Roger Allers posted a reflective social media post about the success of directing Disney’s The Lion King.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 30 years since the classic movie was released, but it has been. For the director, he seems to have a lot of fond memories to the film that features Simba, Scar, and others in the kingdom of Pride Rock.
Allers took to Instagram to reflect on what it was like working on the movie and much more.
“30 years ago we made a movie,” the post starts with. “It was a lot of work. A lot of great people worked on it together. These people are still my friends. A lot of people saw it and liked it. I have met some of these people and we are still friends. It still is a big part of my life. I am grateful.”
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In case you didn’t know, The Lion King is a Disney animated feature that was unmissable in 1994. It follows the young lion cub Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), the heir of Mufasa (James Earl Jones), his father. Things take a turn when Simba’s nasty uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons) works on a plot to usurp Mufasa’s throne by having the father and son lion get stampeded by wildebeests. However, Simba escapes, but his father isn’t so lucky. Later, as an adult, Simba returns to take back his homeland from Scar. He gets help from his friends Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella).
It grossed $543.638 million in the U.S. and Canada and $1.1119 billion worldwide — making it a massive success.
Post-Lion King wasn’t easy for Allers
In an interview with Fumettologica, the director discussed how he was fired from Disney for his pet project, Kingdom of the Sun, and reflected how it wasn’t easy after Lion King.
“The Kingdom of the Sun was such a heartbreaking experience for me,” Allers said. I put four years of my heart and energy into that one. Though I may have seemed calm for the camera (as I always tried to be for my crew), inside, it was a chaotic struggle resulting in annihilation. I was creating a picture, mixing elements of adventure, comedy, romance, and mysticism.
“The head of Disney features at the time was afraid that we were doing, in his opinion, too many films in the same vein. He was also uncomfortable with the spiritual and cultural (Inca) aspects of it. Hence, he decided to make it a simple slapstick comedy. They kept just enough of my elements (characters and such) that I can never produce my original vision or story elsewhere. Would it have worked out if we had had more time? I would hope so, but one can never know these things.”
Because The Kingdom of the Sun didn’t do too well, it could explain his nostalgia for The Lion King. And he has good reason for it. It’s a timeless classic that will live on forever in the hearts of fans for generations to come. It’s just hard to believe it’s been 30 years since it was released.
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