The Lion King

The Lion King is a movie by Disney. It is a very famous, well received movie that most English-speaking kids watch. It has been translated in over 44 languageshttps://www.languagetrainers.ca/blog/the-languages-of-the-lion-king/https://tlkdubs.weebly.com/language-dubs.html, including Zulu. It is one of the only Disney films translated into an African language, likely because translating the others isn't in Africans interest due to differences in valueshttps://www.non-disneyinternationaldubbingcredits.com/inkosi-ubhubesi--the-lion-king-zulu-voice-cast.html. 
The movie has a sequel and a midquel as well as a TV series that came much later. Like many other Disney classics it also has a children's illustrated book series based off of it. These books add more information for the Lion King fandom, like Scar's backstory. It is a relatively big franchise compared to other Disney movies, and that's saying something. 
It was conceived of as a result of the popularity of lions in English-speaking cultures. However, the movie is partially inspired by Tezuka's Kimba series from Japan. It may also be inspired by other lion king stories, such as the Panshatantra. Many people who watched the film wondered why Mufasa and Simba had red hair, but guessed that it was because humans can have "red" hair. And that's true. However, it's most likely inspired by the Northern-style Chinese Lion dances, which are colored like a normal lion on the bottom half but the same shade of red as these character's manes on the upper half.https://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv884KnSDSEwww.youtube.com/watch?v=dv884KnSDSEhttps:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mg0cn26IoA//www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mg0cn26IoA
Lions have increased in media popularity due to this film, inspiring other films such as Madagascar. However, they were already famous animals before that every child knew. Lions were already associated with royalty, but this helped push the idea forward that they are king of the beasts in our world today, though they were known as that before.
Additionally more types of African animals were noticed by children and adults. This is especially true for the minor characters, as opposed to background animals. This would be warthogs, meerkats, and hyenas. African hornbills..didn't pick up. Hyenas especially became known as dirty scavengers and their conservation became more at risk due to the bad publicity. The presence of characters from the Lion King is so great that some zoos intentionally place similar animals together. For example, putting the hyenas next to the lions or baboons next to pigs.
The Lion King developed a fandom during the 2000s or 90s, with many fans posting lion fursonas and OCs on Deviantart and other art websites. They were one of the first fandoms, I think, to push the movie's art style onto their characters insistently.
== Animals portrayed in the film ==
Main cast:
* Panthera leo
* Mandrillus sphinx
* Suricata suricatta
* Phacochoerus sp. (I didn't even know there were two species until I looked up it's name. Why has this information been hidden? Why are they always portrayed in documentaries as one "warthog" species?)
* Crocuta crocutav
* Proportedly a Hornbill species, perhaps Tockus sp. As someone else said, the internet is convinced that he's a red-billed hornbill, and he is one in the live action remake. But they suggested Lophoceros alboterminatus, and I agree that it's a better fit. Definitely other bird elements in there, though, like toucans and blue jays.https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_jay&oldid=1201623270 One source uses the live-action remake of the film's species, saying that it was based off of that.https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2022/05/23/goodbye-zazu-climate-change-will-roast-desert-birds-into-extinction-in-just-five-years/
Background in order of first appearence:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GibiNy4d4gc
* Diceros bicornishttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_rhinoceros&oldid=1200549152
* Alcelaphus buselaphus caamahttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alcelaphinae&oldid=1188418076https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_hartebeest&oldid=1186574746
* Acinonyx jubatushttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_cheetah&oldid=972758102
* Leptoptilos crumeniferhttp://amateurnithologist.blogspot.com/2019/07/identifying-all-birds-in-lion-king-1994.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marabou_stork&oldid=1194507124https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marabou_stork
* Loxodonta sp.https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_elephant&oldid=1203666853
* Phoenicopterus roseushttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greater_flamingo&oldid=1193842507
* Gazella sp. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gazelle&oldid=1191213141
* Giraffa sp. (Not any real species due to inaccurate patterns. At the time, they were all Giraffa camelopardalis.).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe
* Atta or Acromyrmex sp. (The back spikes are hard to see, but they're there. So I'm unsure.https://animals-are-cool.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Species_from_The_Lion_King_Franchise#Mammalshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_leafcutter_ants (*Unlike the source, this isn't a reference to invasive species, but likely a simple error or intentional for the scene as the animator's imagined it until they realized their mistake (if they did) and didn't care.)
* Hippotigris sp. (Not any real species due to inaccurate patterns.)https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zebra&oldid=1202373170
* Acryllium vulturinumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vulturine_guineafowl&oldid=1192805090
* Unknown birds, there are some suggestions but what with the whole "they have to be from Africa" thing it gets complicated.
* Connochaetes taurinushttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_wildebeest&oldid=1193845366
* Kobus ellipsiprymnushttps://sportsafield.com/2023/lumpers-and-splitters/Kobus ellipsiprymnus
* Unknown smaller plain gray four-legged animal with black tail, perhaps warthog or calf
* Tragelaphus https://www.google.com/search?q=gray+african+antelope+tiny+black+tail&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi50rz7lZSEAxWmK9AFHfdhB2kQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=gray+african+antelope+tiny+black+tail&gs_lp=EgNpbWciJWdyYXkgYWZyaWNhbiBhbnRlbG9wZSB0aW55IGJsYWNrIHRhaWxIuDNQ2QJYhTFwBHgAkAEAmAFsoAHmDaoBBDE4LjO4AQPIAQD4AQGKAgtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ICBBAjGCeIBgE&sclient=img&ei=odDAZfn9CabXwN4P98OdyAY&bih=731&biw=1536&client=firefox-b-1-dhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kudu&oldid=1186571296
* Syncerus cafferhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_buffalo&oldid=1200430900
* Non-red hartebeests (other subspecies of Alcelaphus buselaphus as shown earlier and next to them.) Or maybe just lighter versions of them since most of the animals in that scene are mixed dark and light.
* Unknown small white and golden birds, look like chickens or geese from the distance portrayed. 
* Unknown even smaller ground birds of various colours but no other distinguishing characteristics.
* Probably intended to be a vervet monkey,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_World_monkey&oldid=1192990752https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chlorocebus&oldid=1203076821 but it has a distinctive red, macaque crown.
* Unknown mouse/rodent species, looks like a jerboa to me. 
* Unknown antelope, could be buchbuck due to tail, could be gazelles.https://africafreak.com/elegant-african-antelopehttps://www.google.com/search?q=male+bushbuck&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiD_aGMopSEAxU8xMkDHVBmBI0Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=male+bushbuck&gs_lp=EgNpbWciDW1hbGUgYnVzaGJ1Y2syBBAjGCcyBhAAGAgYHkjcS1C4CFjFSXACeACQAQCYAXSgAeYKqgEEMTEuNLgBA8gBAPgBAYoCC2d3cy13aXotaW1nqAIKwgIHEAAYgAQYGMICBxAjGOoCGCfCAggQABiABBixA8ICBRAAGIAEwgIKEAAYgAQYigUYQ8ICDhAAGIAEGIoFGLEDGIMBwgIJEAAYgAQYGBgKwgIGEAAYBxgewgIIEAAYCBgHGB6IBgE&sclient=img&ei=Wd3AZcPsJLyIp84P0MyR6Ag&bih=731&biw=1536&client=firefox-b-1-dhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_bovids&oldid=1192673463
* More unknown birds. They look funkier than I remember.
* Struthio camelushttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_ostrich&oldid=1199802290
* Unknown antelope as we can't see the head. The coloration reminds me of a Nilgai, but it's probably not that. Due to the technicolor of the scenes I'm unsure. (Not to mention that I don't know antelope species in general.)
* The generic spotted cat sometimes seen in fiction influenced by cheetahs and leopards.
* Gorilla sp.
* Hippopotamus amphibiushttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hippopotamus&oldid=1201446072
* I can't tell if this is an antelope or a cape buffalo.
* A smaller antelope, unsure. I wonder if those were the ones seen before.
* Can't find them. Male's face is stylized after red-eared guenons, possibly. I didn't think about them as male or female until now. It's so weird.
== References ==
Category:Films
Category:Film series
Category:Animated films
Category:The Lion King
Category:Disney Films
Category:Lions