Inside Artwork: Yes Emboss/Deboss: TBA Finish Type: TBA
Actors: Whoopi Goldberg, James Earl Jones, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Nathan Lane, Cheech Marin, Jeremy Irons, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Moira Kelly, Madge Sinclair, Matthew Broderick, Ernie Sabella Director: Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers Language: ENGLISH: Dolby Atmos, ENGLISH: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), FRENCH: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, SPANISH: Dolby Digital 5.1, GERMAN: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, JAPANESE: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, KOREAN: Dolby Digital 5.1, CHINESE: Dolby Digital 2.0 Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional) Region: Region Free Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Number of Discs: 2 (Digital Copy) Rating: G Orig. Release Date: 1994 Studio: Disney/Buena Vista Release Date: 10/3/2023 Run Time: 89 Min.
- Visualizing a Villain (2:53) – New - Performance artist David Garibaldi paints a large image of Scar while dancers perform “Be Prepared.” Yes, it is very weird.
- The Recording Sessions (4:46) – New - Directors Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers introduce this clip reel of the voice actors in the studio in the early 90’s, mostly sourced from VHS resources.
- Inside the Story Room (23:42) – New - Five story room sessions are presented with a “Play All” option or individually. When playing all, you get an introduction by the Directors about the storyboard process. The sessions themselves were recorded on a hand-held camera and use some close-ups of the artwork to help tell the story.
- Circle of Life (4:58)
- Simba & Nala (3:40)
- Simba Takes Nala Out to Play (2:23)
- Hakuna Matata (5:43)
- Rafiki and the Reflecting Pool (5:55)
- Nathan and Matthew: The Extended Lion King Conversation (7:08) – New -Filmed for a 2011 documentary called “Pride of the Lion King,” this extended interview features moderator Tom Schumacher interviewing Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane from Sardi’s restaurant on Broadway while both actors were starring in The Producers.
- Bloopers & Outtakes (3:44) – Animated bloopers created for the Diamond Edition release, sometimes using real recording session bloopers and other times completely made up animated moments. The flash animation style is a huge downgrade from what you will see in the films or even the sequels.
- The Morning Report: Extended Scene (2:30) – Produced for the Platinum Edition DVD, this song from the Broadway show was inserted back into the film. This release does not allow you to watch the film with the scene, but it can be viewed here as a bonus feature.
- Deleted & Alternate Scenes (12:42) – Available as a “Play All” feature or individual, the Directors introduce these deleted scenes from the Diamond Edition Release.
- Zazu Flatters Mufasa (0:27)
- “King of the Wild” (2:23)
- Scar Wants Nala as his Queen (5:08)
- Simba and Nala Reunited (3:19)
- Zazu Flatters Scar (0:52)
- Song Selection (16:49) – The five main songs from the film in their Sing-Along form are presented outside of the film as a “Play All” feature or individually.
- “Circle of Life” (4:03)
- “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” (2:35)
- “Be Prepared” (3:01)
- “Hakuna Matata” (4:08)
- “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (3:02)
- Audio Commentary (1:28:23) – Co-Directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff share this commentary with Producer Don Hahn. They provide a lot of insight into the story process as well as technical details and production anecdotes. The track itself is from 1994 and was recorded for the original laserdisc release.
- Classic Bonus Preview (0:50) – New – An ad for the digital copy and the “3 hours of classic bonus features” that can be seen using this feature.
Digital Special Features:
- Galleries – Four art galleries exploring the film’s Visual Development, Character Design, Storyboards, and Backgrounds & Layouts. Most of the artwork appears to come from the galleries on the Platinum and Diamond Edition releases. It has a Slideshow mode where it will auto-play the images from each gallery, or you can select them yourself.
- The Lion King: A Memoir – Don Hahn (19:30) – A behind-the-scenes piece with home movies to tell the story of making the film.
- The Animator’s Reunion (7:55) – The Directors reunite with the animation talent from the film and Don Hahn leads a discussion about the impact of the film.
- Storyboard-to-Film Comparison (4:01) – “Circle of Life” is used to show how the Storyboards influenced the final sequence that ended up on screen.
- Early Concept: Timon & Pumbaa Find Simba (2:58) – An alternate version of Simba’s introduction to Timon and Pumbaa in storyboard form.
- Eacly Concept: Simba’s Presenation (4:00) – A very different way the film could have opened.
- Abandoned Scenes: Warthog Rhapsody (4:18) – A deleted song that was replaced with “Hakuna Matata” presented in storyboard form.
- Computer Animation (4:26) – An excerpt from “The Making of The Lion King” (from the 1994 Deluxe Laserdisc and VHS release) explores how CGI helped create the wildebeest stampede.
- Early Presenation Reel (1:27) - Concept art set to music, this reel was used to help sell the film within Disney.
- Platinum Edition Deleted Scenes (5:00) – Available as “Play All” or individually.
- Bug Football (0:52)
- “Hakuna Matata” (Timon’s Verse) (2:24)
- “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (1:44) – The Timon and Pumbaa version
- Stage Journey
- Pride of The Lion King (38:06) – A feature from the Diamond Edition that is just as much about the making of the film as it is about the Broadway version, which makes its inclusion in this section curious. Elements of the Nathan Lane/Matthew Broderick interviews are included here.
- Musical Origins (3:46) – Interviews with the creative team of the Broadway show about why it was adapted for the stage.
- Screen to Stage (3:26) – Roy Disney talks about how the success of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway lead to The Lion King in this short feature about how the story was brought to life.
- Musical Texture (3:11) – The new songs for the Broadway show are examined with their writing talent including Elton John, Tim Rice, and Lebo M.
- Setting the Stage (2:14) – Thomas Schumacher and Julie Taymor explore the show’s stage design.
- Leaps of Fantasy (3:31) – An exploration of the show’s choreography.
- Film Journey
- Origins (5:54) – The film’s creators discuss the origin of the film and how it took shape at Disney.
- Production Research Trip (2:21) – Interviews with the crew and footage from the Africa research trip.
- Art: African Influence (4:02) – See how the landscapes and folk art of Africa inspired the look of the film.
- Reflections (6:33) – The filmmakers look back on the success of The Lion King.
- Storyboard Process (4:12) – The footage from “Rafiki and the Reflecting Pool” (one of the new Inside the Story Room features) is presented with picture-in-picture storyboards. This feature was on the Platinum Edition DVD, but debuted on the 1994 laserdisc release.
- Character Design (10:59) – Another feature from the 1994 laserdisc edition, the animators give an overview of the design of each character and explores their live action influences. These can be viewed through a “Play All” feature or individually.
- Mufasa (0:51)
- Simba (1:53)
- Scar (2:39)
- Rafiki (1:09)
- Timon and Pumbaa (1:51)
- Zazu (1:15)
- Hyenas (1:21)
- Story Journey
- Story Origins (4:42) – The story team discuss the relationship between The Lion King, the Bible, Hamlet and Bambi.
- Timeless Themes (3:58) – The creators discuss the film’s big themes, mainly life and death.
- The Story Comes to Life (3:14) – The creators discuss how their personal lives influenced elements of the final story.
- Animal Journey (17:12) – These kid-friendly pieces are voiced by Jason Marsden (Max from A Goofy Movie) and reuse some footage from Disney’s True-Life Adventuresand educational videos to show footage of the real animals that inspired characters in the film. They can be viewed all together as a feature or individually.
- Lions (3:00)
- Meerkats (2:48)
- Warthogs (3:00)
- Hyenas (2:29)
- Disney & Animals (5:55)
- Music & More
- The Making of The Morning Report (3:08) – The creative team discuss why they added “The Morning Report” to the Special Edition version of the film.
- Musical Inspiration (3:49) – The creators discuss how Lebo M. and Mark Mancina’s reworking of “Circle of Life” changed the entire film.
- Landmark Songwriting (3:13) – Tom Schumacher talks about how Tim Rice’s involvement lead to Elton John joining the project as the lead songwriter.
- Orchestral Color (4:28) – Hans Zimmer discusses his approach to the score.
- Scoring Emotion (2:57) – Hans Zimmer reveals how his personal story influenced the saddest melodies in the film.
- Music: African Influence (3:48) – Lebo M.’s contributions to the music gave it authentic African elements.
- Full Circle (1:47) – The team discuss the awards they won from the film, including Academy Awards for Best Song and Original Score.
- “Circle of Life” Music Video (4:52) – Elton John performs his pop version of the opening song with black and white footage from a recording studio set against color footage from the film.
- “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” Music Video (4:01) – Another Elton John classic, this music video features a more stylized color shoot in a white room with striking blue windows and projections from the film on the walls.
- “Circle of Life” Music Video (4:11) – Disney Channel’s Circle of Stars assembled for their first of two Platinum Edition music videos, featuring talented young performers like Raven Symone, Hilary Duff, Christy Carlson Romano, and Anneliese Van Der Pol.
- Making of “Circle of Life” Music Video (4:02) – Behind-the-scenes of the Circle of Stars’ music video shoot.
- “Hakuna Matata” Multi-Language Reel (4:10) – The iconic song gets presented in many languages from around the world, including Italian, Dutch, Japanese, and Zulu.
- International Release (3:38) – A look at the way The Lion King was released and marketed around the world.
- DVD Sound Design (4:59) – Don Hahn talks about how much he loves DVDs and the 5.1 surround sound mix created for the Platinum Edition.
A young lion cub named Simba just can't wait to be king. But the
sudden death of his father, Mufasa, and the treacherous actions of his
Uncle Scar lead Simba into exile and ultimately on a hero's journey of
self-discovery. Adopting the "hakuna matata" philosophy of his comical
jungle guardians — a warthog and a meerkat (Pumbaa and Timon) — Simba
eventually comes to terms with his destiny and returns home to Pride
Rock to help put things right.
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