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#Simba the white lion series
Written by illustrator/animator Osamu Tezuka (sometimes referred to as Japan's equivalent of Walt Disney), the comic was turned into a popular anime television series in the mid '60s by Mushi Production. The similarities are undeniable, but again, I don’t think it was done with any intention."įor those unfamiliar with the talk that surrounded both properties, Kimba was a Japanese manga from the 1950s and told the story of a young white lion who gallantly leads his fellow jungle denizens. And so, it gave everyone pause, I think, to look at it and go, ‘Wow, there is a lot of similarity.’ But I don’t think it was ever done intentionally.
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It was only after the film was made that people said, ‘Hey, this is based on Kimba.’ And then they showed the parallels and they were not insignificant. "No one brought it up, talked about it, discussed it - nobody mentioned that there was even any similarity. "It was never discussed and there was no intentional parallel ever made that I was ever aware of," Minkoff says. Speaking with the original film's co-director, Rob Minkoff, and co-screenwriter, Linda Woolverton, we broached the topic of Kimba the White Lion, the comparisons that have been made to The Lion King, and whether this factored into the film's production. However, the iconic film’s resurgent popularity has also brought renewed focus on a controversy that hovered over the film’s initial release: comparisons made between The Lion King and the '60s anime Kimba the White Lion. With Jon Favreau's CGI and star-studded remake pouncing on theaters, The Lion King is enjoying much renewed attention as it celebrates 25 years this summer.