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If there’s ONE piece of pop-culture entertainment that is the epitome of needing absolutely no introduction, it is Disney’s The Lion King from 1994.
Based on Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’, the powerful story is one of Disney’s most timeless masterpieces, and with stay home notices upon us, there's no better time to look toward the classics. But you've probably already watched this classic a thousand times, so if you haven't already, enter some uncharted, but familiar territory.
The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa: Series
Set almost immediately after The Lion King, this spin-off series centres on crowd-favourite meerkat and warthog. This is the first of two series to have come out of The Lion King movie, the other being The Lion Guard. Their problem-free philosophy aired on CBS and Disney on Fridays for three seasons, from September 1995 to 1999. This series also has an antagonistic human in it.
Cam Clarke, who played Simba in this series later went on to play Simba in Lion King II: Simba's Pride in 1998.
The two also got their very own feature film in 2004: The Lion King 1½.
Animated Movie Sequels
After the original The Lion King premiered in 1994, there were two other films that continued with the name of the film.
The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride
This was released in 1998 on VHS by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The film is a sequel to The Lion King, and is heavily influenced by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara falls in love with Kovu, a rogue lion from a banished pride that once followed the lead of Scar, Simba’s evil uncle and murderer of Mufasa.
The DVD release features five "Find Out Why" shorts about science, featuring Timon & Pumbaa.
Watch the "Find Out Why" videos here.
The Lion King 1½ (aka The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata!)
2004 saw the release of The Lion King 1½ (aka The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata!), focusing on the adventures of the fourth wall breaking Timon and Pumbaa and their lives before and during The Lion King, as they help Simba. The film was released direct-to-video in 2004, with theatrical releases in some places around the world. It also has a song that uses the tune of "Warthog Rhapsody", a deleted song from The Lion King by Elton John and Tim Rice!
The DVD also has a mockumentary featurette of Timon. "Behind The Legend" traces his childhood with interviews also featuring friends and family.
Watch "Behind The Legend" here.
Daily Fix: The Lion Guard series
The Lion Guard is an animated television series spin-off released on Disney channel in 2016, based on the original The Lion King. It ran for three seasons till 2019, and no news of a fourth season has been announced.
In the continuity of the movies, The Lion Guard works as a direct sequel to The Lion King and is set before The Lion King II. If you thought this was a movie, it’s probably because The Lion Guard premiered with a movie, entitled The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar.
The Lion Guard generally centers around Kion, the younger brother of Kiara. He has superpowers, and is gifted with the Roar of The Elders, and the series takes us through young Kion maintaining the safety of Pride Rock! Also, Simba is voiced by ROB LOWE!
Watch The Lion Guard for free here.
Lion King: The Musical
The music being one of the things that made The Lion King so noteworthy, The Lion King musical features the music of Elton John, Tim Rice, and Lebo M. Since 1997, it has made use of some outstanding costumes and giant hollow puppets, utilising props and an immensely talented cast to tell the story of The Lion King like you would never otherwise have experienced.
The musical is as much of a classic as the movie is, surpassing The Phantom of The Opera’s box-office top-earning position in September 2014. Not to mention, it has what is arguably one of the best songs from The Lion King franchise, "He Lives In You".
Also, Rafiki, who narrates the tale, is female, and it's soulful.
Watch "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" and "He Lives In You" from The Lion King musical online here.
And just for fun, here's Timon and Pumbaa being safety guides
The series called Wild About Safety features the two in eight short films about safety, ranging from staying healthy to being safe online.
The shorts were made to be played in Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. Of course, they’re each accompanied with a kick-ass song. Now, all we need is one telling people to STAY HOME.
Watch a short here.
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