Claim: The Lion King's main character is a lion.

The Lion King is a 1994 American animated epic musical film , produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures . It is the 32nd Disney animated feature film . The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa and was influenced by William Shakespeare 's Hamlet . The film was produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance . The Lion King was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff , produced by Don Hahn , and has a screenplay credited to Irene Mecchi , Jonathan Roberts , and Linda Woolverton . Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice , and original scores were written by Hans Zimmer . The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick , James Earl Jones , Jeremy Irons , Jonathan Taylor Thomas , Moira Kelly , Nathan Lane , Ernie Sabella , Rowan Atkinson , Robert Guillaume , Madge Sinclair , Whoopi Goldberg , Cheech Marin , and Jim Cummings .   The Lion King tells the story of Simba , a young lion who is to succeed his father , Mufasa , as King of the Pride Lands ; however , after Simba 's uncle Scar murders Mufasa , Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile . Upon maturation living with two wastrels , Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend , Nala , and his shaman , Rafiki , before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King .   Development of The Lion King began in 1988 during a meeting between Jeffrey Katzenberg , Roy E. Disney , and Peter Schneider while promoting Oliver & Company in Europe . Thomas Disch wrote a film treatment , and Woolverton developed the first scripts while George Scribner was signed on as director , being later joined by Allers . Production began in 1991 concurrently with Pocahontas , which wound up attracting most of Disney 's top animators . Some time after the staff traveled to Hell 's Gate National Park in Kenya to research on the film 's setting and animals , Scribner left production disagreeing with the decision to turn the film into a musical and was replaced by Minkoff . When Hahn joined the project , he was dissatisfied with the script and the story was promptly rewritten . Nearly 20 minutes of animation sequences were produced at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida . Computer animation was also used in several scenes , most notably in the wildebeest stampede sequence .   The Lion King was released on June 15 , 1994 , to a positive reaction from critics , who praised the film for its music , story , and animation ; it finished its theatrical run as the highest-grossing release of 1994 and the second highest-grossing film of all time . The Lion King garnered two Academy Awards for its achievement in music and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy . The film has led to many derived works , such as a Broadway adaptation ; two direct-to-video follow-ups -- the sequel , The Lion King II : Simba 's Pride -LRB- 1998 -RRB- , and the prequel/parallel , The Lion King 1 1/2 -LRB- 2004 -RRB- -- ; two television series , Timon and Pumbaa and The Lion Guard ; and a 3D re-release , in 2011 .   In 2016 , the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' .   A CGI live-action remake of the film is scheduled for a July 19 , 2019 release in the United States .