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===Criticisms=== [[Image:Lionkg2.jpg|thumb|right|The alleged "SEX" frame|alt=Simba lays down on a cliff, while the airborne dust next to him resembles the shape "SFX".]] Protests were raised against one scene where it appears as if the word "SEX" might have been embedded into the dust flying in the sky when Simba flops down,<ref name="The">{{cite web | website=[[Snopes]]|title=The alleged "SEX" frame in ''The Lion King''|date=December 31, 1996 |url=http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lionking.asp| access-date=July 1, 2006}}</ref> which conservative activist [[Donald Wildmon]] asserted was a [[Subliminal stimuli|subliminal message]] intended to promote [[sexual promiscuity]]. Animator Tom Sito has stated that the letters spell "SFX" (a common abbreviation for "[[special effect]]s"), not with an "E" instead of the "F", and were intended as an innocent "signature" created by the effects animation team.<ref>{{cite book|title=Disney: The Mouse Betrayed : Greed, Corruption, and Children at Risk|author1=Schweizer, Peter|author2=Schweizer, Rochelle|publisher=Regnery Pub.|year=1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/disneymousebetra00schw/page/142 142]|isbn=0895263874|url=https://archive.org/details/disneymousebetra00schw/page/142}}</ref> Hyena biologists protested against the animal's portrayal, though the complaints may have been somewhat [[tongue-in-cheek]]. One hyena researcher, who had organized the animators' visit to the [[University of California, Berkeley]], Field Station for the Study of Behavior, Ecology, and Reproduction, where they would observe and sketch captive hyenas,<ref name="glick">{{cite journal|title=The Spotted Hyena From Aristotle to the Lion King: Reputation is Everything|author=Glickman, Stephen|journal=Social Research: An International Quarterly |volume=62|issue=3|date=Fall 1995}}</ref> listed "[[boycott]] ''The Lion King"'' in an article listing ways to help preserve hyenas in the wild, and later "joke[d] that ''The Lion King'' set back hyena conservation efforts."<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.lionconservation.org/PopularArticles/Girl-power,Africa-Geographic,2006.pdf|title=Girl Power|first=Laurence D.|last=Frank|journal=Africa Geographic|date=May 2006|access-date=July 29, 2010|archive-date=July 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727034458/http://www.lionconservation.org/PopularArticles/Girl-power,Africa-Geographic,2006.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.berkeleyside.com/2014/09/15/berkeleys-captive-colony-of-spotted-hyenas-closes-after-30-years|title=Berkeley's colony of spotted hyenas closes after 30 years|last=Orenstein|first=Natalie|date=2014-09-15|website=Berkeleyside|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-29|archive-date=August 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829162615/https://www.berkeleyside.com/2014/09/15/berkeleys-captive-colony-of-spotted-hyenas-closes-after-30-years|url-status=live}}</ref> Even so, the film was also credited with "spark[ing] an interest" in hyenas at the Berkeley center.<ref name=":0" /> The film has been criticized for race and class issues, with the hyenas seen as reflecting negative stereotypes of [[African Americans|black]] and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latino]] ethnic communities.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Martin-Rodriguez |first=Manuel |title=Hyenas in The Pride Lands: Latinos/As and Immigration in Disney's The Lion King |journal=AztlΓ‘n: A Journal of Chicano Studies |year=2000 |volume=25 |number=1 |pages=47β67|doi=10.1525/azt.2000.25.1.47 |s2cid=266898871 | issn = 0005-2604 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Gooding-Williams |first=Robert |title=Disney in Africa and the inner city: On race and space in The Lion King |journal=Social Identities |issue=2 |year=1995 |volume=1 |pages=373β379|doi=10.1080/13504630.1995.9959442 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Foster |first=David |title=The Lion King Falls Prey to Howls of Sexism, Racism |work=Chicago Tribune |page=26}}</ref> Others have also criticized the film for advancing a [[fascist]] narrative in its portrayal of a lion kingdom and a circle of life where "only the strong and the beautiful triumph, and the powerless survive only by serving the strong."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roth |first1=Matt |date=March 1996 |title=The Lion King: A short history of Disney-fascism |url=http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC40folder/LionKing.html |journal=[[Jump Cut (journal)|Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media]] |volume= |issue=40|pages=15β22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hassler-Forest |first1=Dan |date=July 2019 |title='The Lion King' is a fascistic story. No remake can change that. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/07/10/lion-king-is-fascistic-story-no-remake-can-change-that/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=January 23, 2025 |archive-date=July 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725012543/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/07/10/lion-king-is-fascistic-story-no-remake-can-change-that/ |url-status=live}}</ref> ====Resemblance to ''Kimba the White Lion''==== {{Further|Kimba the White Lion#Claims of resemblance to The Lion King|l1=Claims of resemblance to ''The Lion King''}} [[File:Earlypresentationreelwhitelionking.jpg|thumb|Screenshot from an early presentation reel of ''The Lion King'' that shows a [[white lion]] cub and a butterfly.]] Elements of ''The Lion King'' resemble the 1960s Japanese [[anime]] television series ''[[Kimba the White Lion|Jungle Emperor]]'' (known as ''Kimba the White Lion'' in the United States). The 1994 release of ''The Lion King'' drew a protest in Japan, where ''Kimba'' and its creator, [[Osamu Tezuka]], are cultural icons. 488 Japanese cartoonists and animators, led by the [[manga]] author [[Machiko Satonaka]], signed a petition accusing Disney of plagiarism and demanding that they give due credit to Tezuka.<ref>{{cite book |last=Raz |first=Aviad E. |title=Riding the Black Ship: Japan and Tokyo Disneyland |date=1999 |publisher=[[Harvard University Asia Center]] |isbn=9780674768949 |page=163 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Jk9mv25eloC&pg=PA163 |access-date=November 26, 2018 |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818185404/https://books.google.com/books?id=7Jk9mv25eloC&pg=PA163 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Japanese animator protests 'Lion King' |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/08/18/Japanese-animator-protests-Lion-King/4250777182400/ |work=[[United Press International]] |date=August 18, 1994 |access-date=November 26, 2018 |archive-date=November 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126180929/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/08/18/Japanese-animator-protests-Lion-King/4250777182400/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Broderick believed initially that he was working on an American version of ''Kimba''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schweizer |first1=Peter |last2=Schweizer |first2=Rochelle |author1-link=Peter Schweizer |title=Disney: The Mouse Betrayed: Greed, Corruption, and Children at Risk |url=https://archive.org/details/disneymousebetra00schw |chapter=The Lyin' King |publisher=Regnery |location=Washington, D.C. |year=1998 |pages=167β168 |isbn=978-0-89-526-3872 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Allers said he was unfamiliar with ''Kimba'' until ''The Lion King'' was almost complete, and did not remember it being mentioned during development.<ref name="fumettologica">{{cite interview |last=Fiamma |first=Andrea |url=http://www.fumettologica.it/2014/12/intervista-roger-allers-re-leone/2/ |title=Intervista a Roger Allers, il regista de Il Re Leone |work=[[Fumettologica]] |date=December 12, 2014 |access-date=March 30, 2015 |archive-date=February 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201005055/http://www.fumettologica.it/2014/12/intervista-roger-allers-re-leone/2/ |url-status=live |quote=The whole time I worked on ''The Lion King'' the name of that show never came up. At least I never heard it. I had never seen the show and really only became aware of it as ''Lion King'' was being completed, and someone showed me images of it. I worked with George Scribner and Linda Woolverton to develop the story in the early days but then left to help out on ''Aladdin''. If one of them were familiar with ''Kimba'' they didn't say. Of course, it's possible... Many story ideas developed and changed along the way, always just to make our story stronger. I could certainly understand ''Kimba''{{'}}s creators feeling angry if they felt we had stolen ideas from them. If I had been inspired by ''Kimba'' I would certainly acknowledge my inspiration. All I can offer is my respect to those artists and say that their creation has its loyal admirers and its assured place in animation history.}}</ref> The law professor [[Madhavi Sunder]] suggested that Allers might have seen the 1989 remake of ''Kimba'' on television while living in Tokyo. However, while Allers did move to Tokyo in 1983 to work on ''[[Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland]]'' (1989), he moved back to the United States in 1985, four years before the 1989 remake of ''Kimba'' began airing.<ref name="LionKingProduction"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sunder |first1=Madhavi |title=From Goods to a Good Life: Intellectual Property and Global Justice |date=2012 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0300183559 |page=156 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7_q6zK0QD8C&pg=PA156 |access-date=November 27, 2018 |archive-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623071222/https://books.google.com/books?id=s7_q6zK0QD8C&pg=PA156 |url-status=live }}</ref> Minkoff also said he was unfamiliar with ''Kimba,''<ref name=welkos>{{cite news |first=Robert W. |last=Welkos |title=A 'Kimba' Surprise for Disney |date=July 13, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-13-ca-15117-story.html |access-date=March 30, 2015 |quote=I know for a fact that [''Kimba''] has never been discussed as long as I've been on the project... In my experience, if Disney becomes aware of anything like that, they say you will not do it. People are claiming copyright infringement all the time |archive-date=February 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210124542/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-07-13/entertainment/ca-15117_1_lion-king |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=sunder-p155/> and observed that stories set in Africa often have characters such as baboons, birds and hyenas.<ref name=welkos/> Takayuki Matsutani, the president of [[Tezuka Productions]], which created ''Kimba the White Lion'', said in 1994 that "quite a few staff of our company saw a preview of ''The Lion King'', discussed this subject and came to the conclusion that you cannot avoid having these similarities as long as you use animals as characters and try to draw images out of them".<ref name="Bradley 171">{{cite news |last=Bradley |first=Bill |title=Was 'The Lion King' Copied From A Japanese Cartoon? Here's The Real Story |newspaper=Huffington Post |date=2015-01-27 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/27/lion-king-kimba_n_6272316.html |page=171 |access-date=April 13, 2018 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107175930/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/27/lion-king-kimba_n_6272316.html |url-status=live }} (updated Dec 06, 2017)</ref> Yoshihiro Shimizu of Tezuka Productions refuted rumors that the studio was paid [[hush money]] by Disney and said they had no interest in suing Disney, explaining that "we think it's a totally different story". Shimizu said that they rejected urges from some American lawyers to sue because "we're a small, weak company... Disney's lawyers are among the top twenty in the world!"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelts |first1=Roland |title=Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the US |date=2007 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |edition=reprint |isbn=978-1-4039-8476-0 |page=45 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f2rgCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 |access-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-date=June 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607143810/https://books.google.com/books?id=f2rgCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 |url-status=live }}</ref> Tezuka's family and Tezuka Productions never pursued litigation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/26/lion-king-has-been-clouded-by-intellectual-property-controversy-years-heres-story-behind-it |title='Lion King' has been clouded by intellectual property controversy for 25 years. Here's the story behind it. |last=Denham |first=Hannah |date=July 26, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 3, 2020 |url-access=registration |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028231636/http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/26/lion-king-has-been-clouded-by-intellectual-property-controversy-years-heres-story-behind-it/ |archive-date=October 28, 2019 }}</ref> The American writer [[Fred Ladd]], who was involved with importing ''Kimba'' and other Japanese anime into America for [[NBC]], expressed incredulity that Disney staff could be ignorant of ''Kimba''.<ref name=ladd-deneroff/><ref name=sunder-p155>{{cite book |last=Sunder |first=Madhavi |author-link=<!--Madhavi Sunder--> |title=From Goods to a Good Life: Intellectual Property and Global Justice |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7_q6zK0QD8C |page=155156 |isbn=978-0300183559 |access-date=April 13, 2018 |archive-date=December 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201235136/https://books.google.com/books?id=s7_q6zK0QD8C |url-status=live }}</ref> Ladd said at least one animator was remembered by his colleagues as a ''Kimba'' fan and vociferous about Disney's conduct during production.<ref name=ladd-deneroff>{{cite book |last1=Ladd |first1=Fred |author-link=Fred Ladd |last2=Deneroff |first2=Harvey |title=Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas: An Insider's View of the Birth of a Pop Culture Phenomenon |publisher=McFarland |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rubax5GQA7kC&pg=PA64 |page=64 |isbn=9780786452576 |access-date=April 13, 2018 |archive-date=August 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819211302/https://books.google.com/books?id=rubax5GQA7kC&pg=PA64 |url-status=live }}</ref> The animators [[Tom Sito]] and Mark Kausler said they had watched ''Kimba'' as children in the 1960s, but Sito denied any influence, and Kausler emphasized Disney's ''Bambi'' as their model.<ref>{{cite book |last=Patten |first=Fred |author-link=Fred Patten |title=Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=81Y1TVYQSrEC&pg=PT171 |page=171 |isbn=9781611725100 |access-date=April 13, 2018 |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818203430/https://books.google.com/books?id=81Y1TVYQSrEC&lpg=PT171 |url-status=live }} {{ISBN|1-880656-92-2}}</ref><ref name="Bradley 171"/> The controversy was parodied in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[['Round Springfield|{{-'}}Round Springfield]]", in which Mufasa appears through the clouds and says, "You must avenge my death, Kimba... I mean, Simba."<ref>{{cite news |title=Was 'The Lion King' Copied From A Japanese Cartoon? Here's The Real Story |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lion-king-kimba_n_6272316 |work=[[HuffPost]] |date=January 27, 2015 |access-date=November 27, 2018 |archive-date=November 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127152007/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lion-king-kimba_n_6272316 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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