Claim: The Lion King is an artistic work.

Peter Schneider is an American film and theatrical producer , notable as the first president of Walt Disney Feature Animation for The Walt Disney Company from 1985 to 1999 , and was responsible for helping to turn the feature animation department around and creating some of the most critically acclaimed and highest grossing animated features that Disney released . These films included Who Framed Roger Rabbit -LRB- 1988 -RRB- , The Little Mermaid -LRB- 1989 -RRB- , Beauty and the Beast -LRB- 1991 , the first animated feature to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture -RRB- , Aladdin -LRB- 1992 -RRB- , and The Lion King -LRB- 1994 , the highest domestic grossing animated film of all time until 2003 -RRB- .   Schneider also sealed the deal that created the highly successful partnership between Pixar and Disney . He was promoted to studio chief in 1999 . In 2001 , Schneider left Disney to form his own theater production company . His first major production , developed in association with Michael Reno , was Sister Act which opened at the London Palladium in 2009 . Peter graduated from Purdue University in 1972 with a theater degree .   Along with producer Don Hahn , Schneider produced a documentary entitled Waking Sleeping Beauty in 2009 , which focused on the revival of Disney animation during the 1980s and early 1990s .   Schneider is also a world champion bridge player , having won the World Transnational Open Teams Championship in 2005 . He possesses the title of World Bridge Federation -LRB- WBF -RRB- World Life Master -LRB- WLM -RRB- .