Kimba the White Lion the one-eyed Claw and Scar, the sage baboons Dan'l Baboon and Rafiki, the animated birds Pauley Cracker and Zazu, and the pair of hyena sidekicks (it was a trio in the Disney film). "The Lion King" co-director Rob Minkoff deflected criticism of similarities in the characters by stating it was "not unusual to have characters like a baboon, a bird or hyenas" in films set in Africa. Matthew Broderick has said that when he was hired as the voice of adult Simba in "The Lion King", he presumed the project was related to "Kimba the White Lion". "I thought he
The Lion King (franchise) with Rafiki who gives him wisdom by narrating the past tales of the Pridelands. The story of the books was completely ignored by Disney in "The Lion King" sequels and isn't considered canon. "The Legend of the Lion King" was an underground stage performance retelling the story of the film using fully articulated puppets in Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland. This attraction ran from June 1994 to February 2002. A Broadway-caliber short-form stage musical named "Festival of the Lion King" is performed live in Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Florida and in Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland. It uses the