Sightlines · reception
How The Lion King was received
1994 · Roger Allers · The Lion King on Sightlines
The arc
A monster hit on release — the highest-grossing traditionally animated film ever — and unlike many 90s blockbusters it never needed a reappraisal; if anything, the drab 2019 remake retroactively made the hand-drawn original look even more like the untouchable peak of the Disney Renaissance.
What’s debated
The debate that never dies: how much does it owe to Osamu Tezuka's 'Kimba the White Lion' — homage, coincidence, or uncredited borrowing?
Its footprint
'Hakuna Matata' entered the language, the 'Circle of Life' opening is one of the most parodied sequences in animation, and Rafiki holding Simba aloft on Pride Rock became a universal meme template for presenting literally anything.
Where it stands
Mass canon rather than cult object — the consensus crown jewel of the Disney Renaissance and a 'of course you've seen it' film for an entire generation.
Did you know? Inside Disney it was considered the B-team project — many top animators chose Pocahontas instead, expecting it to be the bigger prestige hit — and the underdog crew's film became one of the highest-grossing animated movies of all time.
Named by the director
- Bambi (1942) — The filmmakers repeatedly described the project in Bambi's terms — a naturalistic animal coming-of-age epic, pitched internally as 'Bambi in Africa.'