Scar (The Lion King) is not a lion to be trifled with." A film that features the voices of several well-known A-list actors, namely Irons as Scar, Matthew Broderick as Simba, James Earl Jones as Mufasa and Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi, "The Lion King "has since gone on to be acclaimed as "one of the most impressive arrays of voice talents ever utilized in an animated film." Critics have repeatedly singled out Irons's performance, praising it extensively: Cindy White of IGN called Irons's performance "deliciously smarmy," while Andy Patrizio of IGN wrote that Irons voices Scar "in perfect Shakespearean villain mode." "Rolling Stone"s Peter
The Lion King (franchise) as Head of Story, Roger Allers joined "The Lion King", as the initial director. Allers worked for 6 months on story development and was then joined by co-director, Rob Minkoff. A 2-day story session was held to revamp the story with the two directors, Allers and Minkoff, joined by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, directors of "Beauty and the Beast", and Producer Don Hahn who presided over the discussion. The creative think-tank produced a character makeover for Simba and a radically revised second half of the film. Irene Mecchi joined the team that summer to help further develop the characters