Disney copied the lion king???

[jasmine-rules]

I ran across this article on ign.com:


December 12, 2003 - You've probably heard of the controversy surrounding Disney's The Lion King and the Japanese TV series Jangaru Taitei, known as Kimba the White Lion. Disney denied lifting the storyline for its acclaimed 1994 film, even though the similarities are too great to be a coincidence.


It involved a lion cub, the son of the king of the jungle, to whom homage was paid by all of the other animals, you have a wise old baboon advisor, an enemy adult lion with a scar across one eye, the comic relief warthog, hyena henchmen, and the hyperactive parrot advisor to the king. You can only have so many coincidences before people come to another conclusion.


Here's a link to the page:

http://dvd.ign.com/articles/445/445966p1.html

What do you guys think?

[Luke]

I think it's a pretty weak argument that Disney 'ripped off' anime, and yet it's not an uncommon one on the Internet.

Here's the best article I've read on the topic:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a991224.html

[Jake Lipson]

There may be simmalarties -- no, there ARE simmilaities -- but there's no proof that they lifted it from the anime show. Me, I just call it coincidence. The Lion King has a number of story and artistic influences --Shakespeare, the Bible, and other Disney films are just some examples -- and it's quite possible that when these elements were molded the mixture ended up simmilar to the anime mold of the same themes and influences.

[Commodore Barbosa]

Have you ever seen Kimba the White Lion? Is Disney did copy it, they certainly made it a LOT better. I suppose my opinion is somewhat bias, as I'm not a huge anime fan, but I do enjoy anime when it's well written and well animated, and Kimba is a far cry from good animation of any type.

[Maerj]

I remember watching Kimba when I was growing up. It is definitely old school anime. Kimba the White Lion may have some similarities to Simba the normal lion in Lion King, but I don't believe that there was any intentional copying there. If you want to say they copied anyone, it would have to be Shakespear.

[XxSuRgEoxX]

I don't think this was intentional. Atlantis on the other hand was a bit fishy...

http://www.newgrounds.com/lit/atlantis.html

[Maerj]

The guy at this site http://utd500.utdallas.edu/~hairston/atlantis.html explains how Atlantis didn't copy off of Nadia. There are so many stories out there and so many people writing them that certain elements get borrowed or reused over and over again.

Some stories will appear to be similar at times also, for example the Dreamworks animated films vs Disney/Pixar's. Many people say that Dreamworks copied Antz off of A Bug's Life, just because they are both animated films dealing with insects. In reality, both films are different from each other. Bug's Life is like a re-telling of the Magnificent Seven, which was a retelling of the Seven Samurai. It was also very much a family film, whereas Antz was more adult in nature. It was more like an animated Woody Allen film and had a very different tone that Bug's Life.

[Grunches]

This is very interesting. I don't know what to think. Maybe Disney did "rip it off" because there are so many similariles. Also maybe Disney bought the right to do it like snow white and sleeping beauty where they bought the story? Just some thoughts.

[Squid]

Have you ever seen Kimba the White Lion? Is Disney did copy it, they certainly made it a LOT better. I suppose my opinion is somewhat bias, as I'm not a huge anime fan, but I do enjoy anime when it's well written and well animated, and Kimba is a far cry from good animation of any type.

A lot of old school Kimba fans have said this so don't worry.

I think what miffs a lot of people out is the fact that Disney kept insisting that their story was wholly original and how proud they were of it. The conspiracy theories only make it more interesting. Most have said though that it was pure coincidence.

Tezuka, creator of Kimba (along with Astroboy and friends) was widely known as having Disney as an inspiration. If you look at his Astroboy stuff, a lot of it looks like the art in the old Disney comics!

Anyway, at the end of the day we can all lay back and say "Hakuna Matata". I know for sure Kimba didn't have any neato songs.

[MickeyMousePal]

Yes Lion King copied Kimba the white Lion.
Does anyone remember the episode of The Simpsons when Lisa looks at the clouds and Mufasa comes out saying Kimba I mean Simba, then Dark Vader comes out saying Luke you are my father, then Larry King comes out then Bleeding Gums Murphy comes out.
I already knew that Disney copied Kimba, the White Lion.
But Disney made it better then the orignal anime cartoon.

[Maerj]

You can learn more about the 1960's television show "Jungle Emperor Leo", which was retitled "Kimba the White Lion" in the United States at this link: http://en-f.tezuka.co.jp/anime/sakuhin/ts/ts005.html

The story section there states: "This is a saga depicting the law of the jungle and the relationship between humans and animals, with Panja the white lion and his son Leo as the main characters."

If you hit the "Subtitle" button there it will give you a description of each episode. It seems like the strongest connection there is between the Kimba the White Lion and The Lion King is the name of the lion cub, Kimba, and that name was only used in the American version. He was Leo in the Lion in Japan. Simba was the name used in Lion King since it was the African (Swahili) word for lion.'

[Commodore Barbosa]

Does anyone remember the episode of The Simpsons when Lisa looks at the clouds and Mufasa comes out saying Kimba I mean Simba, then Dark Vader comes out saying Luke you are my father, then Larry King comes out then Bleeding Gums Murphy comes out.

I do remember this episode of The Simpsons, but what you're describing happended a bit differently. Lisa looks up to the sky, and out of the clouds Mufasa's head forms and says "Simba, you are my son.". Then next Darth Vaders head appears and says "Luke, I am your father". Then James Earl Jones' Head appears and says "This is CNN". It's more of a nod to James Earl Jones, but they don't mention anything about Kimba.

[hokeyboy]

Does anyone remember the episode of The Simpsons when Lisa looks at the clouds and Mufasa comes out saying Kimba I mean Simba, then Dark Vader comes out saying Luke you are my father, then Larry King comes out then Bleeding Gums Murphy comes out.

I do remember this episode of The Simpsons, but what you're describing happended a bit differently. Lisa looks up to the sky, and out of the clouds Mufasa's head forms and says "Simba, you are my son.". Then next Darth Vaders head appears and says "Luke, I am your father". Then James Earl Jones' Head appears and says "This is CNN". It's more of a nod to James Earl Jones, but they don't mention anything about Kimba.

Wrong wrong wrong!

The James Earl Jones-esque voice comes out and says "Remember who you are, Kimba... de-, I mean... Simba..."

Trust me, I've seen this episode a zillion times.

Disney definitely ripped off Kimba, The White Lion, there's no doubt. Did they make an entertaining product? Absolutely. Is The Lion King a classic? Without a doubt. Is it entirely original? Hell no.

[Maerj]

I do remember this episode of The Simpsons, but what you're describing happended a bit differently. Lisa looks up to the sky, and out of the clouds Mufasa's head forms and says "Simba, you are my son.". Then next Darth Vaders head appears and says "Luke, I am your father". Then James Earl Jones' Head appears and says "This is CNN". It's more of a nod to James Earl Jones, but they don't mention anything about Kimba.

Wrong wrong wrong!

The James Earl Jones-esque voice comes out and says "Remember who you are, Kimba... de-, I mean... Simba..."

Trust me, I've seen this episode a zillion times.

Disney definitely ripped off Kimba, The White Lion, there's no doubt. Did they make an entertaining product? Absolutely. Is The Lion King a classic? Without a doubt. Is it entirely original? Hell no.

You can learn more about the 1960's television show "Jungle Emperor Leo", which was retitled "Kimba the White Lion" in the United States at this link:

http://en-f.tezuka.co.jp/anime/sakuhin/ts/ts005.html

The story section there states: "This is a saga depicting the law of the jungle and the relationship between humans and animals, with Panja the white lion and his son Leo as the main characters." In it Leo, Kimba, encourages the other animals to live in peace and be vegetarians and to plant food like humans do, while battling monsters/animals.

It seems like the strongest connection there is between the Kimba the White Lion and The Lion King is the name of the lion cub, Kimba, and that name was only used in the American version. He was Leo in the Lion in Japan. Simba was the name used in Lion King since it was the African (Swahili) word for lion. Any other similarities between the two intellectual properties seem to only be superficial.

Here are some of the episode synopsis for Kimba/Leo from that site:

1st Episode: Go, Panja's child
The white lion Panja, king of the jungle, dies. He sacrifices himself for his wife Eliza in trying to save her when she is captured by humans. Eliza gives birth to a baby on a transport ship, and names him Leo. She wants to save Leo, who carried the blood of Panja, so she has him escape from the sinking ship in the middle of a storm.

2nd Episode: Desert storm
Mandy the orangutan and Coco the parrot are very glad to find that the white baby lion that had been washed ashore is Panja's child. However, Leo is abducted by a group of death traders. Then the poet Buribal saves him, and Leo returns to the jungle to fight villains.

3rd Episode: Animal School
Kenichi and Mary, who were involved in an airplane accident, wander into the jungle where Leo and his friends live. Leo is very impressed when he sees Kenichi curing an animal by playing his flute, so he opens an animal school to absorb this kind of wisdom.

4th Episode: Fierce bull Samson
Panja's old friend Samson discriminates against animals that live with humans. He gives Leo a mule and says that domestic animals are traitors that must eat by others according to the law of the jungle. However, Leo firmly rejects such barbarism...

[Paka]

I do remember this episode of The Simpsons, but what you're describing happended a bit differently. Lisa looks up to the sky, and out of the clouds Mufasa's head forms and says "Simba, you are my son.". Then next Darth Vaders head appears and says "Luke, I am your father". Then James Earl Jones' Head appears and says "This is CNN". It's more of a nod to James Earl Jones, but they don't mention anything about Kimba.

Wrong wrong wrong!

The James Earl Jones-esque voice comes out and says "Remember who you are, Kimba... de-, I mean... Simba..."

Trust me, I've seen this episode a zillion times.

Disney definitely ripped off Kimba, The White Lion, there's no doubt. Did they make an entertaining product? Absolutely. Is The Lion King a classic? Without a doubt. Is it entirely original? Hell no.

Well, I hate to sound like the Comic Book Guy here, but I must nitpick. The exact quote is "You must avenge my death, Kimba... I mean, Simba!" Here's the whole bit, it comes after Lisa gets the late Bleeding Gums Murphy's only album broadcast on the local jazz station -

Lisa: That was for you, Bleeding Gums.

BG: [appearing in the cloud] You've made an old jazzman happy, Lisa.

Mufasa: [appearing in the cloud] You must avenge my death, Kimba -- I mean, Simba.

Darth Vader: [appearing in the cloud] Luke, I am your father.

James Earl Jones: [appearing in the cloud] This is CNN.

BG: Will you guys pipe down? I'm saying goodbye to Lisa!

All: We're sorry. [they vanish]

Here's a link to the complete episode.


And as for the tired old Kimba/Simba argument, I don't believe it. When it first popped up, it was almost convincing, but since then I've dropped the issue.

Like Luke previously posted, the best and most objective examination of this issue is at StraightDope.com Go there and read the whole thing! Tom Sito (a bigwig in the animation industry) gives a very good and wholly reasonable explanation for it.

[MickeyMouseboy]

Doesnt matter cause lion king sucks after the DVD disney put out!

[Paka]

Doesnt matter cause lion king sucks after the DVD disney put out!

Uh... how does that make the movie itself bad, MMboy? The movie is still a masterpiece; the dvd, however, is gawdawful. Especially for Disney's biggest animated hit, if not one of them. You'd think they would show it a bit more respect. *gag*
Well, if those idiot suits ever showed it any respect, they wouldn't have produced "The Morning Report".

So, by your logic, MMboy, Beauty and the Beast also sucks, and Aladdin is destined to suck come this autumn - 'cause you can sure as hell bet that its PE is getting the same shabby treatment.

Unless, of course, Eisner is ousted by then...

[Squid]

Not to mention that after that atrocity known as "House of Mouse", Mickey Mouse sucks now too.

[2099net]

Like Luke previously posted, the best and most objective examination of this issue is at StraightDope.com Go there and read the whole thing! Tom Sito (a bigwig in the animation industry) gives a very good and wholly reasonable explanation for it.

There was actually a page on Animated Movies dealing with this before the site closed, and there were more similarities than mentioned in the above article listed.

I've also found this page:
http://www.kimbawlion.com/rant2.htm

There arguments and screen grabs sound reasonable to me, and more than just co-incidence. However the most damning like

Matthew Broderick said that he originally thought he had been cast for a remake of Kimba, "the white lion in a cartoon when I was a kid".

aren't backed up with any references, so are pretty useless.

I do think Disney had Kimba in mind when making the Lion King - even if not a straight copy, it's more than brief artistic nod. A copy doesn't have to be a straight copy of the story - a copy can be taking characters and concepts and making a new story from them.

However, I doubt Atlantis was a copy of the Japanese Nadia - there was a big media fuss about Kimba/Lion King at it's time, and Disney wouldn't want to go through that again.

[Craig]

There arguments and screen grabs sound reasonable to me, and more than just co-incidence. However the most damning like aren't backed up with any references, so are pretty useless.

That quote <i>is</i> referenced, to the book "Disney, The Mouse Betrayed" by Peter Schweizer and Rochelle Schweizer. There is also a quote on that web page from Roy Disney, dating from the year before Lion King was released, referring to <i>Kimba</i> in The Lion King. Reference for this quote is also given.

Not mentioned on that page are things like the talk I had with one of Lion King's animators, who is a BIG Kimba fan from way before he worked on Lion King, and the letter received from a Disney publicist, dating from 1992, referring to "the remake of Kimba the White Lion that we're doing."

I do think Disney had Kimba in mind when making the Lion King - even if not a straight copy, it's more than brief artistic nod. A copy doesn't have to be a straight copy of the story - a copy can be taking characters and concepts and making a new story from them.

Exactly. And it's obvious to those who know the Kimba series that that's what happened. Check out the commentary by Fred Ladd, the guy who was responsible for bringing Kimba to the US, in the current set of Kimba DVDs.