The Lion Guard is an American animated television series developed by Ford Riley and based on Disney 's 1994 film The Lion King . The series was first broadcast with a television film titled The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar on Disney Channel on November 22, 2015, and began airing as a TV series on January 15, 2016, on Disney Junior . It is the second television series to be based on The Lion King , the first being The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa (1995–1999). The Lion Guard is a sequel and spin-off to The Lion King , and takes place during the time-gap within the 1998 direct-to-video sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , while the third and final season takes place in parallel with the film's second act, with the final two episodes serving as an epilogue.
193-850: The following is a list of characters appearing in Disney's The Lion King franchise. It includes characters from the 1994 film , its direct-to-video follow- ups , its two television series , and printed media. Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick as adult Simba in the films; Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub in The Lion King ; Matt Weinberg as a cub in The Lion King 1½ ; Cam Clarke in Timon & Pumbaa and Kingdom Hearts II , as well as his singing voice in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride ; Rob Lowe in The Lion Guard ; Donald Glover in
386-530: A Golden Globe for Best Picture , and it received 6 Academy Award nominations, becoming the first animation nominated for Best Picture; it won Best Score, Best Sound , and Best Song. The film was critically acclaimed, with some critics considering it to be the best Disney film. To coincide with the 1992 release of The Mighty Ducks , Disney founded the National Hockey League team The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . Disney's next animated feature Aladdin
579-659: A bat-eared fox , an aardvark , a greater kudu , some dik-diks , and some Thomson's gazelles . Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons in The Lion King ; Jim Cummings in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure ; James Horan in Kingdom Hearts II , Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure , and Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom ; David Oyelowo in The Lion Guard ; Chiwetel Ejiofor in
772-480: A blue wildebeest stampede by Scar while rescuing Simba. He returns years later as a spirit in the clouds to encourage an older Simba to return to the Pride Lands and reclaim his rightful throne. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , he instructs Rafiki to bring his granddaughter, Kiara, Simba's daughter, and Kovu, Scar's son and heir, together to reunite the two lion prides. In The Lion Guard , Mufasa serves as
965-627: A 12-week goodwill visit to South America, funded by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs . During the trip, the animators began plotting films, taking inspiration from the local environments and music. As a result of the strike, federal mediators compelled the studio to recognize the Screen Cartoonist's Guild and several animators left, leaving it with 694 employees. To recover from their financial losses, Disney rushed into production
1158-441: A 26% growth in revenue. Los Angeles Times called Disney's recovery "a real rarity in the corporate world". On May 1, 1989, Disney opened Disney-MGM Studios, its third amusement park at Walt Disney World, and later became Hollywood Studios . The new park demonstrated to visitors the movie-making process, until 2008, when it was changed to make guests feel they are in movies. Following the opening of Disney-MGM Studios, Disney opened
1351-442: A Kansas City advertising firm, to run Disney's merchandising; Kamen agreed and transformed Disney's merchandising. Within a year, Kamen had 40 licenses for Mickey Mouse and within two years, had made $ 35 million worth of sales. In 1934, Disney said he made more money from the merchandising of Mickey Mouse than from the character's films. The Waterbury Clock Company created a Mickey Mouse watch, which became so popular it saved
1544-612: A choir from the US Army marched down Main Street. The icon of the park was the Cinderella Castle . On Thanksgiving Day, cars traveling to the Magic Kingdom caused traffic jams along interstate roads. On December 21, 1971, Roy died of cerebral hemorrhage at St. Joseph Hospital. Donn Tatum , a senior executive and former president of Disney, became the first non-Disney-family-member to become CEO and chairman. Card Walker , who had been with
1737-402: A contract dispute, with Disney asking for a larger fee, while Mintz sought to reduce the price. Disney discovered Universal Pictures owned the intellectual property rights to Oswald, and Mintz threatened to produce the shorts without him if he did not accept the reduction in payment. Disney declined and Mintz signed 4 of Walt Disney Studio's primary animators to start his own studio; Iwerks was
1930-453: A contract with Winkler for $ 1,500, to create six series of Alice Comedies , with an option for two more six-episode series. Walt and Roy Disney founded Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio on October 16, 1923, to produce the films. In January 1926, the Disneys moved into a new studio on Hyperion Street and the studio's name was changed to Walt Disney Studio . After producing Alice films over
2123-676: A deal in which all parties would obtain 27% equity in streaming service Hulu , and Disney added ABC Family and Disney Channel to the streaming service. On December 16, Roy E. Disney died of stomach cancer ; he was the last member of the Disney family to work for Disney. In March 2010, Haim Saban reacquired from Disney the Power Rangers franchise, including its 700-episode library, for around $ 100 million. Shortly after, Disney sold Miramax Films to an investment group headed by Ronald Tutor for $ 660 million. During that time, Disney released
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#17328862413582316-559: A dual role as the twins in The Parent Trap (1961). Another child actor, Kevin Corcoran , was prominent in many Disney live-action films, first appearing in a serial for The Mickey Mouse Club, where he would play a boy named Moochie. He worked alongside Mills in Pollyanna , and starred in features such as Old Yeller (1957), Toby Tyler (1960), and Swiss Family Robinson . In 1964,
2509-516: A facial wound caused by a snake bite during the battle, Kion journeys to find the Tree of Life, to get healed. Simba bids his son farewell on his trip. Afterwards, he welcomes Kion home following his journey and accepts his love to Rani of the Night Pride by accepting her as his daughter-in-law after Kion and Rani's marriage and Kion's coronation as King of the Tree of Life. Nala (voiced by Moira Kelly in
2702-450: A fictional language called Manazoto. Mufasa is depicted as a just, wise, and responsible leader, a gentle but firm father, and a strong and fierce protector when sufficiently provoked. In The Lion King , he teaches Simba what a king is supposed to be, and how the king is responsible for protecting and maintaining the delicate balance of the ecosystem, and mediate problems between its creatures. However, Mufasa later dies after being thrown into
2895-416: A golf course, and 6 hotels. In 1988, Disney's 27th animated film Oliver & Company was released the same day as that of former Disney animator Don Bluth's The Land Before Time . Oliver & Company out-competed The Land Before Time , becoming the first animated film to gross over $ 100 million in its initial release, and the highest-grossing animated film in its initial run. Disney became
3088-534: A hyena's belly never being full. Scar strikes at some of the attacking hyenas until they swarm over him and kill him. Shenzi (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg in the animated films; Tress MacNeille in Timon & Pumbaa and Kingdom Hearts II ; Jenifer Lewis in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom ; Florence Kasumba in the 2019 film), Banzai (voiced by Cheech Marin in the animated films, Kingdom Hearts II , and Sorcerers of
3281-589: A joint venture with Infoseek in January 1999, Disney acquired the rest of Infoseek later that year. After unsuccessful negotiations with cruise lines Carnival and Royal Caribbean International , in 1994, Disney announced it would start its own cruise-line operation in 1998. The first two ships of the Disney Cruise Line were named Disney Magic and Disney Wonder , and built by Fincantieri in Italy. To accompany
3474-426: A lion king's majordomo; he is a jungle administrator. In the episode "Zazu's Off-By-One Day", he is shown to be responsible for counting the population of the animals. In the musical, Zazu is a puppet controlled by an actor dressed in blue striped clothes and a bowler hat, much like a stereotypical butler. Zazu's blue feathers have been replaced with white and the puppet is partially constructed from parachute silk with
3667-420: A lion. Jones reprises his role in the 2019 remake of the film directed by Jon Favreau . According to Favreau, Jones's lines remain mostly the same from the original film. Chiwetel Ejiofor , who plays Scar in the film, said that "the comfort of [Jones reprising his role] is going to be very rewarding in taking [the audience] on this journey again. It's a once-in-a-generation vocal quality". In August 2021, it
3860-421: A major success by the early 1940s, Disney diversified into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. However, following Walt Disney's death in 1966, the company's profits, especially in the animation division , began to decline. In 1984, Disney's shareholders voted Michael Eisner as CEO, who led a reversal of the company's decline through a combination of international theme park expansion and
4053-401: A meeting between Kanter and Disney chief executive Robert Iger . Iger suggested to Kanter that Disney Junior should consider producing content to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Lion King in 2014. Disney had shown early footage to young test audiences, who were able to make suggestions, such as adjusting the look of the hyenas. Disney Consumer Products launched a line of toys to tie into
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#17328862413584246-471: A merchandising division named Walt Disney Enterprises , and subsidiaries called Disney Film Recording Company, Limited and Liled Realty and Investment Company; the latter of which managed real estate holdings. Walt Disney and his wife held 60% (6,000 shares) of the company, and Roy Disney owned 40%. The comic strip Mickey Mouse debuted on January 13, 1930, in New York Daily Mirror and by 1931,
4439-497: A park called Disney World , which included Magic Kingdom —a larger version of Disneyland—and the City of Tomorrow, at the park's center. By 1967, the company had made expansions to Disneyland, and more rides were added in 1966 and 1967, at a cost of $ 20 million. The new rides included Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room , which was the first attraction to use Audio-Animatronics ; Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress , which debuted at
4632-404: A partnership between lions and hyenas. Shenzi quotes "There's only one true thing you ever said, Scar. A hyena's belly is never full." The hyenas then attack as Scar strikes at some of them before the hyenas swarm over Scar and kill him. In the original draft of the film, the hyenas were African wild dogs , referred to as "Cape dogs" in the film. Their species may have been changed to illustrate
4825-493: A simple and respectable man with an honest job, but even so, he tends to get in Timon and Pumbaa's way, intentionally or not. In other instances, as shown in "Palm Beached" and "Going Over-Boar'd", because of Timon and Pumbaa's failure to act in accordance to regulations or rules, he will get into scrapes with the duo in the defense of his business or occupation. Despite this, he has triumphed over Timon and Pumbaa in episodes "The Swine in
5018-412: A slinky contained in the neck for ease in movement. Also appearing in the 2019 remake of The Lion King , Zazu plays the same role as in the original film, but this time, he is introduced to Timon and Pumbaa and helps out in the battle by pecking Azizi numerous times. Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillaume in most media prior to his death in 2017; Khary Payton in The Lion Guard and John Kani in
5211-805: A spirit guide to his grandson Kion when he needs advice, and sometimes appears on his own when he notices he is troubled by something. When Kion fights against Scar's spirit and his army as a teenager, he gets bitten by Ushari, who gave him a scar on his eye. As a result, during the journey to the Tree of Life, Kion stops communicating with his grandfather due to issues with his scar and personal concerns about turning evil like Scar, and Mufasa has become worried that he forgot about him, just like Simba did years ago when he became an adult. When they finally talk again, Mufasa reassures Kion that he would always be here for him no matter what; showing that regardless of his grandson's scar, he still loves him dearly and knows he has more compassion and honour than Scar. Alongside Askari and
5404-732: A talking duck that would be the studio's new gag character. Donald Duck made his first appearance in 1934 in The Wise Little Hen . Though he did not become popular as quickly as Mickey had, Donald Duck had a featured role in Donald and Pluto (1936), and was given his own series. After a disagreement with Columbia Pictures about the Silly Symphony cartoons, Disney signed a distribution contract with United Artists from 1932 to 1937 to distribute them. In 1932, Disney signed an exclusive contract with Technicolor to produce cartoons in color until
5597-486: A ten-year contract to make five films, with Disney as distributor. They would share the cost, profits, and logo credits, calling the films Disney-Pixar productions. During the Disney Renaissance, film division Touchstone also saw success with film such as Pretty Woman (1990), which has the highest number of ticket sales in the U.S. for a romantic comedy and grossed $ 432 million; Sister Act (1992), which
5790-838: A theme song for the television series Zorro . The company hired them as exclusive staff songwriters, an arrangement that lasted 10 years. They wrote many songs for Disney's films and theme parks, and several were commercial hits. In the late 1950s, Disney ventured into comedy with the live-action films The Shaggy Dog (1959), which became the highest-grossing film in the US and Canada for Disney at over $ 9 million, and The Absent Minded Professor (1961), both starring Fred MacMurray . Disney also made live-action films based on children's books including Pollyanna (1960) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960). Child actor Hayley Mills starred in Pollyanna , for which she won an Academy Juvenile Award . Mills starred in 5 other Disney films, including
5983-460: A tremendous success, with WALL-E winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. After acquiring most of Jetix Europe through the acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide, Disney bought the remainder of the company in 2008 for $ 318 million. Iger introduced D23 in 2009 as Disney's official fan club. In February, Disney announced a deal with DreamWorks Pictures to distribute 30 of their films over
List of The Lion King (franchise) characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
6176-703: A two-year tour of ice shows featuring Disney charters, made its premiere at the Brendan Byrne Meadowlands Arena after Disney licensed its characters to Feld Entertainment . The same month, Disney's animated film The Fox and the Hound was released and became the highest-grossing animated film to that point at $ 40 million. It was the first film that did not involve Walt and the last major work done by Disney's Nine Old Men, who were replaced with younger animators. As profits started to decline, on October 1, 1982, Epcot, then known as EPCOT Center, opened as
6369-540: A venture with The Nature Conservancy , Disney purchased 8,500 acres (3,439 ha) of Everglades headwaters in Florida to protect native animals and plant species, establishing the Disney Wilderness Preserve . On April 3, 1994, Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash; he, Eisner, and Katzenberg helped the company's market value go from $ 2 billion to $ 22 billion since taking office in 1984. On June 15
6562-535: A visit to Griffith Park with his daughters. He said he watched them ride a carousel and thought there "should be ... some kind of amusement enterprise built where the parents and the children could have fun together". Initially planning the construction of an eight-acre (3.2 ha) Mickey Mouse Park near the Burbank studio, Walt changed the planned amusement park's name to Disneylandia, then to Disneyland . A new company, WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering ),
6755-541: Is a con artist who tricks Timon into stealing a gold nugget Pumbaa found in "Yukon Con", a criminal who stole a suitcase that has $ 1.29 million in "How to Beat High Costa Rica", an evil clock inspector who wants to get revenge on a timekeeper in "Swiss Missed", a French chef who wants to make Speedy the Snail escargot in "French Fried", and many other roles. Quint has the tendency of speaking in third person, which further shows his conflated ego. In some episodes, Quint appears to be
6948-408: Is a human who is Timon and Pumbaa's archenemy. He is a sneaky, manipulative and sly muscular man with a pinkish-red bulbous nose (which becomes the same color as the rest of his body in most episodes of season three) who has varying roles in the series. Because of the variety of occupations, he also has different first names relating to his jobs and titles, most of which happen to start with "C". Quint
7141-419: Is a prominent character in The Lion King , she makes minor appearances in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , The Lion King 1½ , and The Lion Guard . In The Lion King , she is portrayed as Simba's childhood friend (whom she is betrothed to when they were born and younger infants by their parents). After helping Simba enter the elephant graveyard, she has to be rescued by her future father-in-law, Mufasa when
7334-554: Is a years-long time gap, The Lion Guard takes place during the years in-between Kiara's first meeting with Kovu as a cub and her first hunt as an adult. Riley also noted the inclusion of Swahili into the series, which is used for names of characters, locations, songs, and catchphrases. Classic mythology is used as inspiration for the show. Riley stated "We want it to feel epic and so we're trying to draw from as many epics in classical literature and classical television in addition to ( The Lion King ) itself". Riley noted that protecting
7527-486: Is an overprotective father of Kiara and obtains a great hatred of the Outsiders, a group of lions led by a lioness named Zira, whom he exiled due to their reliability to Scar. He finally lets go of his hate after Kiara and Kovu stopped the battle between the Pride Lands and the Outsiders because as lions they are one. In The Lion Guard , Simba fathers Kion, and refuses to accept Kion's decision to allow non-lion animals into
7720-432: Is dead and Simba has fled, Scar takes over as the ruler of the Pride Lands while allowing the hyenas to work with the lions. This led to overhunting. When Sarabi refuses to become Scar's mate, Scar makes things worse by having the hyenas eat first and they do not leave much behind. By the second advancement, Scar struck down Sarabi when she mentioned Mufasa. Like the films, Scar fought Simba and tried to blame Mufasa's death on
7913-423: Is expanded. In the episode "Good Mousekeeping", it is revealed that Rafiki can grant wishes and can even take some of the wishes back. In another episode "Rafiki's Apprentice", Rafiki's stick is revealed to have magical powers. He explains to his nephew, Nefu, that the gourds on his stick are the key to his mystical abilities and also reveals through a painting that his stick was given to him by his grandfather when he
List of The Lion King (franchise) characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
8106-531: Is first seen sleeping inside Pride Rock with Nala and the rest of the pride. She later cleans Nala before the latter leaves to go to the Elephant Graveyard with Simba. She makes her final appearance mourning the loss of Mufasa and Simba, unaware that Simba is still alive. In the 2019 film, Sarafina's role is still the same. When the hyenas arrived at Pride Rock following Mufasa's death, Sarafina told Nala to stay close to her. Quint (voiced by Corey Burton )
8299-463: Is introduced as the King of the Pride Lands. The outstanding queen Uru of the Pride Lands alongside the brave King Ahadi are Mufasa's parents. His brother Scar's original name is Taka. Scar was a nice cub but turned sour when he noticed Mufasa was going to be future king and King Ahadi spent extra time with him to teach him about ruling the lands. The name "Mufasa" has an unknown origin, previously attributed to
8492-546: Is known for its film studio division, the Walt Disney Studios , which includes Walt Disney Pictures , Walt Disney Animation Studios , Pixar , Marvel Studios , Lucasfilm , 20th Century Studios , 20th Century Animation , and Searchlight Pictures . Disney's other main business units include divisions in television, broadcasting, streaming media, theme park resorts, consumer products, publishing, and international operations. Through these divisions, Disney owns and operates
8685-469: Is more closely involved with the affairs and politics of the pride and is often seen with the lions. Mufasa's spirit persuades him to bring Simba's daughter Kiara and Zira's son Kovu together as a way of uniting the Outsiders with pride. Rafiki tries to make them fall in love by singing to them about a place called "Upendi", which means "love" in Swahili. In the end, he blesses the union of Kovu and Kiara, and Kovu
8878-554: Is one of the biggest and best-known companies in the world and was ranked number 48 on the 2023 Fortune 500 list of biggest companies in the United States by revenue. In 2023, the company's seat in Forbes Global 2000 was 87. Since its founding, the company has won 135 Academy Awards , 26 of which were awarded to Walt . The company has been said to have produced some of the greatest films of all time , as well as revolutionizing
9071-450: Is revealed that the cub in question is Kiara and that she will be the future queen. Riley was interested in the idea of a second-born cub and what his role would be if Kiara is destined to become queen. Additionally, he was inspired by his 8-year-old son, who would visit the park with friends and pretend to be a superhero team. Riley confirmed the timeline of the series; in Simba's Pride there
9264-404: Is welcomed into the pride. Rafiki appears briefly in The Lion King 1½ , teaching Timon the philosophy of " Hakuna Matata ", talking to Timon's mother about her son, and later convincing Timon to follow Simba to Pride Rock to confront Scar. In the musical, the character of Rafiki was significantly modified. Because director Julie Taymor felt that the story lacked a strong female character, Rafiki
9457-505: The 1964 New York World's Fair before moving to Disneyland in 1967; and Dumbo the Flying Elephant . On November 20, 1964, Walt sold most of WED Enterprise to Walt Disney Productions for $ 3.8 million after being persuaded by Roy, who thought Walt having his own company would cause legal problems. Walt formed a new company called Retlaw to handle his personal business, primarily Disneyland Railroad and Disneyland Monorail . When
9650-481: The 2019 film and JD McCrary as a cub in the 2019 film) is the main protagonist of The Lion King franchise. He is the son of Mufasa and Sarabi, Scar's nephew, Nala's mate, Sarafina's son-in-law and Kiara and Kion's father as well as Rani and Kovu's father-in-law. After defeating Scar, Simba takes Mufasa's place as King of Pride Rock before marrying Nala and having Kiara and Kion with her. His name means "lion" in Swahili. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , Simba
9843-450: The ABC television network ; cable television networks such as Disney Channel , ESPN , Freeform , FX , and National Geographic ; publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Disney+ , ESPN+ , Hulu , and Hotstar ; and Disney Experiences , which includes several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines around the world. Disney
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#173288624135810036-453: The CGI remake complete with a different personality. She is portrayed as a ruthless and cunning matriarch with a no-nonsense attitude and air of authority. She is also shown to have a rivalry with Nala. Ed was replaced with Azizi (voiced by Eric André ), and Banzai was replaced with Kamari (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key ). Nevertheless, these two play largely similar roles to those of Banzai and Ed in
10229-614: The Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park . That year, the company earned a gross total of $ 24.5 million compared to the $ 11 million the previous year. Disney continued to delegate much of the animation work to the studio's top animators, known as the Nine Old Men . The company produced an average of five films per year throughout the 1950s and 60s. Animated features of this period included Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and The Sword in
10422-612: The Muppets franchise from the Jim Henson Company for $ 75 million, founding Muppets Holding Company, LLC . Following the success of Disney-Pixar films Finding Nemo (2003), which became the second highest-grossing animated film of all time at $ 936 million, and The Incredibles (2004), Pixar looked for a new distributor once its deal with Disney ended in 2004. Disney sold the loss-making Disney Stores chain of 313 stores to Children's Place on October 20. Disney also sold
10615-588: The Tree of Life at its center. Receiving positive reviews, Disney's next animated films Mulan and Disney-Pixar film A Bug's Life were released on June 5 and November 20, 1998. Mulan became the year's sixth-highest-grossing film at $ 304 million, and A Bug's Life was the year's fifth-highest at $ 363 million. In a $ 770-million transaction, on June 18, Disney bought a 43% stake of Internet search engine Infoseek for $ 70 million, also giving it Infoseek-acquired Starwave . Starting web portal Go.com in
10808-558: The 1930s, and became one of the best-known Disney songs. Other Silly Symphonies films won the Best Cartoon award from 1931 to 1939, except for 1938, when another Disney film, Ferdinand the Bull , won it. In 1934, Walt Disney announced a feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . It would be the first cel animated feature and the first animated feature produced in
11001-442: The 1950s, Disney returned to producing full-length animated feature films, beginning with Cinderella (1950), its first feature in eight years. A critical and commercial success, Cinderella saved Disney after the financial pitfalls of the wartime era; it was its most financially successful film since Snow White , making $ 8 million in its first year. Walt began to reduce his involvement with animation, focusing his attention on
11194-497: The 1960s", starred in 10 Disney films, including That Darn Cat! (1965), The Ugly Dachshund (1966), and The Love Bug (1968). Disney's last child actor of the 1960s was Kurt Russell , who had signed a ten-year contract. He featured in films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968) alongside Dean Jones, The Barefoot Executive (1971), and The Strongest Man in
11387-462: The 2019 film (as elderly) and Kagiso Lediga in Mufasa: The Lion King (as younger), whose name means "friend" in Swahili, is a West African-accented mandrill with an unnaturally long tail. He lives in a baobab tree in the Pride Lands and performs shamanistic services for the lions of Pride Rock. He is also shown to be a great martial artist. In The Lion King , Rafiki is introduced in
11580-514: The 2019 film ) is Mufasa's wife, Simba's mother, Nala's mother-in-law, Scar's sister-in-law and Kopa, Kiara, and Kion's paternal grandmother. Her name means " mirage " in Swahili. In The Lion King , she serves as the Queen of Pride Rock. Years after Scar usurps the throne, Sarabi helps Simba fight against Scar and his hyenas. When Simba defeats Scar, Nala becomes Queen and Sarabi becomes the Queen mother . In
11773-471: The 2019 film and Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the follow-up for the 2019 film) is the main antagonist of The Lion King franchise. He is a black-maned lion who is Mufasa's younger brother, Simba's uncle, Sarabi's brother-in-law, Kiara and Kion's grand-uncle, and Kovu's father. His name means "kovu" in Swahili, similar to his adoptive son. In The Lion King , by murdering Mufasa and exiling Simba, he becomes "King of
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#173288624135811966-403: The 2019 film and Preston Nyman in Mufasa: The Lion King ) is a red-billed hornbill and majordomo to Mufasa and later Simba. After Mufasa's death, Zazu becomes a prisoner of Scar before Pumbaa breaks the bone cage, releasing him when Simba returns to the Pride Lands. He eventually acts as a scout and advises Simba on royal protocol. In Timon & Pumbaa , it is revealed that Zazu is not only
12159-594: The 2019 film, following Mufasa's death, Scar tries to get Sarabi to be his mate, but she turns down his advances. it was announced that Tiffany Boone will voice young Sarabi in Barry Jenkins ' follow-up to the 2019 film, Mufasa: The Lion King . Sarafina (voiced by Zoe Leader in The Lion King and Penny Johnson Jerald in the 2019 film ) is a lioness who is Nala's mother, Simba's mother-in-law, Kopa, Kiara, and Kion's maternal grandmother, Vitani, Rani, and Kovu's maternal grandmother-in-law and Sarabi's friend. She
12352-424: The 2019 remake film ) and Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella in the films and TV shows; Leslie Hedger in Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure and Seth Rogen in the 2019 film) are a meerkat and common warthog duo. Timon being an insouciant, yet trustworthy friend, while Pumbaa is kind-hearted and courageous with occasional childlike naivety. The pair act as comedy relief, and as friend and mentor to Simba throughout
12545-465: The Circle of Life is the main theme of the series; "The animals who respect it don't eat too much, allow for the grass to grow, and larger animals to eat smaller animals. Our bad guys come from those that don't respect the Circle of Life. They just want to eat and wreak havoc." In terms of giving The Lion Guard the same look as the original film, director Howy Parkins stated that they were mindful to keep
12738-639: The Circle of Life. At the start of Season 2, the Lion Guard's mission becomes harder when Kion's deceased granduncle Scar returns as a fiery spirit and plans to destroy the Pride Lands. Scar forms an army consisted of animals from the Outlands. This eventually leads to an all-out battle between the Pridelanders and the Outlanders. By Season 3, the guard, now teenagers, successfully defeat Scar. Afterwards, they leave
12931-406: The Lion Guard in the first place. However, he accepts his proposal afterwards. In the show's second season, after a failed attempt on Simba's life, orchestrated by the spirit of Scar, Simba, and Kion plot to defeat him once and for all. As of season three, Scar's ghost has been conquered and his followers have become neutral under the rule of Jasiri, who becomes the new Outlands leader. However, due to
13124-478: The Lucky Rabbit and 26 cartoons featuring the character. On February 6, the company announced it would be merging its ABC Radio networks and 22 stations with Citadel Broadcasting in a $ 2.7 billion deal, though which Disney acquired 52% of television broadcasting company Citadel Communications . The Disney Channel movie High School Musical aired and its soundtrack was certified triple platinum , becoming
13317-424: The Magic Kingdom ; and Rob Paulsen in Timon & Pumbaa and The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure ), and Ed (voiced by Jim Cummings ) are the three spotted hyenas who serve as Scar's minions and reside in the Elephant Graveyard. After Scar promises them and the rest of their fellow hyenas that they will have food in return for them helping him get rid of his brother Mufasa and nephew Simba to become King of
13510-465: The Mickey Mouse series, which was made using synchronized sound , becoming the first post-produced sound cartoon. The sound was created using Powers' Cinephone system, which used Lee de Forest 's Phonofilm system. Pat Powers ' company distributed Steamboat Willie , which was an immediate hit. In 1929, the company successfully re-released the two earlier films with synchronized sound. After
13703-501: The NHL team Mighty Ducks in 2005. Roy E. Disney decided to rejoin the company and was given the role of consultant with the title "Director Emeritus". In March 2005, Bob Iger, president of the company, became CEO after Eisner's retirement in September; Iger was officially named head of the company on October 1. Disney's eleventh theme park Hong Kong Disneyland opened on September 12, costing
13896-439: The Night Pride's leader, Queen Rani, and is crowned king of the Tree of Life. The characters returning from The Lion King and its sequels and spin-offs appear in this series: The series was announced by Disney on June 9, 2014, on the run-up to the first film's 20th anniversary. Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter stated: "It's kind of like The Lion King meets The Avengers ". The series' announcement came after
14089-574: The Outlands. Angered, Scar used the Roar to kill the lion and snake, while Mufasa teased him and nicknamed him "Scar", leading to Scar plotting to dethrone Mufasa. At the end, Kion summons the Great Kings of the Past to rain upon Scar, thus destroying him once and for all. In the 2019 film, Scar told Zazu to get help to rescue Simba while he goes to help him. This was a cover-up so that Scar can kill Mufasa. When Mufasa
14282-450: The Pride Lands to locate the Tree of Life in Asia to cure Kion and Ono's battle injuries, Kion having received a venomous scar from Ushari the cobra and Ono losing his eyesight from the poisonous volcanic fumes while rescuing Bunga. Kion's team also gets a new member, a female martial eagle named Anga who replaces Ono's position as the keenest of sight after Ono temporarily loses his eyesight, while
14475-400: The Pride Lands". However, years later, Simba returns to Pride Rock and overthrows Scar to become King of the Pride Lands. Scar survives the fall but is attacked and killed by his hyena minions after they overheard him betraying them. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , it is revealed that Scar had gained loyalty from a group of lions who were exiled from Pride Rock by Simba to the Outlands in
14668-435: The Pride Lands, only to find out that the conflict has already been settled. Zira's daughter, Vitani , has formed her own Lion Guard in their absence, causing an argument between them and Kion's Lion Guard. However, after seeing Vitani's confidence in becoming a leader even without the Roar, Kion allows Vitani's Lion Guard to succeed his Guard as defenders of the Pride Lands. Kion and his friends return to Asia where Kion marries
14861-621: The Pride Lands, the three hyenas trigger the wildebeest stampede which kills Mufasa and then chase Simba out of the Pride Lands on Scar's orders. When Simba returns to Pride Rock, Shenzi and Banzai are defeated by Pumbaa. The three turn on Scar when he tries to blame them for Mufasa's death and the ruin of the Pride Lands, and lead the rest of the hyenas into eating him alive during a wildfire. Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed make recurring appearances in Timon & Pumbaa . They are given their own segments titled "The Laughing Hyenas", where they serve as villain protagonists who seemingly become more neutral as
15054-456: The Queen of the Tree of Life and leader of the Night Pride, Queen Rani while gaining her as her daughter-in-law. Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane in the films and earlier episodes of Timon & Pumbaa ; Quinton Flynn in earlier episodes of Timon & Pumbaa ; Kevin Schon in later episodes of Timon & Pumbaa and in The Lion Guard ; Bruce Lanoil in the video games and Billy Eichner in
15247-408: The Roar is meant to be used for good and not evil. In season two, Kion, Simba's son and the leader of the new Lion Guard, unknowingly summons Scar back as a fiery spirit in a volcano after using the Roar in anger when Janja provokes him. Scar then conspires with the animals in the Outlands to take over the Pride Lands and defeat the Lion Guard and Simba, who were initially unaware of his return. Later in
15440-525: The South (1946) which would become one of Disney's most controversial films. As a result of its financial problems, Disney began re-releasing its feature films in 1944. In 1948, it began premiering the nature documentary series, True-Life Adventures , which ran until 1960, winning 8 Academy Awards. In 1949, the Walt Disney Music Company was founded to help with profits for merchandising. In
15633-572: The Stone (1963). Sleeping Beauty was a financial loss for the company, and at $ 6 million, had the highest production costs up to that point. One Hundred and One Dalmatians introduced an animation technique using the xerography process to electromagnetically transfer the drawings to animation cels , resulting in a transformed art style for the studio's animated films. In 1956, the Sherman Brothers , Robert and Richard , were asked to produce
15826-484: The Stone" and "Going Over-Boar'd". The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company , commonly referred to as simply Disney , is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California . Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio ; it also operated under
16019-554: The US, Tokyo Disneyland , opened in Urayasu . Costing around $ 1.4 billion, construction started in 1979 when Disney and The Oriental Land Company agreed to build a park together. Within its first ten years, the park had over 140 million visitors. After an investment of $ 100 million, on April 18, Disney started a pay-to-watch cable television channel called Disney Channel , a 16-hours-a-day service showing Disney films, twelve programs, and two magazines shows for adults. Although it
16212-526: The US. Its novelty made it a risky venture; Roy tried to persuade Walt not to produce it, arguing it would bankrupt the studio, and while widely anticipated by the public, it was referred to by some critics as "Disney's Folly". Walt directed the animators to take a realistic approach, creating scenes as though they were live action. While making the film, the company created the multiplane camera , consisting of pieces of glass upon which drawings were placed at different distances to create an illusion of depth in
16405-459: The United Kingdom and Ireland, Return of the Roar premiered on Disney Junior on February 8, 2016, while the series premiered on April 13, 2016. In Australia and New Zealand, the pilot debuted on February 6, 2016, and the series began airing on February 28, 2016, on Disney Junior . In Southeast Asia, the pilot premiered on March 20, 2016, on Disney Channel (April 11 on Disney Junior ) and
16598-570: The Walt Disney Company, stating the old name only referred to the film industry. With Disney's animation industry declining, the animation department needed its next movie The Great Mouse Detective to be a success. It grossed $ 25 million at the box office, becoming a much-needed financial success. To generate more revenue from merchandising, the company opened its first retail store Disney Store in Glendale in 1987. Because of its success,
16791-596: The Wind ". Pixar's and Disney's first co-release was the first-ever fully computer-generated film Toy Story , which was released on November 19, 1995, to critical acclaim and an end-run gross total of $ 361 million. The film won the Special Achievement Academy Award and was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay . In 1995, Disney announced the $ 19 billion acquisition of television network Capital Cities/ABC Inc., which
16984-516: The World (1975). In late 1959, Walt had an idea to build another park in Palm Beach, Florida , called the City of Tomorrow, a city that would be full of technological improvements. In 1964, the company chose land southwest of Orlando, Florida to build the park and acquired 27,000 acres (10,927 ha). On November 15, 1965, Walt, along with Roy and Florida's governor Haydon Burns , announced plans for
17177-472: The adoptive uncles of the honey badger Bunga and make their home at Hakuna Matata Falls. In the 2019 film, Timon and Pumbaa had different animals as their neighbors in the oasis like a flock of guineafowl (one of them is voiced by Amy Sedaris ), a galago (voiced by Chance the Rapper ), an elephant shrew (voiced by Josh McCrary), a topi (voiced by Phil LaMarr ) that has an awkward conversation with Simba,
17370-436: The animated film The Jungle Book , which was Disney's most successful film for the next two decades, and the live-action musical The Happiest Millionaire . After Walt's death, the company largely abandoned animation, but made several live-action films. Its animation staff declined from 500 to 125 employees, with the company only hiring 21 people from 1970 to 1977. Disney's first post-Walt animated film The Aristocats
17563-417: The appeal to make a compelling villain. Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph scored the pilot two stars out of five, labeling it a "Soggy, Sentimental throwback". Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series four out of five stars, stating "With its strong messages about courage, responsibility, and friendship, this series is a fun pick for kids, and parents who watch with their kids will enjoy seeing
17756-696: The assumption of $ 2.3 billion in debt. The deal included a 76% stake in Fox Kids Europe , Latin American channel Fox Kids , more than 6,500 episodes from Saban Entertainment 's programming library, and Fox Family Channel . In 2001, Disney's operations had a net loss of $ 158 million after a decline in viewership of the ABC television network, as well as decreased tourism due to the September 11 attacks . Disney earnings in fiscal 2001 were $ 120 million compared with
17949-418: The backgrounds. After United Artists attempted to attain future television rights to the Disney shorts, Walt signed a distribution contract with RKO Radio Pictures on March 2, 1936. Walt Disney Productions exceeded its original budget of $ 150,000 for Snow White by ten times; its production eventually cost the company $ 1.5 million. Snow White took 3 years to make, premiering on December 12, 1937. It
18142-716: The box office. Later, as products of the South American trip, Disney released the features Saludos Amigos (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1944). This was a new strategy of releasing package films , collections of short cartoons grouped to make feature films. Both performed poorly. Disney released more package films through the rest of the decade, including Make Mine Music (1946) , Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948), and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), to try to recover from its financial losses. Disney began producing less-expensive live-action films mixed with animation, beginning with Song of
18335-498: The box office; it won two Academy Awards; Best Original Score and Best Original Song for " Under the Sea ". During the Disney Renaissance, composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman wrote several Disney songs until Ashman died in 1991. Together they wrote 6 songs nominated for Academy Awards; with two winning songs—"Under the Sea" and " Beauty and the Beast ". To produce music geared for
18528-416: The box-office-leading Hollywood studio for the first time, with films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Three Men and a Baby (1987) , and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). The company's gross revenue went from $ 165 million in 1983 to $ 876 million in 1987, and operating income went from −$ 33 million in 1983 to +130 million in 1987. The studio's net income rose by 66%, along with
18721-540: The company $ 3.5 billion to construct. On January 24, 2006, Disney began talks to acquire Pixar from Steve Jobs for $ 7.4 billion, and Iger appointed Pixar chief creative officer (CCO) John Lasseter and president Edwin Catmull the heads of the Walt Disney Animation Studios . A week later, Disney traded ABC Sports commentator Al Michaels to NBCUniversal , in exchange for the rights to Oswald
18914-407: The company after Eisner refused to promote him to president. After leaving, he co-founded film studio DreamWorks SKG . Wells was later replaced with one of Eisner's friends Michael Ovitz on August 13, 1995. In 1994, Disney wanted to buy one of the major U.S. television networks ABC, NBC, or CBS, which would give the company guaranteed distribution for its programming. Eisner planned to buy NBC but
19107-429: The company announced ImageMovers Digital , which it started in partnership with ImageMovers in 2007, would be closing by 2011. The Lion Guard The second season premiered on July 7, 2017, followed by the third on August 3, 2019, with the series finale airing on November 3 the same year. The show centers on Kion , the son of King Simba and Queen Nala , and the younger brother of Kiara . As second-born to
19300-520: The company from bankruptcy during the Great Depression . During a promotional event at Macy's, 11,000 Mickey Mouse watches sold in one day; and within two years, two-and-a-half million watches were sold. As Mickey Mouse become a heroic character rather than a mischievous one, Disney needed another character that could produce gags . Disney invited radio presenter Clarence Nash to the animation studio; Disney wanted to use Nash to play Donald Duck ,
19493-519: The company had been doing. To help with the film division, the company started making Saturday-morning cartoons to create new Disney characters for merchandising, and produced films through Touchstone. Under Eisner, Disney became more involved with television, creating Touchstone Television and producing the television sitcom The Golden Girls , which was a hit. The company spent $ 15 million promoting its theme parks, raising visitor numbers by 10%. In 1984, Disney produced The Black Cauldron , then
19686-453: The company is still headquartered. In April 1940, Disney Productions had its initial public offering , with the common stock remaining with Disney and his family. Disney did not want to go public but the company needed the money. Shortly before Snow White's release, work began on the company's next features, Pinocchio and Bambi . Pinocchio was released in February 1940 while Bambi
19879-604: The company opened two more in California, and by 1990, it had 215 throughout the US In 1989, the company garnered $ 411 million in revenue and made a profit of $ 187 million. In 1987, the company signed an agreement with the Government of France to build a resort named Euro Disneyland in Paris; it would consist of two theme parks named Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park ,
20072-762: The company since 1938, became its president. By June 30, 1973, Disney had over 23,000 employees and a gross revenue of $ 257,751,000 over a nine-month period, compared to the year before when it made $ 220,026,000. In November, Disney released the animated film Robin Hood (1973), which became Disney's biggest international-grossing movie at $ 18 million. Throughout the 1970s, Disney released live-action films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes ' sequel Now You See Him, Now You Don't ; The Love Bug sequels Herbie Rides Again (1974) and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977); Escape to Witch Mountain (1975); and Freaky Friday (1976). In 1976, Card Walker became CEO of
20265-405: The company started looking for a sponsor for the project, Walt renamed the City of Tomorrow, Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow ( Epcot ). Walt, who had been a heavy smoker since World War I, fell very sick and he died on December 15, 1966, aged 65, of lung cancer , at St. Joseph Hospital across the street from the studio. In 1967, the last two films Walt had worked on were released;
20458-406: The company was being run, calling on Eisner to retire; the same week, board member Stanley Gold retired for the same reasons. Gold and Disney formed the "Save Disney" campaign. In 2004, at the company's annual meeting, the shareholders in a 43% vote voted Eisner out as chairman. On March 4, George J. Mitchell , who was a member of the board, was named as replacement. In April, Disney purchased
20651-480: The company's attention. Disney, which since 1996 had owned a 25% stake in the Major League Baseball team California Angels , bought out the team in 1998 for $ 110 million, renamed it Anaheim Angels and renovated the stadium for $ 100 million. Hercules (1997) was released on June 13, and underperformed compared to earlier films, grossing $ 252 million. On February 24, Disney and Pixar signed
20844-466: The company's next animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released, grossing $ 325 million at the box office. Because Ovitz's management style was different from Eisner's, Ovitz was fired as the company's president in 1996. Disney lost a $ 10.4 million lawsuit in September 1997 to Marsu B.V. over Disney's failure to produce as contracted 13 half-hour Marsupilami cartoon shows. Instead, Disney felt other internal "hot properties" deserved
21037-454: The company's profits were from its theme parks; in 1982, there were 12 million visitors to Walt Disney World, a figure that declined by 5% the following June. On July 9, 1982, Disney released Tron , one of the first films to extensively use computer-generated imagery (CGI). It was a big influence on other CGI movies, though it received mixed reviews. In 1982, the company lost $ 27 million. On April 15, 1983, Disney's first park outside
21230-403: The company, with Tatum remaining chairman until 1980, when Walker replaced him. In 1977, Roy E. Disney , Roy O. Disney's son and the only Disney working for the company, resigned as an executive because of disagreements with company decisions. In 1977, Disney released the successful animated film The Rescuers , which grossed $ 48 million. The live-acton/animated musical Pete's Dragon
21423-608: The cruises, Disney bought Gorda Cay as the line's private island, and spent $ 25 million remodeling it and renaming it Castaway Cay. On July 30, 1998, Disney Magic set sail as the line's first voyage. Marking the end of the Disney Renaissance, Tarzan (1999) was released on June 12, garnering $ 448 million at the box office and critical acclaim; it claimed the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Phil Collins ' " You'll Be in My Heart ". Disney-Pixar film Toy Story 2
21616-519: The deal was canceled because General Electric wanted to keep a majority stake. In 1994, Disney's annual revenue reached $ 10 billion, 48% coming from film, 34% from theme parks, and 18% from merchandising. Disney's total net income was up 25% from the previous year at $ 1.1 billion. Grossing over $ 346 million, Pocahontas was released on June 16, garnering the Academy Awards for Best Musical or Comedy Score and Best Song for " Colors of
21809-483: The deal was completed, resulting in the companies terminating merger negotiations. On November 17, 1989, Disney released The Little Mermaid , which was the start of the Disney Renaissance , a period in which the company released hugely successful and critically acclaimed animated films. The Little Mermaid became the animated film with the highest gross from its initial run and garnered $ 233 million at
22002-613: The end of 1935, beginning with the Silly Symphony short Flowers and Trees (1932). The film was the first full-color cartoon and won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon. In 1933, The Three Little Pigs , another popular Silly Symphony short, was released and also won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon. The song from the film " Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? ", which was composed by Frank Churchill —who wrote other Silly Symphonies songs—became popular and remained so throughout
22195-423: The essence of The Lion King. To that end, the crew did extensive research on the look of the backgrounds and characters and were able to obtain some original model sheets. In addition, Barry Atkinson and Mike Surrey, background painter and supervising animator for Timon on the original film respectively, were brought in to consult with the series' background artists, animators and storyboard artists. Speaking on
22388-508: The fight against Scar's vengeful follower Zira and her pride the Outsiders. After the Outsiders reform and rejoin Simba's pride, Timon and Pumbaa look on as Kiara marries Zira's son Kovu. Although they are supporting characters in the first two films, they are featured as the main characters in The Lion King 1½ as well as in the TV series Timon & Pumbaa . In the TV series The Lion Guard , they are
22581-612: The film series. When they first meet Simba in The Lion King , they save him from a flock of vultures. They take him in and bring him to their home in an oasis. Later, after Simba grows up and returns to the Pride Lands to battle Scar, they helped Simba stop Scar's tyrannical reign and they become Simba's royal advisors. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , Timon and Pumbaa are assigned by Simba to keep watch over his daughter Kiara when she goes to play in The Pride Lands and later on her first hunt. They later aid Simba and his pride in
22774-430: The films; Niketa Calame as a cub in The Lion King ; Gabrielle Union in The Lion Guard ; Beyoncé in the 2019 film and Shahadi Wright Joseph as a cub in the 2019 film) is Sarafina's daughter, Simba’s best friend and later mate, Kiara and Kion's mother and Mufasa and Sarabi's daughter-in-law. She is also Rani and Kovu's mother-in-law by the end of the second film and the third season of The Lion Guard . Although she
22967-491: The first Disney Channel film to do so. Disney's 2006 live-action film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was Disney's biggest hit to that date and the third-highest-grossing film ever, making $ 1 billion at the box office. On June 28, the company announced it was replacing George Mitchell as chairman with a board members and former CEO of P&G John E. Pepper Jr. . The sequel High School Musical 2
23160-437: The first commercial film to be shown in stereo . However, Fantasia similarly performed poorly at the box office. In 1941, the company experienced a major setback when 300 of its 800 animators, led by one of the top animators Art Babbitt , went on strike for 5 weeks for unionization and higher pay. Walt Disney publicly accused the strikers of being party to a communist conspiracy, and fired many of them, including some of
23353-467: The first one being Toy Story . Dow Jones & Company , wanting to replace 3 companies in its industrial average , chose to add Disney in May 1991, stating Disney "reflects the importance of entertainment and leisure activities in the economy". Disney's next animated film Beauty and the Beast was released on November 13, 1991, and grossed nearly $ 430 million. It was the first animated film to win
23546-583: The first season, over ten million children and five million adults watched it daily; and two million Mickey Mouse ears, which the cast wore, were sold. In December 1954, the five-part miniseries Davy Crockett , premiered as part of Disneyland , starring Fess Parker . According to writer Neal Gabler , "[It] became an overnight national sensation", selling 10 million Crockett coonskin caps. The show's theme song " The Ballad of Davy Crockett " became part of American pop culture, selling 10 million records. Los Angeles Times called it "the greatest merchandising fad
23739-433: The highly successful Disney Renaissance period of animation in the 1990s. In 2005, under new CEO Bob Iger , the company continued to expand into a major entertainment conglomerate with the acquisitions of Pixar , Marvel Entertainment , Lucasfilm , and 21st Century Fox . In 2020, Bob Chapek became the head of Disney after Iger's retirement. However, Chapek was ousted in 2022 and Iger was reinstated as CEO. The company
23932-443: The hyenas attack them. Several years later, Nala encounters Simba as a young adult and develops a relationship with him. After returning to Pride Rock, she helps Simba defeat Scar and take his rightful place as King of Pride Rock afterwards she becomes Simba's wife and mate as well as his Queen. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , Nala is depicted as slightly older, calmer, and less overprotective of Kiara than her mate, Simba. She
24125-410: The hyenas. When Scar is thrown off of Pride Rock, he survived the fall and was confronted by the hyenas. Scar states to them that if they build an army, they will retake the Pride Lands. Azizi and Kamari state that they heard the insult towards them. Scar claims that he was trying to fool Simba and that there can still be a partnership between lions and hyenas. Shenzi states to Scar that he was right about
24318-505: The image of his adopted father. At the end of the film, Kovu marries Kiara, Simba and Nala's daughter, and Scar's great-niece, and becomes Simba and Nala's son-in-law and successor. In The Lion Guard , it is revealed that Scar was once the leader of the titular group and once possessed the Roar of the Elders. Scar lost the Roar after using it to destroy the other members of his Lion Guard, after they refused to help him overthrow Mufasa as king, as
24511-479: The jungle where Simba lives with Timon and Pumbaa and teaches him lessons about learning from the past: "Yes, the past can hurt but, the way I see it you can either run from it, or learn from it" and then whacks him with his stick. During the battle for Pride Rock, Rafiki saves Simba from Banzai by whacking him with his stick, while fighting many more hyenas. At the end of the film, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , Rafiki
24704-483: The latter gains a new position as the smartest. Once reaching the Tree of Life, the Lion Guard assists in defending the haven from intruders together with the Night Pride, the group and family who protects the Tree of Life. After Kion and Ono are healed and their enemies are defeated, hyenas Jasiri and Janja (the latter having reformed during the final confrontation with Scar) come looking for them and alert them that Zira and her pride are back. The Lion Guard returns to
24897-553: The live action/animation musical film Mary Poppins was released to major commercial success and rapturous critical acclaim, becoming the year's highest-grossing film and winning five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Julie Andrews as Poppins and Best Song for the Sherman Brothers, who also won Best Score for the film's " Chim Chim Cher-ee ". Throughout the 1960s, Dean Jones , whom The Guardian called "the figure who most represented Walt Disney Productions in
25090-533: The live-action Alice in Wonderland and the Disney-Pixar film Toy Story 3 , both of which grossed a little over $ 1 billion, making them the sixth-and-seventh films to do so; and Toy Story 3 became the first animated film to make over $ 1 billion and the highest-grossing animated film. That year, Disney became the first studio to release two $ 1-billion-dollar-earning films in one calendar year. In 2010,
25283-505: The main antagonists of the film, serving the same role they did in the original film as Scar's loyal followers who take over the Pride Lands, sending a young Simba into exile where he meets Timon and Pumbaa. To prevent the hyenas from protecting Scar, Timon and Pumbaa, with the help of Timon’s family distract the trio, before ultimately banishing them to the bottom of Pride Rock, allowing Simba to vanquish his uncle in battle and reclaim Pride Rock. Shenzi (voiced by Florence Kasumba ) appears in
25476-576: The mainstream, including music for movie soundtracks, Disney founded the recording label Hollywood Records on January 1, 1990. In September 1990, Disney arranged for financing of up to $ 200 million by a unit of Nomura Securities for Interscope films made for Disney. On October 23, Disney formed Touchwood Pacific Partners , which replaced the Silver Screen Partnership series as the company's movie studios' primary source of funding. Disney's first animated sequel The Rescuers Down Under
25669-457: The most-expensive animated movie at $ 40 million, their first animated film to feature computer-generated imagery, and their first PG-rated animation because of its adult themes. The film was a box-office failure, leading the company to move the animation department from the studio in Burbank to a warehouse in Glendale, California . The film-financing partnership Silver Screen Partners II, which
25862-594: The most-watched live broadcast to that date. While the park's opening day was disastrous (restaurants ran out of food, the Mark Twain Riverboat began to sink, other rides malfunctioned, and the drinking fountains were not working in the 100 °F. (38 °C) heat), the park became a success with 161,657 visitors in its first week and 20,000 visitors a day in its first month. After its first year, 3.6 million people had visited, and after its second year, four million more guests came, making it more popular than
26055-407: The names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing it to its current name in 1986. In 1928, Disney established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film Steamboat Willie . The film used synchronized sound to become the first post-produced sound cartoon, and popularized Mickey Mouse , who became Disney's mascot and corporate icon. After becoming
26248-445: The next 4 years, Winkler handed the role of distributing the studio's shorts to her husband, Charles Mintz . In 1927, Mintz asked for a new series, and Disney created his first series of fully animated shorts, starring a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit . The series was produced by Winkler Pictures and distributed by Universal Pictures . The Walt Disney Studios completed 26 Oswald shorts. In 1928, Disney and Mintz entered into
26441-606: The next five years through Touchstone Pictures, with Disney getting 10% of the gross. The 2009 film Up garnered Disney $ 735 million at the box office, and the film won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. Later that year, Disney launched a television channel named Disney XD , aimed at older children. The company bought Marvel Entertainment and its assets for $ 4 billion in August, adding Marvel's comic-book characters to its merchandising line-up. In September, Disney partnered with News Corporation and NBCUniversal in
26634-434: The only top animator to remain with the Disney brothers. Disney and Iwerks replaced Oswald with a mouse character originally named Mortimer Mouse , before Disney's wife urged him to change the name to Mickey Mouse . In May 1928, Mickey Mouse debuted in test screenings of the shorts Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho . Later that year, the studio produced Steamboat Willie , its first sound film and third short in
26827-445: The opening scene when he travels to Pride Rock to perform newborn Simba's presentation ceremony. During the film, Rafiki sings a nonsense chant: "Asante sana, squash banana, wewe nugu, mimi hapana." This is a Swahili playground rhyme that translates to "Thank you very much (squash banana), you're a baboon and I'm not!" Like "hakuna matata" (no worries), the chant was heard by the filmmakers on their research trip to Kenya. Rafiki travels to
27020-564: The original The Lion King gang -- including Timon, Pumbaa, and the eccentric Rafiki -- in cameos throughout the series". Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment . Talking Lion Guard Backpack Clip Lion Guard Power Necklace It's UnBungalievable shorts Five Lion Guard Wristbands Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment . Talking Lion Guard Backpack Clip Lion Guard Power Necklace It's UnBungalievable shorts Five Lion Guard Wristbands A second soundtrack release entitled The Lion Guard: Disney Junior Music
27213-401: The original film, except Azizi can speak. As in the original film, Shenzi, Kamari, and Azizi hear the insult that Scar uses on them. When Scar is defeated and the hyena pack confronts him, Scar states that they can retake the Pride Lands if they build an army. Kamari And Azizi state that they heard the insult he used on them. Scar claims that he was trying to fool Simba and that there can still be
27406-404: The park, whose construction costs totaled $ 17 million. In October, with the success of Disneyland, ABC allowed Disney to produce The Mickey Mouse Club , a variety show for children; the show included a daily Disney cartoon, a children's newsreel, and a talent show. It was presented by a host, and talented children and adults called "Mousketeers" and "Mooseketeers", respectively. After
27599-653: The park. Construction began in July 1954. To finance the construction of Disneyland, Disney sold his home at Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs and the company promoted it with a television series of the same name aired on ABC . The Disneyland television series, which would be the first in a long-running series of successful anthology television programs for the company, was a success and garnered over 50% of viewers in its time slot, along with praise from critics. In August, Walt formed another company Disneyland, Inc. to finance
27792-405: The previous queen of the Tree of Life, Janna, he proudly watches over Kion after his marriage to Rani by accepting her as his paternal granddaughter-in-law. Jones reprised his role in the pilot episode, but the character was voiced by Gary Anthony Williams in subsequent appearances. Lion King directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff have described Jones's voice as powerful and similar to the roar of
27985-524: The previous year's $ 920 million. To help reduce costs, Disney announced it would lay off 4,000 employees and close 300–400 Disney stores. After winning the World Series in 2002 , Disney sold the Anaheim Angels for $ 180 million in 2003. In 2003, Disney became the first studio to garner $ 3 billion in a year at the box office. The same year, Roy Disney announced his retirement because of how
28178-711: The release of Steamboat Willie at the Colony Theater in New York, Mickey Mouse became an immensely popular character. Disney Brothers Studio made several cartoons featuring Mickey and other characters. In August 1929, the company began making the Silly Symphony series with Columbia Pictures as the distributor, because the Disney brothers felt they were not receiving their share of profits from Powers. Powers ended his contract with Iwerks, who later started his own studio. Carl W. Stalling played an important role in starting
28371-466: The same year, The Lion King was released and was a massive success, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of all time behind Jurassic Park and the highest-grossing animated film of all time, with a gross total of $ 969 million. It was critically praised and garnered two Academy Awards—Best Score and Best Song for " Can You Feel the Love Tonight ". Soon after its release, Katzenberg left
28564-411: The season, the Lion Guard find out that Scar has returned, while they are in the Outlands getting volcanic ash needed to cure Simba of a scorpion sting. In season three's one-hour premiere "Battle for the Pride Lands", Scar continues to battle the Lion Guard, who are now adolescents. It is also revealed that Scar got his scar after being bitten by a cobra as an adolescent while befriending a rogue lion from
28757-588: The second theme park in Walt Disney World, with around 10,000 people in attendance during the opening. The park cost over $ 900 million to construct, and consisted of the Future World pavilion and World Showcase representing Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, France, the UK, and Canada; Morocco and Norway were added in 1984 and 1988, respectively. The animation industry continued to decline and 69% of
28950-657: The segments progress. In said segments, the hyenas are shown wandering around the Serengeti in search for food. At the end of the episode "TV Dinner", the hyenas replace television host Martin Partin, which may indicate that they are living a new life as directors and stars of the wildlife documentary show Kingdom of the Creatures , where they get fed during their new career. In later seasons, they made minor appearances trying to attack Timon and Pumbaa. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , it
29143-512: The series itself on April 17 on the Disney Junior block on Disney Channel. Max Nicholson from IGN gave the pilot episode score of 7.7, describing the special as "a fun-filled, if younger-skewing, hour television". He praised the pilot for introducing more of the Lion King lore, and also the animation, music, and performance of the new voice actors. However, he found Janja and his clan lacked
29336-460: The series, and composed the music for early films but left the company after Iwerks' departure. In September, theater manager Harry Woodin requested permission to start a Mickey Mouse Club at his theater the Fox Dome to boost attendance. Disney agreed, but David E. Dow started the first-such club at Elsinore Theatre before Woodin could start his. On December 21, the first meeting at Elsinore Theatre
29529-432: The shares, forced out CEO Miller and replaced him with Michael Eisner , a former president of Paramount Pictures , and appointed Frank Wells as president. Eisner's first act was to make it a major film studio, which at the time it was not considered. Eisner appointed Jeffrey Katzenberg as chairman and Roy E. Disney as head of animation. Eisner wanted to produce an animated film every 18 months rather than four years, as
29722-513: The show's educational aspect, Parkins stated that research was done on animals and habitats in the Serengeti , and that this information is woven into storylines without being overt. Like its American counterpart, Return of the Roar premiered on November 22, 2015, on Disney Channel in Canada, while the series premiered on January 17, 2016, on Disney Junior , two days after its American premiere. In
29915-500: The stocks. He offered to buy 49% for $ 1.3 billion or the entire company for $ 2.75 billion. Disney, which had less than $ 10 million, rejected Steinberg's offer and offered to buy all of his stock for $ 326 million. Steinberg agreed, and Disney paid it all with part of a $ 1.3 billion bank loan, putting the company $ 866 million in debt. In 1984, shareholders Roy E. Disney, Sid Bass , Lillian and Diane Disney , and Irwin L. Jacobs —who together owned about 36% of
30108-405: The strip was published in 60 newspapers in the US, and in 20 other countries. After realizing releasing merchandise based on the characters would generate more revenue, a man in New York offered Disney $ 300 for license to put Mickey Mouse on writing tablets he was manufacturing. Disney accepted and Mickey Mouse became the first licensed character. In 1933, Disney asked Kay Kamen , the owner of
30301-464: The strong rivalry and competition between lions and hyenas in real life, where the competition is much stronger than between lions and other African savannah predators. Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones in the films and Gary Anthony Williams in The Lion Guard ) is the overarching protagonist of The Lion King franchise. He is Scar's older brother, Sarabi's mate, Simba's father, Nala's father-in-law, and Kion and Kiara's paternal grandfather who
30494-579: The studio's 4th animated feature Dumbo (1941) on a cheaper budget, which performed well at the box office, infusing the studio with much needed cash. After US entry into World War II, many of the company's animators were drafted into the army. 500 United States Army soldiers occupied the studio for 8 months to protect a nearby Lockheed aircraft plant. While they were there, the soldiers fixed equipment in large soundstages and converted storage sheds into ammunition depots. The United States Navy asked Disney to produce propaganda films to gain support for
30687-432: The studio's best. Roy unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the company's main distributors to invest in the studio, which could no longer afford to offset production costs with employee layoffs. The anthology film The Reluctant Dragon (1941), ran $ 100,000 short of its production cost, contributing to the studio's financial woes. While negotiations to end the strike were underway, Walt and studio animators embarked on
30880-402: The studio's increasingly diverse portfolio of projects, including live-action films (of which Treasure Island was the studio's first), television and amusement parks . In 1950 the company made its first foray into television when NBC aired " One Hour in Wonderland ", a promotional program for Disney's next animated film, Alice in Wonderland (1951), and sponsored by Coca-Cola . Alice
31073-561: The studio. The final one, in 1923, was entitled Alice's Wonderland and depicted child actress Virginia Davis interacting with animated characters. While Laugh-O-Gram's shorts were popular in Kansas City, the studio went bankrupt in 1923 and Disney moved to Los Angeles, to join his brother Roy O. Disney , who was recovering from tuberculosis . Shortly after Walt's move, New York film distributor Margaret J. Winkler purchased Alice's Wonderland , which began to gain popularity. Disney signed
31266-498: The television series, as well at book titles based on the series such as Return of the Roar , Can't-Wait to be Queen, Bunga the Wise , Meet the New Guard , Fuli Finds Her Place , Join the Lion Guard! , and Kion's Animal Alphabet . A sneak peek of The Lion Guard was shown at the 2015 D23 Expo . On August 12, 2015, a sneak peek was shown, with new information that the television movie
31459-735: The theme park industry. The company, which has been public since 1940, trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with ticker symbol DIS and has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991. In August 2020, about two-thirds of the stock was owned by large financial institutions. The company celebrated their 100th anniversary on October 16, 2023. In 1921, American animators Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks founded Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Missouri . Iwerks and Disney went on to create short films at
31652-469: The throne, Kion was gifted with a power called the 'Roar of the Elders' and becomes the leader of the Lion Guard, a team that protects the Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life. Despite the tradition that the Lion Guard has always been made of lions, Kion appoints his friends Bunga the honey badger, Beshte the hippopotamus, Fuli the cheetah, and Ono the egret, and together, they set out to keep their homeland safe and protect it from animals who disrespect
31845-439: The wake of Scar's death, with Scar's longtime mate, Zira, being their leader. Scar is mentioned several times by the characters but makes two cameos. His first appearance is during Simba's nightmare, where he morphs into his adopted son Kovu and throws Simba into the stampede that killed Mufasa, similarly to the first film. His second appearance is during Kovu's exile in which Kovu looks into his reflection and instead of his, he sees
32038-428: The war, and with the studio badly in need of profits, Disney agreed, signing a contract for 20 war-related shorts for $ 90,000. Most of the company's employees worked on the project, which spawned films such as Victory Through Air Power , and others which included some of the company's characters. In August 1942, Disney released its fifth feature film, Bambi, after five years in development, and performed poorly at
32231-555: The water park Typhoon Lagoon in June 1989; in 2022 it had 1.9 million visitors and was the most popular water park in the world. Also in 1989, Disney signed an agreement-in-principle to acquire The Jim Henson Company from its founder. The deal included Henson's programming library and Muppet characters —excluding the Muppets created for Sesame Street —as well as Henson's personal creative services. Henson, however, died in May 1990 before
32424-506: The wind. Rafiki finds Simba and shows him that his father lives on in him through the song " He Lives in You ". She is present during the battle, fighting a hyena, and adorns Simba with the king's mantle after his victory; the play ends with her at the presentation of Simba and Nala's newborn cub. Rafiki serves as a supporting character in Timon & Pumbaa , as well as the main character of his own segments called "Rafiki Fables", where his shamanism
32617-450: The world had ever seen". In June 1955, Disney's 15th animated film Lady and the Tramp was released and performed better at the box office than any other Disney films since Snow White . Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955; it was a major media event, broadcast live on ABC with actors Art Linkletter , Bob Cummings , and Ronald Reagan hosting. It garnered over 90 million viewers, becoming
32810-412: Was Walt's dream. EPCOT became less the City of Tomorrow, and more another amusement park. After 18 months of construction at a cost of around $ 400 million, Walt Disney World's first park the Magic Kingdom, along with Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Resort , opened on October 1, 1971, with 10,400 visitors. A parade with over 1,000 band members, 4,000 Disney entertainers, and
33003-491: Was a response to other Science fiction films of the era. In September, 12 animators, which was over 15% of the department, resigned. Led by Don Bluth , they left because of a conflict with the training program and the atmosphere, and started their own company Don Bluth Productions . In 1981, Disney released Dumbo to VHS and Alice in Wonderland the following year, leading Disney to eventually release all its films on home media. On July 24, Walt Disney's World on Ice ,
33196-574: Was a young mandrill. He is also shown to have a collection of sticks which may be selected if the old one gets broken or lost. Rafiki serves as a recurring character in The Lion Guard . Rafiki is a meetable character at the Disney Parks and Resorts along with Timon, and can be found in Adventureland and at Disney's Animal Kingdom . Sarabi (voiced by Madge Sinclair in The Lion King as her final theatrical film role and Alfre Woodard in
33389-436: Was an immediate critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film up to that point, grossing $ 8 million (equivalent to $ 169,555,556 in 2023 dollars); after re-releases, it grossed a total of $ 998,440,000 in the US adjusted for inflation. Using the profits from Snow White , Disney financed the construction of a new 51-acre studio complex in Burbank , which the company fully moved into in 1940 and where
33582-509: Was announced that Aaron Pierre will voice young Mufasa in Barry Jenkins follow-up to the 2019 film called Mufasa: The Lion King . Zazu (voiced by Rowan Atkinson in The Lion King ; Jim Piddock in Disney's Activity Center: The Lion King and The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure ; Edward Hibbert in Timon & Pumbaa , The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1½ ; Jeff Bennett in The Lion Guard ; John Oliver in
33775-535: Was attended by around 1,200 children. On July 24, 1930, Joseph Conley, president of King Features Syndicate , wrote to the Disney studio and asked the company to produce a Mickey Mouse comic strip; production started in November and samples were sent to King Features. On December 16, 1930, the Walt Disney Studios partnership was reorganized as a corporation with the name Walt Disney Productions, Limited, which had
33968-516: Was changed into a female mandrill and sangoma . She acts as narrator throughout the story, at one point speaking to the audience in a click language for comic effect. She sings the opening song " Circle of Life ", a keening song called "Rafiki Mourns" following Mufasa's death, and a brief part in Nala's song "Shadowland" when she blesses Nala for her journey to find help. Instead of detecting Simba's scent on dust, Rafiki hears Simba's song "Endless Night" on
34161-470: Was expected to do well, the company lost $ 48 million after its first year, with around 916,000 subscribers. In 1983, Walt's son-in-law Ron W. Miller , who had been president since 1978, became its CEO, and Raymond Watson became chairman. Miller wanted the studio to produce more content for mature audiences, and Disney founded film distribution label Touchstone Pictures to produce movies geared toward adults and teenagers in 1984. Splash (1984)
34354-411: Was financially unsuccessful, falling $ 1 million short of the production budget. In February 1953, Disney's next animated film Peter Pan was released to financial success; it was the last Disney film distributed by RKO after Disney ended its contract and created its own distribution company Buena Vista Distribution . According to Walt, he first had the idea of building an amusement park during
34547-593: Was formed in 1952 to design and construct the park. Drawing inspiration from amusement parks in the US and Europe, Walt approached the design of Disneyland with an emphasis on thematic storytelling and cleanliness, innovative approaches for amusement parks of the time. The plan to build the park in Burbank was abandoned when Walt realized 8 acres would not be enough to accomplish his vision. Disney acquired 160 acres (65 ha) of orange groves in Anaheim , southeast of LA in neighboring Orange County , at $ 6,200 per acre to build
34740-459: Was one of the financially successful comedies of the early 1990s, grossing $ 231 million; action film Con Air (1997), which grossed $ 224 million; and the highest-grossing film of 1998 at $ 553 million Armageddon . At Disney World, the company opened Disney's Animal Kingdom , the largest theme park in the world covering 580 acres (230 ha) on Earth Day , April 22, 1998. It had six animal-themed lands, over 2,000 animals, and
34933-498: Was only mentioned by Nuka that the hyenas have left the Elephant Graveyard, most likely out of fear of Zira's wrath for betraying Scar. However, in the original draft of the film, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed were going to return as Zira's henchmen, with Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings reprising their roles from the original film. In The Lion King 1½ , Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed act as the local predators who attack Timon's meerkat colony before their allegiance with Scar. They act as
35126-402: Was organized in 1985, financed films for Disney with $ 193 million. In January 1987, Silver Screen Partners III began financing movies for Disney with $ 300 million raised by E.F. Hutton , the largest amount raised for a film-financing limited partnership. Silver Screen IV was also set up to finance Disney's studios. In 1986, the company changed its name from Walt Disney Productions to
35319-460: Was postponed. Despite Pinocchio 's critical acclaim (it won the Academy Awards for Best Song and Best Score and was lauded for groundbreaking achievements in animation), the film performed poorly at the box office, due to World War II affecting the international box office. The company's third feature Fantasia (1940) introduced groundbreaking advancements in cinema technology, chiefly Fantasound , an early surround sound system making it
35512-664: Was released in 1970; according to Dave Kehr of Chicago Tribune , "the absence of his [Walt's] hand is evident". The following year, the anti-fascist musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks was released and won the Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects . At the time of Walt's death, Roy was ready to retire but wanted to keep Walt's legacy alive; he became the first CEO and chairman of the company. In May 1967, Roy had legislation passed by Florida's legislatures to grant Disney World its own quasi-government agency in an area called Reedy Creek Improvement District . Roy changed Disney World's name to Walt Disney World to remind people it
35705-422: Was released in 1977, grossing $ 16 million in the US and Canada, but was a disappointment to the company. In 1979, Disney's first PG-rated film and most expensive film to that point at $ 26 million The Black Hole was released, showing Disney could use special effects. It grossed $ 35 million, a disappointment to the company, which thought it would be a hit like Star Wars (1977). The Black Hole
35898-624: Was released in 2007 on Disney Channel and broke several cable rating records. In April 2007, the Muppets Holding Company was moved from Disney Consumer Products to the Walt Disney Studios division and renamed the Muppets Studios to relaunch the division. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End became the highest-grossing film of 2007 at $ 960 million. Disney-Pixar films Ratatouille (2007) and WALL-E (2008) were
36091-626: Was released on November 11, 1992, and grossed $ 504 million, becoming the highest-grossing animated film to that point, and the first animated film to gross a half-billion dollars. It won two Academy Awards—Best Song for " A Whole New World " and Best Score; and "A Whole New World" was the first-and-only Disney song to win the Grammy for Song of the Year . For $ 60 million, Disney broadened its range of mature-audience films by acquiring independent film distributor Miramax Films in 1993. The same year, in
36284-469: Was released on November 13, garnering praise and $ 511 million at the box office. To replace Ovitz, Eisner named ABC network chief Bob Iger Disney's president and chief operating officer in January 2000. In November, Disney sold DIC Entertainment back to Andy Heyward . Disney had another huge success with Pixar when they released Monsters, Inc. in 2001. Later, Disney bought children's cable network Fox Family Worldwide for $ 3 billion and
36477-432: Was released on November 16, 1990, and created using Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), digital software developed by Disney and Pixar —the computer division of Lucasfilm —becoming the first feature film to be entirely created digitally. Although the film struggled in the box office, grossing $ 47 million, it received positive reviews. In 1991, Disney and Pixar agreed to a deal to make three films together,
36670-437: Was scheduled to air in November 2015 to be titled The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar . On October 9, 2015, it was announced that Return of the Roar would premiere on November 22, 2015, on Disney Channel. On coming up with the idea, the series' creator and executive producer Ford Riley noted that at the end of The Lion King the presentation of Simba and Nala's newborn cub is seen. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , it
36863-534: Was the first film released under the label, and a much-needed success, grossing over $ 6 million in its first week. Disney's first R-rated film Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) was released and was another hit, grossing $ 62 million. The following year, Disney's first PG-13 rated film Adventures in Babysitting was released. In 1984, Saul Steinberg attempted to buy out the company, holding 11% of
37056-445: Was the only lion who supported her daughter's relationship with Kovu throughout the second film. By the end of the second film, she and Simba are presented at their daughter's wedding and she accepts her son-in-law into her family as well as her new king of the Pride Lands. During the three seasons of The Lion Guard , she has a second cub; a male lion named Kion. By the end of the series, (like Simba) she accepts her son's marriage to
37249-709: Was then the 2nd-largest corporate takeover in US history. Through the deal, Disney would obtain broadcast network ABC, an 80% majority stake in sports networks ESPN and ESPN 2 , 50% in Lifetime Television , a majority stake of DIC Entertainment , and a 38% minority stake in A&E Television Networks . Following the deal, the company started Radio Disney , a youth-focused radio program on ABC Radio Network , on November 18, 1996. The Walt Disney Company launched its official website disney.com on February 22, 1996, mainly to promote its theme parks and merchandise. On June 19,
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