The Lion King is the first Disney animated feature film to be based on original source material and set
in a naturalistic environment populated entirely by animals and untouched by man. The first drafts of the script for The Lion King date back to 1989, when the idea of making an animated feature about lions was first broached. To date, The Lion King is the highest grossing animated feature film of all time.

The Lion King won three Golden Globe awards: best original song for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," best musical or comedy and best original score.

The backgrounds in The Lion King are special for their epic feel and for the fact that, for the first time since Bambi, they present nature in its pristine state, without the presence of humans or their artifacts.

A team of talented supervising animators created and developed The Lion King's cast of lovable characters. Among them were Ruben Aquino, who drew adult Simba, Anthony Derosa, who drew adult Nala and Tony Bancroft and Mike Surrey who animated Pumbaa and Timon respectively.

Jum Fowler, co-host of television's Wild Kingdom provided an array of jungle animals, including meerkats, baboons and lions for the exhaustive drawing sessions arranged for the animators. The artists were able to sketch the animals at their leisure, under circumstances less constricting that at a zoo. This practice is reminiscent of the time, half a century earlier, when Walt Disney brought live deer and other forest animals to the animation unit working on Bambi. Disney artists studied sculptures, fabrics and decorations from many parts of Africa, and applied their interpretations to landscape, vegetation, and other elements needed for the movie.

With the exception of Rafiki's walking stick, The Lion King is a movie with virtually no props.

Rock and roll legend Elton John teamed up with Academy Award-winning lyricist Tim Rice (Aladdin) to provide an entertaining musical score that captures not only the moods and emotions of the story, but the flavor of its exotic setting as well.

Mark Henn, who animated young Simba, has worked on numerous Disney animated feature films including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Rescuers Down Under, and The Little Mermaid. Aside from creating young Simba, he also created Jasmine from Aladdin.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas ("Randy Taylor" on the television series Home Improvement) brings humor and emotion to the vocal characterization of young Simba.

Veteran actors Ernie Sabella and Nathan Lane provided the voices for the comedy duo Pumbaa and Timon. These actors brought to life the crass, witty and naïve dialogue, making Pumbaa and Timon two of the best-loved characters in the film.

Disney artists studied sculptures, fabrics and decorations from many parts of Africa and applied their interpretations to landscape, vegetation, and other elements needed for the movie

The Lion King's working title was King of the Jungle.