30 Years Ago, The Lion King Made Disney The King Of The Box Office

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

"The pitch for the story was a lion cub gets framed for murder by his uncle set to the music of Elton John. People said, 'What? Good luck with that.'" That's what producer Don Hahn said to Film School Rejects in 2018 of Disney's 1994 animated classic "The Lion King." It's an odd thing to say, given that it went on to become one of the most successful animated movies of all time. But that's looking back at it with the benefit of hindsight. At the time, it was viewed as a risk by the powers that be. It was a gamble that paid off handsomely, to put it lightly.

At the time, Disney was enjoying a fruitful period known as the Disney Renaissance, spurred by the success of 1989's "The Little Mermaid." While the story of Simba was indeed part of this era, it wasn't viewed as a potential heavy-hitter for the studio. It was actually playing second-fiddle to "Pocahontas," which was being eyed as the clear winner in development at the time. That movie would go on to become a hit in its own right, but it paled in comparison to the tale of this lion cub set to the musical stylings of Elton John.

In this week's Tales from the Box Office, we're looking back at "The Lion King" in honor of its 30th anniversary. We'll go over how the film came to be, how the team had a very difficult time nailing down the story, the alleged plagiarism that still clouds the film's story to this day, what happened when it hit theaters, and what lessons we can learn from it all these years later. Let's dig in, shall we?

The idea for "The Lion King" began percolating in its earliest forms in the halls of Disney in the late '80s. As is so often the case, it went through lots of development, with several writers working on the script. It also had several titles at various times, including "King of the Beasts" and "King of the Jungle." Producer Thomas Schumacher ("The Rescuers Down Under") became attached to the film in 1990. As he explained in 2013 press notes for "The Lion King" stage musical, the movie he joined hardly resembled the movie we ended up with.

"'King of the Jungle' was not a musical and bore more than a passing resemblance to an animated National Geographic special. Some of the now familiar characters were there, but the shape, style, tone, design, and sound were yet to be brought to life."

A game of musical chairs with the directors emerged. In the end, "Aladdin" writer Roger Allers and "The Brave Little Toaster" animator Rob Minkoff co-directed the film, with Irene Mecchi ("Solid Gold"), Jonathan Roberts ("Once Bitten"), and Linda Woolverton ("Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey") credited with the screenplay, though well over a dozen people were credited with various elements of the story.

As mentioned, "Pocahontas" was also in production at this same time. Disney's then-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg had more faith in that movie and divided the studio's animators into two groups. One would work on "Pocahontas," the other would work on "The Lion King." Once Glen Keane, a supervising animator on "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Aladdin," joined the "Pocahontas" crew, the tone changed, as he was viewed as "the best animator in the studio at the time." As animator Aaron Blaise once explained:

"Right off the bat, everyone thought, 'Well if Keane is on 'Pocahontas,' that must mean that's the more important film because they're really using their top dog for that'..."

"The Lion King" was a rare Disney original animated feature that wasn't technically based on any pre-existing material, though it was inspired by the likes of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Still, that was part of the reason it was a tougher sell viewed as an "experiment" by the Disney brass. Original though it may be, technically speaking, there have been allegations that Disney ripped off another animated project.

The 1960s Japanese anime series "Kimba the White Lion" is not only beloved, but shares a lot of broad similarities with Disney's "The Lion King," as they're both coming-of-age stories centered on an African lion cub who endures great tragedy. Osamu Tezuka's anime was very popular and, as a result, people made connections between the two. While nothing ever amounted from it legally speaking, it did need to be addressed.

Minkoff, for his part, was adamant that nobody working on "Lion King" had any familiarity with "The White Lion" saying at the time, "I know for a fact that [Kimba] has never been discussed as long as I've been on the project." Disney spokesman Howard Green also weighed in on the topic saying, "None of the principals involved in creating 'The Lion King' were aware of Kimba or Tezuka."

Setting aside "Kimba," this film also broke other narrative rules that were typical of Disney films prior to '94. For one, Mufasa's famous death scene takes place roughly halfway through the movie. As Minkoff explained in a 2017 interview, this was far from common at the time.

"To actually kill as important a character as Mufasa is, in the middle of the movie, I mean literally in the third reel, is not typical. It's just not what you do. You don't necessarily do that. So we had, not by design, but by the fact that it wasn't based on something, and it was kind of an original story, and nobody knew what the rules were. So we said, 'Well, I guess we'll try.'"

Try they did and succeed they did. Tumultuous production aside, "The Lion King" was completed with a sizable (for the time) $45 million budget. Disney went about launching a full-scale marketing campaign for the star-studded animated feature, with a cast that included the likes of James Earl Jones (Mufasa), Jeremy Irons (Scar), and Nathan Lane (Timon), among many others. In a bit of an unconventional move, the teaser trailer was just the full "Circle of Life" scene that opens the film. But that was enough to get audiences interested, as evidenced by what happened on opening weekend.

"The Lion King" premiered in limited release on June 15, playing on just two screens in Los Angeles and New York City. Even so, it pulled in $1.58 million, placing in the top ten that weekend. Impressive though it was, that was truly just the tip of the iceberg. When the film arrived in wide release the following weekend, it pulled in $40.8 million, easily topping the charts, trouncing "Speed" in its third weekend and demolishing Kevin Costner's three-hour Western "Wyatt Earp."

In its original run, "The Lion King" went on to earn $312.8 million domestically to go with a stellar $450.6 million internationally for a grand total of $763.4 million worldwide. For those keeping score, "Pocahontas" made $346 million worldwide the following year. It was no contest. The tale of Simba was the highest-grossing animated film to date up to that point, and would go on to make even more through its various re-releases. The 2011 3D release was particularly successful, pulling in $185.5 million globally. All told, the film has made $986.1 million to date.

Disney is perhaps better than any major studio in the history of Hollywood at exploiting a singular success and turning it into an even bigger franchise. The Mouse House certainly did that with "The Lion King." From a wildly successful Broadway musical to a direct-to-video sequel called "Simba's Pride," this became one of the studio's cornerstone franchises — understandably so.

Over the years, we've had other DTV movies such as "The Lion King 1 1⁄2" in 2004, as well as shows like the quite successful "The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa," and a sequel series called "The Lion Guard" that premiered in 2015. But the biggest expansion of the franchise to date came in 2019 when director Jon Favreau cooked up a remake of the original using realistic-looking CGI honed during the remake of "The Jungle Book" (another smash success). "The Lion King" (2019) became one of the ten biggest movies in history, taking in more than $1.6 billion globally. Depending on how one looks at it, the argument could be made that it's the highest-grossing animated movie ever, since none of it was actually filmed in live-action.

Naturally, a success that big couldn't be ignored and Disney recruited Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins, of "Moonlight" fame, to helm a sequel/prequel titled "Mufasa: The Lion King," which is due to hit theaters later this year. Whether or not it can be as big as its predecessor remains to be seen but 30 years later and the legacy of this animated classic remains ever present.

If anything, the 2019 remake only served to highlight just how much of a lightning in a bottle situation the original "Lion King" was, as many critics and viewers agreed that something was lost in translation. Yes, the CGI looks incredible, but the '94 original is considered to be a near-perfect film by many, with Hans Zimmer winning Best Original Score at the Oscars for his work, while Elton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" won Best Original Song. Impressively, "Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata" were also nominated.

"The Lion King" remains a representation of what Disney can accomplish when firing on all cylinders. It's a movie that is intended to be thoroughly enjoyed by children, but one that doesn't pull its punches narratively. From the kind of terrifying musical number "Be Prepared" to Mufasa's tragic death, it's a real movie dealing with real s**t. It's also stunning to look at with a banger of a soundtrack and, against all odds, under 90 minutes. It's a miracle of a movie.

While there is no accounting for miracles, there are lessons that can be gleaned from the success of "The Lion King." Disney is not immune to the perils of the streaming age, especially as the box office appears to be on particularly shaky ground right now. Like just about everyone else in Hollywood, they remain reliant on existing franchises to help attract eyeballs. More than that, it increasingly feels like Disney can fall victim to playing it safe. Creative risks are harder to justify in the age of analytics.

That having been said, Disney largely built its legacy on taking creative risks. From making the first fully-animated feature film in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to shattering the mold with Pixar time and time again. Disney wouldn't exist without taking big risks. Do they fail sometimes? You bet. "Sleeping Beauty" was a bomb in its initial theatrical run, but even that went on to have a long life in the years since. That's just the nature of the game.

At some point, if Disney gets too risk-averse, they're going to risk drying up the well that currently exists. So yes, make your sequels. Make your spin-offs. Do your remakes. But just don't forget to allow for some originality along the way as well because that is the only way to secure new franchises for the future. It really is eventually a no risk, no reward game.