Is The Lion King Really Disney’s First "Original" Animated Movie? Origins & Controversies Explained

The Lion King holds the title of Disney’s first original animated movie, which has been questioned for years due to its similarities to other works. Disney’s reign over the world of animation officially began in 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first animated feature film produced in the United States and the first cel animated feature film. From then on, Disney has produced a variety of animated movies exploring different themes, settings, and characters, many of them inspired by fairy tales, legends, and more. Although most of Disney’s animated movies have been a success, there was a time when the studio had many failures.

The studio rose again during what’s now known as the “Disney Renaissance”, the period between 1989 and 1999 in which the studio produced critically and commercially successful animated movies again. The Disney Renaissance further established the studio as a powerhouse of box office success, earning greater profits than most of Disney’s previous eras. Among the movies from the Disney Renaissance is The Lion King, released in 1994, which holds an interesting title as Disney’s first original animated movie, which has been questioned over the years for different reasons.

Since the beginning, most of Disney’s animated movies have been adaptations of other works, mostly fairy tales and legends. For example, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, with many changes to make it family-friendly. Because of this, many Disney animated movies aren’t original works, and, surprisingly, the title of the first original animated movie belongs to The Lion King, which has been questioned for years given its strong similarities to other works.

The Lion King is considered Disney’s first original animated movie as it’s not based on any pre-existing works and characters, but this might not be entirely accurate given the clear influences behind it and a controversial plagiarism accusation. The Lion King is original in terms of the characters, their names, and the story not being taken from pre-existing material as they are, but it isn’t entirely original.

William Shakespeare’s works have served as inspiration for many artists for centuries, and Disney is no exception, but The Lion King stands out in this. The similarities between The Lion King and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet are undeniable, and the filmmakers have stated that they were inspired by this specific Shakespeare tragedy (via The Lion King: Platinum Edition). In Hamlet, the title Prince looks to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who murdered Hamlet’s father to take the throne and marry Hamlet’s mother, which is pretty much what happened with Simba, Mufasa, and Scar.

However, it has also been pointed out that The Lion King has similarities to Shakespeare’s plays Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 (via Folger Shakespeare Library), with Simba resembling Prince Hal, the disobedient, headstrong prince who learns to accept responsibility and claim his place on the throne, but not before making some interesting friends – in Simba’s case, Timon and Pumba, in Hal’s case, Poins and Sir John Falstaff. The name of Timon is even believed to be taken from another Shakespeare work (Timon of Athens), but the meerkat who befriends Simba is completely different.

The biggest controversy around The Lion King is a plagiarism accusation. The Lion King has been accused of copying Osamu Tezuka’s 1960s Japanese anime TV series Jungle Emperor, also known as Kimba the White Lion. The series tells the story of Kimba, a young cub born on a ship after his mother is trapped by hunters and his father is killed. When a storm wrecks the ship and kills everyone on board, Kimba swims to dry land, where he finds a new home in the jungle. There, he makes new friends and learns how to become a true leader, like his father was.

The Lion King does have some interesting similarities to Kimba the White Lion, most notably the scene of Mufasa and Simba at the top of Pride Rock, which Kimba the White Lion did years before. There are similarities between some of the characters, as well, such as both lead characters being lions, both having sage baboons as their mentors, hyena sidekicks, birds used as comic relief, and evil lions as antagonists. Both Kimba and Simba looked up to the sky to see their mother and their father, respectively, offering them advice.

Disney denied copying Kimba the White Lion, and though there was no legal action against the Mouse House, some still claim Disney copied the Japanese TV series, while others believe there’s not enough in common between them to call it “plagiarism”.

The Lion King isn’t the only Disney animated movie to be accused of plagiarism. Another notable example is Aladdin, which is also part of the Disney Renaissance. Aladdin was accused of copying Richard Williams’ animated movie The Thief and the Cobbler, due to their similar plot, characters, and designs, such as The Thief and the Cobbler’s antagonist Zigzag, who seems like a hybrid of Jafar and Genie. What happened with The Thief and the Cobbler was that it took years to be finished, so Aladdin was released first.

The Mouse House has also been accused of copying short-films, stories, character designs, and more, but at the end of the day, Disney always comes out on top, whether due to its influence in the world of entertainment or because it was proven that there was no plagiarism. The Lion King’s title of Disney’s first original animated movie is questionable, but the studio is unlikely to take it back.

Sources: The Lion King: Platinum Edition, Folger Shakespeare Library.