Changes

In 2004, a prequel/parallel movie called ''The Lion King 1 1/2'' (or ''The Lion King 3'' in other countries) was released, based on a play called ''Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead''. This tells the backstory of Simba's misfit friends - Timon and Pumbaa - as they meet each other and Simba, as well as exploring parts of the first movie in the eyes of the titular duo.

In 2004, a prequel/parallel movie called ''The Lion King 1 1/2'' (or ''The Lion King 3'' in other countries) was released, based on a play called ''Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead''. This tells the backstory of Simba's misfit friends - Timon and Pumbaa - as they meet each other and Simba, as well as exploring parts of the first movie in the eyes of the titular duo.

Two television shows were released: ''Timon and Pumbaa'' in 1995 and ''The Lion Guard'' in 2016. ''Timon and Pumbaa'' has the meerkat-and-warthog duo going on wacky adventures in their jungle and around the world. ''The Lion Guard'' - which ran for three seasons from 2015 to 2019 - tells of Simba's son Kion assembling a group of animals to help protect the Pride Lands and preserve the Circle of Life.

Two television shows were released: ''Timon and Pumbaa'' in 1995 and ''The Lion Guard'' in 2016. ''Timon and Pumbaa'' has the meerkat-and-warthog duo going on wacky adventures in their jungle and around the world. ''The Lion Guard'' - which ran for three seasons from 2015 to 2019 on the Disney Junior channel - tells of Simba's son Kion assembling a group of animals to help protect the Pride Lands and preserve the Circle of Life.

==Broadway Musical==

==Broadway Musical==

In 1995, a year after the success of ''The Lion King'' in theaters, a musical for Broadway was released. The first showing starred and included Jason Raize (Simba), Samuel Wright (Mufasa), and John Vickery (Scar), and it showed the same messages and themes of the animated film. Songs from the movie are in the musical, as well as including songs like "The Morning Report", "Chow Down", "Endless Night", and "He Lives In You". Several scenes that were not in the movie are shown in the play, like Simba saving Timon from falling over a waterfall and Nala leaving Pride Rock to find help for the lionesses. One such scene shows Scar's decline in sanity - believing that he sees Mufasa's ghost everywhere, for example, as well as the song "The Madness of King Scar" - and even tries to force Nala to become his queen. The tour for the play takes place in countries like the United States, making it one of the most popular Broadway musicals in the modern age.

In 1995, a year after the success of ''The Lion King'' in theaters, a musical for Broadway was released. The first showing starred and included Jason Raize (Simba), Samuel Wright (Mufasa), and John Vickery (Scar), and it showed the same messages and themes of the animated film. Songs from the movie are in the musical, as well as including songs like "The Morning Report", "Chow Down", "Endless Night", and "He Lives In You". Several scenes that were not in the movie are shown in the play, like Simba saving Timon from falling over a waterfall and Nala leaving Pride Rock to find help for the lionesses. One such scene called "The Madness of King Scar" shows Scar's decline in sanity - believing that he sees Mufasa's ghost everywhere, for example - and even tries to force Nala to become his queen, which was going to be in the film but taken out for the implications. The tour for the play takes place in countries like the United States, making it one of the most popular Broadway musicals in the modern age.

==2019 Remake==

==2019 Remake==

In late 2016, after the success of his remake of ''The Jungle Book'', Jon Favreau announced that he would start making a photorealistic CGI remake of ''The Lion King''. It was released in theaters on July 19, 2019. Stars in the film include Donald Glover (Simba), Beyoncé (Nala), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar), Alfre Woodard (Sarabi), John Kani (Rafiki), John Oliver (Zazu), Billy Eischner (Timon), and Seth Rogen (Pumbaa). Shenzi (Florence Kasumba) is the only named hyena character to keep her name, while Banzai and Ed are renamed to have more Swahili names: Kamari (Keegan-Michael Key) and Azizi (Eric Andre). Out of the original cast from the 1994 film, James Earl Jones is the only one to voice a character he had voiced in the original (Mufasa).

In late 2016, after the success of his remake of ''The Jungle Book'', Jon Favreau announced that he would start making a photorealistic CGI remake of ''The Lion King''. It was released in theaters on July 19, 2019. Stars in the film include Donald Glover (Simba), Beyoncé (Nala), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar), Alfre Woodard (Sarabi), John Kani (Rafiki), John Oliver (Zazu), Billy Eischner (Timon), and Seth Rogen (Pumbaa). Shenzi (Florence Kasumba) is the only named hyena character to keep her name, while Banzai and Ed are renamed to have more Swahili names: Kamari (Keegan-Michael Key) and Azizi (Eric Andre). Out of the original cast from the 1994 film, James Earl Jones is the only one to voice a character he had voiced in the original (Mufasa).

The remake contains the same themes as the original, examples ranging from faith to reconciliation, and it also contains most of the original story from the 1994 film. The overhunting part from Scar is expanded upon, showing that Scar did this deliberately to keep his tyrannical reign in line and out of spite for Sarabi refusing to be his queen (a scene that is very similar to Claudius wedding Hamlet's mother in ''Hamlet'' and was even lifted from the Broadway musical, though the musical had Scar harassing Nala instead). Hakuna Matata is also shown in a nihilistic light in the remake - Timon and Pumbaa believing that nothing exists beyond seeking one's own happiness - and Simba follows in the same path before eventually taking responsibility. That being said, critics have said that the CGI's biggest flaw is lack of facial expressions, as well as important scenes from the original being missing (such as Rafiki telling Simba that while the past can hurt, he could either run from it or learn from it).

The remake contains the same themes as the original, examples ranging from faith to reconciliation, and it also contains most of the original story from the 1994 film. The overhunting part from Scar is expanded upon, showing that Scar did this deliberately to keep his tyrannical reign in line and out of spite for Sarabi refusing to be his queen (a scene that is very similar to Claudius wedding Hamlet's mother in ''Hamlet'' and was even lifted from the Broadway musical, though the musical had Scar harassing Nala instead). Hakuna Matata is also shown in a nihilistic light in the remake - Timon and Pumbaa believing that nothing exists beyond seeking one's own happiness - and Simba follows in the same path before eventually taking responsibility. That being said, critics have said that the CGI's biggest flaw is lack of facial expressions, as well as important scenes from the original being missing (such as Rafiki telling Simba that while the past can hurt, he could either run from it or learn from it) or lacking the impact that the 1994 film created.

==Criticisms==

==Criticisms==

Ever since production and the release of ''The Lion King'', the movie has been accused of plagiarizing ''Jungle Emperor Leo'': a 1950s manga and 1960s anime from Japan, created by Tezuka Osamu. People had often compared Simba to Leo/Kimba due to their names sounding familiar (even though the name Kimba was created the English dub, while the name Simba had been used for a long time), and they had done the same for the other characters and the premises themselves. Several sources, however, are certain that the two are completely unrelated, and Tezuka Osamu was even a friend of Walt Disney's, making artwork of some of Disney's works like ''Bambi'' out of admiration.

Ever since production and the release of ''The Lion King'', the movie has been accused of plagiarizing ''Jungle Emperor Leo'': a 1950s manga and 1960s anime from Japan about the adventures of a white lion cub, created by Tezuka Osamu. People had often compared Simba to Leo/Kimba due to their names sounding familiar (even though the name Kimba was created for the English dub, hence being called ''Kimba the White Lion'' in English, while the name Simba means 'lion' in Swahili), and they had done the same for the other characters and the premises themselves. Several sources, however, are certain that the two are completely unrelated, and Tezuka Osamu was even a friend of Walt Disney's, making artwork of some of Disney's works like ''Bambi'' out of admiration.

The lions from ''The Lion King'' are accused of being fascist and racist leaders due to not allowing the hyenas to come into the Pride Lands, ignoring what Scar allowing the hyenas in had done to the environment. As for the hyenas, several hyena researchers were not happy with how the hyenas in the movie are portrayed, as maniacal gluttons when real-life hyenas hunt more than they scavenge and are intelligent animals. However, this portrayal may be due to lions and hyenas being natural enemies in the wild, this movie also being more in the point of view of the lions.

The lions from ''The Lion King'' are accused of being fascist and racist leaders due to not allowing the hyenas to come into the Pride Lands, ignoring what Scar allowing the hyenas in had done to the environment. As for the hyenas, several hyena researchers were not happy with how the hyenas in the movie are portrayed, as maniacal gluttons when real-life hyenas hunt more than they scavenge and are intelligent animals. However, this portrayal may be due to lions and hyenas being natural enemies in the wild, this movie also being more in the point of view of the lions.