The Lion King

The Lion King is an animated movie produced by Walt Disney Studios and released in 1994. The story is about Simba, a lion cub prince whose father Mufasa is murdered by his brother (and Simba's uncle) Scar. Simba is forced to live in exile and Scar becomes an oppressive king. Years later as an adult, Simba returns to take his rightful place as king.

The film spawned two direct-to-video sequels, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride in 1998 and The Lion King 1½ in 2004, along with a live action CGI remake in 2019. Additionally, there are two television spin-offs, Timon & Pumbaa (1995–1999) and The Lion Guard (2015–2019), and a musical show of the same name which debuted in 1997. The original film and the musical adaptation have been referenced often in The Simpsons.

References

Television episodes

Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference 6 125 "'Round Springfield" Bleeding Gums Murphy appears in the sky to thank Lisa for making more people familiar with his music. Then Mufasa the Lion appears in the sky, in reference to a similar scene in The Lion King where the late Mufasa gives his son advice from the clouds. Mufasa says: "You must avenge my death, Kimba... I mean: Simba!" This is a reference to the accusations that the Disney Studios plagiarized a large part of the look and plot of the 1960s Japanse animated TV series Kimba, The White Lion. 12 265 "Simpson Safari" When Kitenge is driving the Simpsons on a safari, you can see Pride Rock from The Lion King in the background. The sunrise, silhouettes of animals and the rhythmic music are all reminiscent of the opening moments of the film. 15 319 "Today I Am a Clown" During his televised Bar Mitzvah, Krusty thanks the cast of The Lion King as they leave the stage. 17 375 "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" The Itchy and Scratchy musical "Stab-A-Lot" spoofs the songs and the look of The Lion King. The song The Circle of Knife is a parody of The Circle of Life. 250px 19 403 "Midnight Towboy" Homer is driving at night in search of milk for Maggie. He sees a billboard with the letters "MILK" going down the left edge, but when he gets closer he sees that it really reads "Mr. T Is the Lion King", advertising a performance at the Capital City Playhouse. 22 478 "Angry Dad: The Movie" Bart and Homer walk by a poster for an animated film called The Lyin' King, a pun on The Lion King. 23 493 "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" The Loin King is a reference to The Lion King.

Comic stories

Picture Comic issue Story name Reference Bart Simpson #7 All's Veldt That Ends Veldt! When Bart is being chased by two lionesses, he turns and asks them, "Haven't you guys ever heard of 'The Circle of Life'?" He then remembers, to his chagrin, Lisa telling him, "That's just a nice way of referring to 'The Survival of the Fittest'!" Simpsons Comics #75 ...The Permanent Record Room! Bart tells Milhouse that he doesn't feel guilty about pulling pranks because he would otherwise become a prank victim himself, which Milhouse compares to The Circle of Life. Bart then tells him to stop quoting Elton John songs.

Common cast and crew

Picture Name Role in The Lion King Role on The Simpsons James Earl Jones Portrayed Mufasa in the original 1994 film and its 2019 remake. Voiced a removalist, Serak the Preparer and The Raven narrator in "Treehouse of Horror II", Maggie Simpson in "Treehouse of Horror V" and the narrator in "Das Bus". Elton John Contributed songs to the soundtrack of the original film and its remake. Voiced himself in "I'm With Cupid". Jim Cummings Played Ed the Hyena in the original film. Voiced Duncan in "Saddlesore Galactica". Cheech Marin Played Banzai the Hyena in the original film. Voiced himself in "A Midsummer's Nice Dreams". Jeremy Irons Played Scar in in the original film. Voiced Raggy in "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches". Neve Campbell Played adult Kiara in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Voiced Cassandra in "Rednecks and Broomsticks". Andy Dick Played Nuka in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Voiced himself in "Yokel Chords". Julie Kavner Played Ma in The Lion King 1½. Voice of Marge Simpson. Billy Eichner Played Timon in the 2019 remake. Voiced Billy in "Krusty the Clown". Keegan-Michael Key Played Kamari the Hyena in the 2019 remake. Voiced Jazzy James in "The Great Phatsby: Part One" and "The Great Phatsby: Part Two". John Oliver Played Zazu in the 2019 remake. Voiced Booth Wilkes-John in "Pay Pal". Seth Rogen Played Pumbaa in the 2019 remake. Voiced Lyle McCarthy in "Homer the Whopper" and himself in "Steal This Episode".

External links

• The Lion King at the Internet Movie Database
• The Lion King at Wikipedia

Cultural references

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