Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King is now playing in theaters worldwide, a sequel/prequel to the 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King. As a fan who grew up with the animated classic and its offshoots, one of the big surprises to me was all of the ways it references the original film’s spin-off projects. In that spirit, here are all of the connections I noticed in the family-friendly blockbuster.
NOTE: This article contains spoilers and is intended for readers who have already seen “Mufasa: The Lion King.”
Kimba The White Lion
When Disney’s The Lion King was released in 1994, it immediately drew comparisons to another project – Kimba the White Lion. A Japanese import, the show was an anime adaptation of a hit manga that ran from 1965 to 1967. When it received an English dub, character names were changed, which is where the name Kimba came from, chosen because it sounded like the Swahili word for lion (“Simba”) but modified so it could be distinctly monetized.
In the series, Kimba’s father, Caesar, dies trying to save his son. Kimba ultimately fulfills his destiny as king, facing off against a lion with a deformed eye named Claw and seeking wisdom from a mandrill guide named Mandy. Where Kimba the White Lion drastically differs from Disney’s The Lion King is through the fact that humans are an integral part of the series. Caesar dies trying to save his son from humans, and Kimba learns a lot about mankind, which he uses to be a better leader of animals.
Rob Minkoff, one of the directors of The Lon King, was unaware of the existence of Kimba the White Lion while developing the animated classic. The film’s other director, Roger Allers, has pointed out that similarities would be circumstantial because both stories are centered around a lion in Africa. Furthermore, Makoto Tezuka, son of Janguru Taitei (as Kimba the White Lion was called in Japan) creator Osamu Tezuka, has said that the production company behind the series (Tezuka Productions) sees no form of copyright infringement in Disney’s film.
Despite there being no real controversy, urban legend has continued to draw comparisons between Kimba the White Lion and The Lion King, which surely has inspired the creators of Mufasa: The Lion King. In the film, Kiros is a nefarious white lion, king of a tribe that wants to eradicate the bloodline of Taka’s pride. Kiros, voiced by Mads Mikkelsen, is the inciting incident that drives Mufasa and Taka to run away, ultimately leading them to their destiny at Pride Rock.
Fun fact: White lions aren’t a separate species but a genetic mutation known as leucism, which is the same phenomenon that also yields white tigers. They are very rare, with just 13 known to live in the wild currently.
Rhythm of the Pride Lands and the Broadway Show
The 1994 animated classic featured songs written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score by Hans Zimmer. But one of the key ingredients to the film’s musical tapestry was Lebo M., who wrote and performed the “Nants' Ingonyama” chant that opens “Circle of Life.” The music from The Lion King proved so popular that the first spin-off project was an album, Rhythm of the Pride Lands, which introduced new, original songs inspired by the film, and helped convince Disney that the film could be reinterpreted for the stage. The same team that helped bring Rhythm of the Pride Lands to life, including Lebo M., were also brought into the creative team on the Broadway adaptation. Several songs from the album were incorporated into the show, including “He Lives in You,” “One By One,” “Lea Halalela (Holy Land)" (as “Shadowland”), and “Lala” (as “Endless Night”). And Dave Metzger, who assisted Hans Zimmer with orchestrations on the film, orchestrated the music for the musical production.
Mufasa: The Lion King contains songs by Lebo M. and Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with a score by Dave Metzger. In the song “Milele,” the lyric “It lives in you, it lives in me” draws a direct connection to the lyrics of “He Lives in You” (“He lives in you, he lives in me”). And then there’s a fourth-wall breaking line from Timon about seeing “the play,” who mentions his disappointment about his portrayal by a puppet, which is exactly how Julie Taymor’s stage adaptation portrays Timon and Pumbaa.
The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride
Disney Television Animation wasted no time expanding the world of The Lion King. The TV series spin-off Timon & Pumbaa debuted in the fall of 1995, sending the sidekicks on madcap adventures that put them in our human world. While the tone of that series was quite a departure from the source material, Disney Television Animation was hard at work on a more grounded project, a direct-to-video sequel that incorporated “He Lives in You” from Rhythm of the Pride Lands.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet inspired The Lion King, and its follow-up used the framework of another of the bard’s classic tragedies, Romeo and Juliet. Simba and Nala’s daughter, Kiara, meets and befriends Kovu, the heir apparent to Scar, when both are young. By the time they’re adults, friendship has blossomed into romance, one that both of their parents forbid. Unlike Shakespeare’s play, The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride has a happy ending for its star-crossed lovers.
In the live-action world of The Lion King, Mufasa makes Kiara canon. The film’s entire narrative device involves Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa, keeping the young princess distracted while Simba and Nala are away. And they fittingly do this by telling her the story of her grandfather and his brother, a story of siblings that will become ever more poignant to the young cub.
The Lion King 1½
The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride was a smash hit on VHS in 1998, so it’s no surprise that Disney would want another, which came in 2004. Known internationally as The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata, The Lion King 1½ contains splashes of a prequel while also following what Timon and Pumbaa were up to during the events of the first film (the scenes they weren’t in, that is). And when the plot has to retread elements from the first film, the characters appear in silhouette via a screening room ala Mystery Science Theater 3000 to provide commentary, or munch on some snacks.
In Mufasa: The Lion King, Timon and Pumbaa are an eager audience for Rafiki until they find out they’re not really part of this story. Fans of The Lion King 1½ will feel the parallels as the duo try to find ways to shoehorn themselves into the story at any cost. They even try to get their own musical sequence, turning “Hakuna Matata” into “Hakuna Mufasa” (which means “No Mufasa”). And, of course, they pull up for the main feature with a leafy tray full of grub to munch on.
Wild About Safety
Timon and Pumbaa often exemplify what not to do, which is why Disney Educational Productions used the duo for a series of animated shorts that teach kids about important precautions. These educational programs, titled Wild About Safety, even found their way into Disney Parks, with representation on Disney Resort TV channels and collectible cards that kids can find in the parks.
A sequence in Mufasa: The Lion King feels ripped from the curriculum of Disney’s Wild About Safety. During one of the many pauses in Mufasa and Taka’s story, Pumbaa runs out of the cave to use the restroom. When he returns, Timon asks if Pumbaa washed his hooves, making him go back outside and rinse to avoid spreading germs. This ground was previously covered in the 2010 educational short, Safety Smart: Healthy and Fit!
The Lion Guard
Disney Junior’s The Lion Guard reimagined The Lion King for a preschool audience, set between Kiara’s cub and adult years in The Lion King 2. It introduced her younger brother, Kion, who, as the second born, is gifted with the 'Roar of the Elders,' summoned by the spirit of Mufasa to form his own Lion Guard to defend the Circle of Life. Over the course of the show’s three seasons, Kion and his Lion Guard also faced off against the spirit of his vengeful great uncle Scar.
It’s no secret in Mufasa: The Lion King that Nala has gone into the jungle to give birth, and that Simba has entrusted Kiara’s care to Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa while he goes to protect her and bring them home. As Kiara is told the story of her grandfather and great uncle’s sibling bond, she ultimately finds herself tasked with being a good sibling to her own brother. The film doesn’t name the young cub revealed at the end, in the same way that both versions of The Lion King don’t reveal the gender or name of the offspring of Simba and Nala. But since a precedent of following The Lion King’s continuations from Disney Television Animation has been established, fans will no doubt come to the conclusion that Kiara’s little brother is named Kion.
Fun fact: Kion is to “Lion” as Simba is to “Kimba.”
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