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2. I don't like Mufasa one bit. I know that he's supposed to be a wise and likable character but I'm with Scar here - I felt he was a real bully. I find myself feeling more sorry for the villains then I did for Mufasa. I know that there's nothing wrong with liking a villain but I find it concerning that I feel sorry for a cruel dictator.

And also, it seems that the lionesses can't fight Scar unless one male lion joins them.

I really don't think this sort of statement should be here. I'm an avid Lion King fan - have been since June 1994 when it first came out in theaters. Yes, it is true that there is a lot that can be discussed in regards to The Lion King and Kimba the White Lion and their various connections. Oh, and UK, the people connected to the Kimba franchise were up in arms, back in 1994 when the The Lion King was released, however I do not recall a lawsuit ever being filed. I still remember it quite clearly...

But anyway, I've come to the conclusion that the vast majority of accusations are coincidental. In fact, what the film is heavily inspired from is explicitly Shakespeare's Hamlet. Now I'm going to assume that most of you aren't familiar with the works of Shakespeare so I'm gonna just condense it... A lot:

Prince Hamlet's uncle Claudius kills King Hamlet, Claudius becomes king and marries Prince Hamlet's mother. Prince Hamlet grapples with what he should do, is told by the deceased King Hamlet that Claudius killed him and goes to avenge his father. Sound familiar? It should. Simba's uncle Scar kills Mufasa, Scar becomes king and evidently attaches himself to Sarabi. Simba goes off into the world, not sure really of what to do. The ghost of Mufasa comes to Simba and practically tells Simba to avenge him. However, Simba does not kill Scar, simply do to the dualistic nature of the vast majority of Disney films (the good guy never kills the bad guy).

The Lion King is also inspired by Bambi (which was also an inspiration to Kimba: The White Lion - not to mention the Disney company's involvement with Kimba), various Biblical tales, as well as African folklore.

In other words, perhaps there were some factors inspired from Kimba, but not enough to say that it is a direct copy. Kimba deals more with making the world a better place between humans and animals, whereas that message is entirely absent in The Lion King and its sequels. Perhaps the best message that can be deduced from the Disney film is that (quoting Spider-Man) "With great power comes great responsibility." In other words - Mufasa was a good king and knew how the balance operated within the kingdom, and Scar did not. Simba, with Mufasa's aid, also knew what would be expected of him, and thus the balance of the pridelands was restored.

So if you really think hard about it - or any pair of films that has coincidences within it - all you can really know for truth is that human cultures are essentially similar and ideas are recycled and changed.

As to the other allegations which have not yet been discussed:
1. The similarity of Claw and Scar - could be partially be based upon the idea of duality (black/dark=bad, white/light=good). Scar's design is also based primarily on the now-thought-to-be-extinct Cape lion, the males of which were most notable for their black manes, which tufted behind their forelegs and stretched to the mid-abdomen.

2. Mufasa is not a major character. He is there primarily for exposition as well as being a symbol of a good leader. Also, in lion prides, the males run the show, to the point of infanticide. The females may try to fight the male, but usually fighting comes down to being between members of the same sex.

3. Hyenas may have gotten a bad reputation, but in a lot of respects, it has been earned (please note, I do like hyenas, as they are one of the species in which females run the show). If you watch the documentaries regarding the relationship between the spotted hyena and the common lion, you will know that the two species are in a constant state of war - one of the few notable cases of non-human species engaging in the killing of one another without actually consuming the kills (the other species to my knowledge that wages war is the chimpanzee). In other words, lions and hyenas kill one another over food and territory. If a group of hyenas come across a lone lion, they will kill it - and vice-versa. The war between lions and hyenas is one that is fairly well documented. And remember, at the end of the first film, it is the hyenas that finally kill Scar after he betrays them, so they are not completely at his beck and call. Please also note that wolves and bears do not actually fare well in film. Wolves, in particular, have been made out to be the bad guy on more than one occasion, often revived through animation. In any case, for population purposes, all of the species that you have mentioned, Canis, have not fared well in the real world. But also remember, the film is taken from the perspective of the lions, not the hyenas.

4. As for the baboon and mandrill connection (until recently -2005ish- baboons and mandrills have been grouped under baboon). Baboons are actually fairly intelligent primates - likely the closest related monkey to the apes. The fact of this matter is that baboons can and do face off with lions - the size of their canine teeth sometimes does call off an attack.

And finally for the circle of life thing - again another idea from human cultural folklore... Thus, the human brain functions are generally the same physically (as the species is one species), you get similar if not the same ideas culturally.

*pants*

Also, the only lawsuit against the film has been from the family of the man who wrote "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - in 2004.

you know this is apparent that some of the people that agree with the creator of this topic don't like lion king so it's no excuse to shovbe it in other peoples faces.

Well, wont we have a interesting flame war here? No kidding. We will, Canis Lupus. Don't forget that TLK fans actually come here. We are sick of Balto fans invading our boards and saying 'Balto is better, TLK is soo overrated.' because we could all march up to the Balto board and say 'We love TLK and Balto is not our favourite!'. But we don't. Steet made BS and LKS for a reason. You are asking for people to complain. Thats my opinion.

VividLegacy => Strange, I find the Balto screenshot much better than the Lion King one (at least the characters are drawn *differently*...), although less "clean" (don't forget that the picture of Balto has not been restored, unlike The lion king)