Criticism of The Walt Disney Company feature the theme of the circle of life. Alleged similarities in the characters, beginning with the protagonist lion cubs "Kimba" and "Simba", include the evil lions, 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. Both films feature the protagonist looking up
Shadowland (The Lion King) Crawford covered the song in a medley of songs from "The Lion King". In 2016, Simmons performed the song live on the Disney Wonder cruise ship as part of the Disney Theatrical Group's "Stars Set Sail" live concert series. After Disney announced that singer Beyoncé had been cast as Nala in John Favreau's upcoming live-action remake of "The Lion King" in November 2017, fans started hoping Beyoncé would be recording a version of "Shadowland" for the film. WLCK's Ray Cornelius speculated, "While this tune was not in the original movie, I’m sure the film’s producers will make an exception and