi , Ajay Devgan , Akshay Kumar , Salman Khan ( Salim Khan's son ), and Shahrukh Khan , and actresses such as Madhuri Dixit , Sridevi , Juhi Chawla , Meenakshi Seshadri , Manisha Koirala , Kajol , and Karisma Kapoor . Since
14868-470: The box office Bohemian Rhapsody is the most commercially successful musical biopic. Director Damien Chazelle created a musical film called La La Land , starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone . It was meant to reintroduce the traditional jazz style of song numbers with influences from the Golden Age of Hollywood and Jacques Demy 's French musicals while incorporating a contemporary/modern take on
15045-450: The box office, with Disney enjoying lucrative re-releases prior to the home video era with Walt Disney Animation Studios , who have produced films such as Aladdin and The Lion King , both of which were the highest-grossing animated film of all time upon their release. Disney Animation also enjoyed later success with the Frozen films and Zootopia in addition to Pixar , of which
15222-425: The box-office. Marisol , Joselito , Pili & Mili , and Rocío Dúrcal were the major figures of musical films from the 1960s to 1970s. Due to Spanish transition to democracy and the rise of " Movida culture ", the musical genre fell in production and box-office, only saved by Carlos Saura and his flamenco musical films. Unlike the musical films of Hollywood and Bollywood, popularly identified with escapism,
15399-399: The calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-grossing animated film record, and a chart of the highest-grossing animated film franchises and series. All charts are ranked by international theatrical box office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights and merchandise. Animated family films have performed consistently well at
15576-529: The chart, along with the first two from both the SpongeBob SquarePants and Pokémon feature series; these three are the most frequent franchises thereon with two titles each. The top two films on this list are also among on the 50 highest-grossing animated films. The top-grossing animated films in the years 1937 , 1940 , 1942 , 1950 , 1953 , 1955 , 1961 , 1967 , 1992 , 1994 , 1995 , 2004 , 2010 , 2013 , 2020 and 2024 were also
15753-687: The comic actress Martha Raye and the young comedian Bob Hope in Paramount Pictures musical anthology The Big Broadcast of 1938 . The film also showcased the talents of several internationally recognized musical artists including: Kirsten Flagstad (Norwegian operatic soprano), Wilfred Pelletier (Canadian conductor of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra ), Tito Guizar (Mexican tenor), Shep Fields conducting his Rippling Rhythm Jazz Orchestra and John Serry Sr. (Italian-American concert accordionist). In addition to
15930-404: The conventions of Hindi cinema for decades. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the industry was dominated by musical romance films with "romantic hero" leads, the most popular being Rajesh Khanna . Other actors during this period include Shammi Kapoor , Jeetendra , Sanjeev Kumar , and Shashi Kapoor , and actresses like Sharmila Tagore , Mumtaz , Saira Banu , Helen and Asha Parekh . By
16107-485: The crew. Varied focal lengths and lenses were employed to differ from the habitual portrayal of Africa in documentaries—which employ telephoto lenses to shoot the wildlife from a distance. The epic feel drew inspiration from concept studies by artist Hans Bacher—who, following Scribner's request for realism, tried to depict effects such as lens flare —and the works of painters Charles Marion Russell , Frederic Remington , and Maxfield Parrish . Art director Andy Gaskill and
16284-503: The decision was made for such an approach because "we were all so taken by the beauty and majesty of this piece that we felt like it was probably one of the best four minutes of film that we've seen", and Don Hahn added that "Circle of Life" worked as a trailer as it "came off so strong, and so good, and ended with such a bang". The trailer was released in November 1993, accompanying The Three Musketeers (1993) and Sister Act 2: Back in
16461-972: The decline of the musical film is Indian cinema , especially the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), where most of films have been, and still are, musicals. The majority of films produced in the Tamil industry , based in Chennai (formerly Madras), the Sandalwood industry , based in Bangalore , the Telugu industry , based in Hyderabad , and the Malayalam industry are also musicals. Despite this exception of almost every Indian movie being
16638-421: The emergence of sound film technology. Typically, the biggest difference between film and stage musicals is the use of lavish background scenery and locations that would be impractical in a theater. Musical films characteristically contain elements reminiscent of theater; performers often treat their song and dance numbers as if a live audience were watching. In a sense, the viewer becomes the diegetic audience, as
16815-484: The era typically relied on the star power of such film stars as Fred Astaire , Gene Kelly , Bing Crosby , Frank Sinatra , Judy Garland , Ann Miller , Kathryn Grayson , and Howard Keel . They also relied on film directors such as Stanley Donen and Vincente Minnelli as well as songwriters Comden and Green , Rodgers and Hammerstein , Irving Berlin , Cole Porter , and the Gershwin Brothers . During
16992-571: The fall, but the hyenas, who overheard him betraying them, attack and maul him to death. With Scar and the hyenas gone, Simba takes his place as king, and Nala becomes his queen. With the Pride Lands restored, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to the assembled animals, thus continuing the circle of life. The origin of the concept for The Lion King is widely disputed. According to Charlie Fink (then- Walt Disney Feature Animation 's vice president for creative affairs), he approached Jeffrey Katzenberg , Roy E. Disney , and Peter Schneider with
17169-427: The family. Allers and Minkoff pitched the revised story to Katzenberg and Michael Eisner , to which Eisner felt the story "could be more Shakespearean "; he suggested modeling the story on King Lear . Maureen Donley, an associate producer, countered, stating that the story resembled Hamlet . Continuing on the idea, Allers recalled Katzenberg asking them to "put in as much Hamlet as you can". However, they felt it
17346-514: The film could be viewed either with or without a newly created scene – a short conversation in the film replaced with a complete song ("The Morning Report"). A Special Collector's Gift Set was also released, containing the DVD set, five exclusive lithographed character portraits (new sketches created and signed by the original character animators), and an introductory book entitled The Journey . The Platinum Edition of The Lion King featured changes made to
17523-486: The film during its IMAX re-release, including re-drawn crocodiles in the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" sequence as well as other alterations. More than two million copies of the Platinum Edition DVD and VHS units were sold on the first day of release. A DVD box set of the three The Lion King films (in two-disc Special Edition formats) was released on December 6, 2004. In January 2005, the film, along with
17700-474: The film ended and applause grew with the houselights, Sam Goldwyn 's wife Frances looked around at the celebrities in the crowd. She saw 'terror in all their faces', she said, as if they knew that 'the game they had been playing for years was finally over'." Still, only isolated sequences featured "live" sound; most of the film had only a synchronous musical score. In 1928, Warner Brothers followed this up with another Jolson part-talkie, The Singing Fool , which
17877-418: The film for more than two weeks, even though its 3D Blu-ray release was scheduled for two and a half weeks after its theatrical release. In North America, the 3D re-release ended its run in theaters on January 12, 2012, with a gross of $ 94.2 million. Outside North America, it earned $ 83.4 million. The successful 3D re-release of The Lion King made Disney and Pixar plan 3D theatrical re-releases of Beauty and
18054-501: The film had already been digitally archived during production, the restoration process was easier, while also providing many scenes with enhancements that covered up original deficiencies. An enhanced sound mix was also provided to, as Hahn explained, "make the audience feel like they're in the middle of the movie." On its first weekend, The Lion King made $ 2.7 million from 66 locations, a $ 27,664 per theater average. This run ended with $ 15.7 million on May 30, 2003. In 2011, The Lion King
18231-537: The film led many of those theaters to implement Dolby Laboratories ' newest sound systems. When first released in 1994, The Lion King numbered 28 versions overall in as many languages and dialects worldwide, including a special Zulu version made specifically for the film in South Africa, where a Disney USA team went to find the Zulu voice-actors. This is not just the only Zulu dubbing ever made by Disney, but also
18408-680: The film on the first disc, a remastered version created for the 2002 IMAX release and an edited version of the IMAX release purporting to be the original 1994 theatrical version. A second disc, with bonus features, was also included in the DVD release. The film's soundtrack was provided both in its original Dolby 5.1 track and in a new Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix, making this one of the first Disney DVDs so equipped. This THX certified two-disc DVD release also contains several games, Timon and Pumbaa's Virtual Safari , deleted scenes, music videos and other bonus features. By means of seamless branching ,
18585-426: The film was delayed to a summer 1994 release, "with much consternation, because people said you can't release animation in the summertime." The voice actors were chosen for how they fit and could add to the characters; for instance, James Earl Jones was cast because the directors found his voice "powerful" and similar to a lion's roar. Jones remarked that during the years of production, Mufasa "became more and more of
18762-482: The film, including the " I Just Can't Wait to Be King " sequence, was animated at the Disney-MGM Studios facility. More than 600 artists, animators, and technicians contributed to The Lion King . Weeks before the film's release, the 1994 Northridge earthquake shut down the studio and required the animators to complete via remote work . The character animators studied real-life animals for reference, as
18939-544: The film, with $ 214 million for Lion King toys during Christmas 1994 alone. The Lion King had a limited release in the United States on June 15, 1994, playing in only two theaters, El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles and Radio City Music Hall in New York City , and featuring live shows with ticket prices up to $ 30. The wide release followed on June 24, 1994, in 2,550 screens. The digital surround sound of
19116-544: The film. 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". Matthew Broderick
19293-420: The filmmakers present their vision in new ways. For the wildebeest stampede sequence, 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. Five specially trained animators and technicians spent more than two years creating
19470-423: The filmmakers sought to give the film a sense of grand sweep and epic scale similar to Lawrence of Arabia (1962). Gaskill explained: "We wanted audiences to sense the vastness of the savannah and to feel the dust and the breeze swaying through the grass. In other words, to get a real sense of nature and to feel as if they were there. It's very difficult to capture something as subtle as a sunrise or rain falling on
19647-515: The films from the Toy Story , Finding Nemo , Incredibles , and Inside Out franchises have been the best performers. Beyond Disney and Pixar, franchises Despicable Me , Shrek , Ice Age , Kung Fu Panda , Madagascar , and Doraemon have met with the most success. An animated feature film is defined as a motion picture with a running time of more than 40 minutes, in which movement and characters' performances are created using
19824-496: The final product. The plot centered on a battle between lions and baboons, with Scar being the leader of the baboons, Rafiki being a cheetah , and Timon and Pumbaa being Simba's childhood friends. Simba would not only leave the kingdom but become a "lazy, slovenly, horrible character" due to manipulations from Scar, so Simba could be overthrown after coming of age. By 1990, producer Thomas Schumacher , who had just completed The Rescuers Down Under (1990), decided to attach himself to
20001-516: The first computer-animated musical film by the company. Other animated musical films include Rio , Dr. Seuss' The Lorax , Rio 2 , The Book of Life , Trolls , Sing , My Little Pony: The Movie , Smallfoot , UglyDolls , Trolls World Tour , Over the Moon , Vivo , Sing 2 , The Bob's Burgers Movie , Under the Boardwalk , Trolls Band Together , Leo , Thelma
20178-455: The first colour film in Hindi , Kisan Kanya . The next year, he made another colour film, a version of Mother India . However, colour did not become a popular feature until the late 1950s. At this time, lavish romantic musicals and melodramas were the staple fare at the cinema. Following India's independence , the period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s is regarded by film historians as
20355-556: The first screen operetta, The Desert Song in 1929. They spared no expense and photographed a large percentage of the film in Technicolor . This was followed by the first all-color, all-talking musical feature which was entitled On with the Show (1929). The most popular film of 1929 was the second all-color, all-talking feature which was entitled Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929). This film broke all box office records and remained
20532-411: The former two examples; Awaara presented the city as both a nightmare and a dream, while Pyaasa critiqued the unreality of city life. Mehboob Khan 's Mother India (1957), a remake of his earlier Aurat (1940), was the first Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film , which it lost by a single vote. Mother India was also an important film that defined
20709-489: The freedom and youth associated with it, and indeed Elvis Presley made a few films that have been equated with the old musicals in terms of form. A Hard Day's Night and Help! , starring the Beatles , were audacious. Most of the musical films of the 1950s and 1960s such as Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music were straightforward adaptations or restagings of successful stage productions. The most successful musicals of
20886-425: The golden age of the Soviet musical of the 1930s and 1940s. Then-head of the film industry Boris Shumyatsky sought to emulate Hollywood's conveyor belt method of production, going so far as to suggest the establishment of a Soviet Hollywood. List of highest-grossing animated films#Traditional animation Included in the list are charts of the top box-office earners, a chart of high-grossing animated films by
21063-469: The half-hour TV special The Making of The Lion King , and a certificate of authenticity. The CAV laserdisc Deluxe Edition also contained the film, six concept art lithographs and The Making of The Lion King , and added storyboards, character design artwork, concept art, rough animation, and a directors' commentary that the VHS edition did not have, on a total of four double sided discs. The VHS tape quickly became
21240-453: The highest-grossing film ever produced until 1939. Suddenly, the market became flooded with musicals, revues, and operettas. The following all-color musicals were produced in 1929 and 1930 alone: The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929), The Show of Shows (1929), Sally (1929), The Vagabond King (1930), Follow Thru (1930), Bright Lights (1930), Golden Dawn (1930), Hold Everything (1930), The Rogue Song (1930), Song of
21417-500: 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. 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
21594-459: The idea, and within the next month, he had written a nine-paged treatment entitled King of the Kalahari . Throughout 1989, several Disney staff writers, including Jenny Tripp, Tim Disney, Valerie West and Miguel Tejada-Flores, had written treatments for the project. Tripp's treatment, dated on March 2, 1989, introduced the name "Simba" for the main character, who gets separated from his pride and
21771-439: The kingdom and never return. He then orders the hyenas to kill Simba, who escapes. Unaware of Simba's survival, Scar tells the pride that the stampede killed both Mufasa and Simba, and steps forward as the new king, allowing the hyenas into the Pride Lands. Simba collapses in a desert but is rescued by two outcasts, a meerkat and a warthog named Timon and Pumbaa . Simba grows up with his two new friends in their oasis , living
21948-414: The kingdom. Initially, The Lion King was supposed to be a non-musical, leaning towards a style similar to that of a documentary. George Scribner , who had made his feature directorial debut with Oliver & Company (1988), was hired to direct, with Allers joining him soon after following his work as a story artist or head of story on Oliver & Company , The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and
22125-641: The late 1980s, Hindi cinema experienced another period of stagnation, with a decline in box office turnout, due to increasing violence, decline in musical melodic quality, and rise in video piracy, leading to middle-class family audiences abandoning theaters. The turning point came with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), directed by Mansoor Khan , written and produced by his father Nasir Hussain , and starring his cousin Aamir Khan with Juhi Chawla . Its blend of youthfulness, wholesome entertainment, emotional quotients and strong melodies lured family audiences back to
22302-623: The latter which premiered as a television film titled The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar in 2015; and a photorealistic remake in 2019, which also became the highest-grossing animated film at the time of its release. In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Lion King
22479-680: The leading animators either were doing their first major work supervising a character, or had much interest in animating an animal. Thirteen of these supervising animators, both in California and in Florida, were responsible for establishing the personalities and setting the tone for the film's main characters. The animation leads for the main characters included Mark Henn on young Simba, Ruben A. Aquino on adult Simba, Andreas Deja on Scar, Aaron Blaise on young Nala, Anthony DeRosa on adult Nala, and Tony Fucile on Mufasa. Nearly twenty minutes of
22656-467: The list while the Toy Story , Shrek , Ice Age , and How to Train Your Dragon franchises feature often. The top 48 films listed are also among the 50 highest-grossing animated films and the top 11 are among the 50 highest-grossing films, each having grossed in excess of $ 1 billion worldwide. A total of 38 stop motion films have grossed in excess of $ 1 million. All feature films in
22833-643: The masala film genre was Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), directed by Manmohan Desai and written by Kader Khan . Manmohan Desai went on to successfully exploit the genre in the 1970s and 1980s. Along with Bachchan, other popular actors of this era included Feroz Khan , Mithun Chakraborty , Naseeruddin Shah , Jackie Shroff , Sanjay Dutt , Anil Kapoor and Sunny Deol . Actresses from this era included Hema Malini , Jaya Bachchan , Raakhee , Shabana Azmi , Zeenat Aman , Parveen Babi , Rekha , Dimple Kapadia , Smita Patil , Jaya Prada and Padmini Kolhapure . In
23010-468: The meetings was to have Mufasa return as a ghost . Allers also changed the character Rafiki from a more serious court advisor into a wacky shaman. The title was also changed from King of the Jungle to The Lion King , as the setting was not the jungle but the savannah. It was also decided to make Mufasa and Scar brothers, as the writers felt it was much more interesting if the threat came from someone within
23187-508: The music from films that were then being released. For example, Life of the Party (1930) was originally produced as an all-color, all-talking musical comedy. Before it was released, however, the songs were cut out. The same thing happened to Fifty Million Frenchmen (1931) and Manhattan Parade (1932) both of which had been filmed entirely in Technicolor . Marlene Dietrich sang songs successfully in her films, and Rodgers and Hart wrote
23364-529: The musical film format that emerged from early Hollywood sound films. Other early influences on Bombay filmmakers included Urdu literature and the Arabian Nights . The first Indian sound film, Ardeshir Irani 's Alam Ara (1931), was a major commercial success. There was clearly a huge market for talkies and musicals; Bollywood and all the regional film industries quickly switched to sound filming. In 1937, Ardeshir Irani, of Alam Ara fame, made
23541-566: The musical's heyday. They include 1776 , The Wiz , At Long Last Love , Mame , Man of La Mancha , Lost Horizon , Godspell , Phantom of the Paradise , Funny Lady ( Barbra Streisand 's sequel to Funny Girl ), A Little Night Music , and Hair amongst others. The critical wrath against At Long Last Love , in particular, was so strong that it was never released on home video. Fantasy musical films Scrooge , The Blue Bird , The Little Prince , Willy Wonka &
23718-423: The new screenplay. During the summer of 1992, Irene Mecchi was hired as the new screenwriter, and months later, she was joined by Jonathan Roberts . Mecchi and Roberts took charge of the revision process, fixing unresolved emotional issues in the script and adding comedic situations for Pumbaa, Timon, and the hyenas. Lyricist Tim Rice worked closely with the screenwriting team, flying to California at least once
23895-510: The only four adult animated films on the chart. The top-grossing animated film of the year has usually been an American film, with a few exceptions. Japanese animated features have topped the list at seven occasions: in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1987, and 2020; the list has also been topped by a German film in 1926, Spanish in 1945, French in 1949, British in 1954, Swedish in 1968 and 1974, Norwegian in 1975, Belgian in 1976 and Canadian in 1985. At least nine animated films have held
24072-404: The only one made in any African language, other than Arabic . The Zulu language version was released in South Africa on November 23, 1994. The Lion King marks also the first time a special dubbing is released in honor of a Disney movie background, but not the last: in 2016 the film Moana (2016) received a special Tahitian language version, followed in 2017 by a Māori version, in 2018 by
24249-560: The part, as he felt uncomfortable going to a comedic role after his dramatic portrayal of Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune (1990). His performance in that film inspired the writers to incorporate more of his acting as von Bülow in the script – adding one of that character's lines, "You have no idea" – and prompted animator Andreas Deja to watch Reversal of Fortune and Damage (1992) in order to incorporate Irons' facial traits and tics. " The Lion King
24426-468: The performer looks directly into the camera and performs to it. With the advent of sound in the late 1920s, musicals gained popularity with the public and are exemplified by the films of Busby Berkeley , a choreographer known for his distinctive and elaborate set pieces featuring multiple showgirls. These lavish production numbers are typified by his choreographic work in 42nd Street , Gold Diggers of 1933 , Footlight Parade (all from 1933). During
24603-511: The premiere of the R&;B band Bloodstone 's movie Train Ride to Hollywood , but problems in distribution rendered it barely getting token theatrical release. The year 1976 saw the release of the low-budget comic musical, The First Nudie Musical , released by Paramount. The 1978 film version of Grease was a smash hit; its songs were original compositions done in a 1950s pop style. However,
24780-476: The project "because lions are cool". Schumacher likened the King of the Jungle script to "an animated National Geographic special". George Scribner , who had directed Oliver & Company (1988), was the initial director of the film, being later joined by Roger Allers , who was the lead story man on Beauty and the Beast (1991). Allers worked with Scribner and Woolverton on the project, but temporarily left
24957-514: The project to help rewrite Aladdin (1992). Eight months later, Allers returned to the project, and brought Brenda Chapman and Chris Sanders with him. In October 1991, several of the lead crew members, including Allers, Scribner, Chapman, Sanders, and Lisa Keene visited Hell's Gate National Park in Kenya, in order to study and gain an appreciation of the environment for the film. After six months of story development work, Scribner decided to leave
25134-608: The project to write the libretto for the Broadway adaptation of Beauty and the Beast , Mecchi and Roberts were brought on board to finish and revise the script. Six months into production, Scribner left the project due to creative differences with Allers, producer Hahn, and Chapman about changing it into a musical, and Minkoff was hired to replace him in April 1992. Additionally, Beauty and the Beast directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise were hired to perform some additional rewrites to
25311-450: The project upon clashing with Allers and the producers over their decision to turn the film into a musical, since Scribner's intention was of making a documentary-like film more focused on natural aspects. By April 1992, Rob Minkoff had replaced Scribner as the new co-director. Don Hahn joined the production as the film's producer because Schumacher was promoted to Vice President of Development for Walt Disney Feature Animation. Hahn found
25488-540: The pure entertainment and theatricality of classical-era Hollywood musicals was seen as old-fashioned. Despite this, Fiddler on the Roof and Cabaret were more traditional musicals closely adapted from stage shows and were strong successes with critics and audiences. Changing cultural mores and the abandonment of the Hays Code in 1968 also contributed to changing tastes in film audiences. The 1973 film of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice 's Jesus Christ Superstar
25665-409: The record of highest-grossing animated film at different times. three of these were Disney films and three more by Pixar . Shrek 2 , made by DreamWorks Animation , is the only film on the list not produced by Disney or Pixar. Snow White held the record for the longest, with 55 years, while Finding Nemo held it for the shortest period of a year. The original 1994 version of The Lion King
25842-399: The record the shortest for less than a year. Shrek 2 , made by DreamWorks Animation , is the only film on the list not produced by Disney or Pixar. At least three stop motion animated films have held the record of highest-grossing animated film at different times. Chicken Run currently holds the record for the longest, with 24 years, while The Nightmare Before Christmas held it for
26019-452: The revisions. The new script, credited to both Allen and Bass, was retitled King of the Beasts and completed on May 23, 1990. Sometime later, Linda Woolverton , who was also writing Beauty and the Beast (1991), spent a year writing several drafts of the script, which was titled King of the Beasts and then King of the Jungle . The original version of the film was vastly different from
26196-418: The script and story. Throughout production, Allers, Scribner, Minkoff, Hahn, Chapman, Sanders, and several other animators visited Kenya to observe wildlife and get inspiration for the characters and setting. The Lion King was released on June 15, 1994, receiving critical acclaim for its music, story, themes, and animation. With an initial worldwide gross of $ 763 million, it finished its theatrical run as
26373-417: The script unfocused and lacking a clear theme, and after establishing the main theme as "leaving childhood and facing up to the realities of the world", asked for a final retool. Allers, Minkoff, Chapman, and Hahn then rewrote the story across two weeks of meetings with directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale , who had finished directing Beauty and the Beast (1991). One of the definite ideas that stemmed from
26550-472: The script. Allen completed his script, which was titled The Lion King , on January 19, 1990. However, Fink, Katzenberg, and Roy E. Disney felt Allen's script could benefit from a more experienced screenwriter, and turned to Ronald Bass , who had recently won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Rain Man (1988). At the time, Bass was preoccupied to rewrite the script himself, but agreed to supervise
26727-730: The sequel Grease 2 (released in 1982) bombed at the box-office. Films about performers which incorporated gritty drama and musical numbers interwoven as a diegetic part of the storyline were produced, such as Lady Sings the Blues , All That Jazz , and New York, New York . Some musicals made in Britain experimented with the form, such as Richard Attenborough 's Oh! What a Lovely War (released in 1969), Alan Parker 's Bugsy Malone and Ken Russell 's Tommy and Lisztomania . A number of film musicals were still being made that were financially and/or critically less successful than in
26904-477: The sequels, went back into moratorium. The DVD releases have sold a total of 11.9 million units and grossed $ 220 million . Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the Diamond Edition of The Lion King on October 4, 2011. This marks the first time that the film has been released in high-definition Blu-ray and on Blu-ray 3D . The initial release was produced in three different packages:
27081-420: The shortest period of seven years. These films are still among the highest-grossing stop-motion animated films. The following chart is a list of the highest-grossing animated film franchises. The top two are among the highest-grossing film franchises of all time and, respectively, are ranked 13th and 18th of all time. Pixar is the most represented studio with six franchises on this list. Despicable Me
27258-685: The silent era. The beginnings of the Spanish musical were focused on romantic Spanish archetypes: Andalusian villages and landscapes, gypsies, "bandoleros", and copla and other popular folk songs included in story development. These films had even more box-office success than Hollywood premieres in Spain. The first Spanish film stars came from the musical genre: Imperio Argentina , Estrellita Castro , Florián Rey (director) and, later, Lola Flores , Sara Montiel and Carmen Sevilla . The Spanish musical started to expand and grow. Juvenile stars appear and top
27435-458: The soundtrack's commemorative twentieth anniversary re-release in 2014. The Lion King also inspired the 1995 release Rhythm of the Pride Lands , with eight songs by Zimmer, Mancina, and Lebo M. The use of the song " The Lion Sleeps Tonight " in a scene with Timon and Pumbaa 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, Linda's family filed
27612-430: The start of the 1970s, Hindi cinema was experiencing thematic stagnation, dominated by musical romance films . The arrival of screenwriter duo Salim–Javed , consisting of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar , marked a paradigm shift, revitalizing the industry. They began the genre of gritty, violent, Bombay underworld crime films in the early 1970s, with films such as Zanjeer (1973) and Deewaar (1975). The 1970s
27789-974: The story and characters with balances in fantasy numbers and grounded reality. It received 14 nominations at the 89th Academy Awards , tying the record for most nominations with All About Eve (1950) and Titanic (1997), and won the awards for Best Director , Best Actress , Best Cinematography , Best Original Score , Best Original Song , and Best Production Design . In 2013, NBC produced The Sound of Music Live! as part of their effort for expanded live entertainment events, which became an annual tradition of adaptations of stage musicals, created specifically as live television events. The following years featured Peter Pan Live! , The Wiz Live! , Hairspray Live! , Jesus Christ Superstar Live! , Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live! , and Annie Live! . ABC and Fox also produced similar events, including Grease Live! , A Christmas Story Live! , Rent: Live , and The Little Mermaid Live! . An exception to
27966-600: The story of The Lion King was inspired by the lives of Joseph and Moses from the Bible, and Shakespeare's Hamlet , though the story has also drawn some comparisons to Shakespeare's lesser known plays Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 . By this point, Woolverton had left the production to work on the Broadway adaptation of Beauty and the Beast . To replace her, Allers and Minkoff met with numerous screenwriters, including Billy Bob Thornton and Joss Whedon , to discuss writing
28143-417: The throne. Mufasa shows Simba the Pride Lands and forbids him from exploring beyond its borders. He explains to Simba the responsibilities of kingship and the "circle of life", which connects all living things. Scar manipulates Simba into exploring an elephant graveyard beyond the Pride Lands. There, Simba and his best friend, Nala , are chased by three spotted hyenas named Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed . Mufasa
28320-535: The top 50 highest-grossing films of all time . The following chart is a list of the highest-grossing computer-animated films. The films on this list have all had a theatrical run (including re-releases) since 2004 . All feature films in the Despicable Me , Kung Fu Panda , Finding Nemo , Incredibles , and Inside Out franchises, as well as the main films in the Madagascar franchise, are on
28497-444: The topic of a story set in Africa came up, and Katzenberg immediately jumped at the idea. Katzenberg decided to add elements involving coming of age and death, and ideas from personal life experiences, such as some of his trials in his career in politics, saying about the film, "It is a little bit about myself." On October 11, 1988, Thomas Disch (the author of The Brave Little Toaster ) had met with Fink and Roy E. Disney to discuss
28674-410: The truth to the pride. A battle ensues between Simba and his allies and the hyenas. Scar attempts to escape, but is cornered by Simba at a ledge near the top of Pride Rock. Scar begs for mercy and blames his actions on the hyenas. Simba spares Scar's life but orders him to leave the Pride Lands forever; Scar refuses and attacks Simba. Following a brief battle, Simba throws Scar off the ledge. Scar survives
28851-399: The two-and-a-half-minute stampede. The Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) helped simulate camera movements such as tracking shots , and was employed in coloring, lighting, and particle effects. Lyricist Tim Rice , who was working with composer Alan Menken on songs for Aladdin (1992), was invited to write songs for The Lion King , and accepted on the condition of bringing in
29028-512: The year with four films, while the Rescuers and Finding Nemo all had both films in each respective franchise be the highest-grossing animated films of the year they were released. Disney films has top the list the most of any studio topping the list 32 times. Animal Farm , Out of an Old Man's Head , Fritz the Cat , and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train were
29205-408: Was a blockbuster hit. Theaters scrambled to install the new sound equipment and to hire Broadway composers to write musicals for the screen. The first all-talking feature, Lights of New York , included a musical sequence in a night club. The enthusiasm of audiences was so great that in less than a year all the major studios were making sound pictures exclusively. The Broadway Melody (1929) had
29382-500: Was also coaxed out of retirement for Easter Parade and made a permanent comeback. The other Hollywood studios proved themselves equally adept at tackling the genre at this time, particularly in the 1950s. Four adaptations of Rodgers and Hammerstein shows - Oklahoma! , The King and I , Carousel , and South Pacific - were all successes, while Paramount Pictures released White Christmas and Funny Face , two films which used previously written music by Irving Berlin and
29559-435: Was also when the name "Bollywood" was coined, and when the quintessential conventions of commercial Bollywood films were established. Key to this was the emergence of the masala film genre, which combines elements of multiple genres ( action , comedy , romance , drama , melodrama , musical). The masala film was pioneered in the early 1970s by filmmaker Nasir Hussain , along with screenwriter duo Salim-Javed, pioneering
29736-429: Was because, "the notion of a 3D re-release was still fresh and exciting, and The Lion King (3D) felt timely given the movie's imminent Blu-ray release. Audiences have been hit with three 3D re-releases in the year since, meaning the novelty value has definitely worn off." As part of Disney's 100th anniversary, The Lion King was re-released between September 29 to October 12, 2023, in selected Cinemark theaters across
29913-445: Was cast as adult Simba early during production. Broderick only recorded with another actor once over the three years he worked on the film, and only learned that Moira Kelly voiced Nala at the film's premiere. English actors Tim Curry , Malcolm McDowell , Alan Rickman , Patrick Stewart , and Ian McKellen were considered for the role of Scar , which eventually went to fellow Englishman Jeremy Irons . Irons initially turned down
30090-440: Was considered a little movie because we were going to take some risks. The pitch for the story was a lion cub gets framed for murder by his uncle set to the music of Elton John . People said, 'What? Good luck with that.' But for some reason, the people who ended up on the movie were highly passionate about it and motivated." Don Hahn The development of The Lion King coincided with that of Pocahontas (1995), which most of
30267-422: Was converted to 3D for a two-week limited theatrical re-issue and subsequent 3D Blu-ray release. The film opened at the number one spot on Friday, September 16, 2011, with $ 8.9 million and finished the weekend with $ 30.2 million, ranking number one at the box office. This made The Lion King the first re-issue release to earn the number-one slot at the American weekend box office since the re-issue of Return of
30444-448: Was directly inspired by Bollywood musicals. The film pays homage to India, incorporating an Indian-themed play and a Bollywood-style dance sequence with a song from the film China Gate . The critical and financial success of Moulin Rouge! renewed interest in the then-moribund Western live action musical genre, and subsequently films such as Chicago , The Producers , Rent , Dreamgirls , and Hairspray were produced, fueling
30621-548: Was done for Bambi (1942). Jim Fowler , renowned wildlife expert, visited the studios on several occasions with an assortment of lions and other savannah inhabitants to discuss behavior and help the animators give their drawings authenticity. The animators also studied animal movements at the Miami MetroZoo under guidance from wildlife expert Ron Magill . The Pride Lands are modeled on the Kenyan national park visited by
30798-448: Was met with some criticism by religious groups but was well received. By the mid-1970s, filmmakers avoided the genre in favor of using music by popular rock or pop bands as background music, partly in hope of selling a soundtrack album to fans. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was originally released in 1975 and was a critical failure until it started midnight screenings in the 1980s where it achieved cult status. That same year also saw
30975-539: Was released by Walt Disney Records on April 27, 1994. It was the fourth-best-selling album of the year on the Billboard 200 and the top-selling soundtrack. It is the only soundtrack to an animated film to be certified Diamond (10× platinum) by the Recording Industry Association of America . Zimmer's complete instrumental score for the film was never originally given a full release, until
31152-413: Was the most recent non-3D CG animated film to hold the record. Shrek 2 , Toy Story 3 , and Inside Out 2 are the only three sequels to hold the record. Finding Nemo was the first 3D CG animated film. All of these films are still among the highest-grossing animated films except Snow White , and only Snow White , Aladdin and Shrek 2 are not also among the highest-grossing films. The Lion King
31329-590: Was too forced, and looked to other heroic archetypes such as the stories of Joseph and Moses from the Bible . Not counting most of the segments from Fantasia (1940), Saludos Amigos (1942), The Three Caballeros (1944), Make Mine Music (1946), and Melody Time (1948); and The Rescuers Down Under (1990) (a sequel to The Rescuers (1977)), The Lion King was the first Disney animated feature to be an original story, rather than be based on pre-existing works and characters. The filmmakers have stated that
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