That’s right! The Lion King might not be as original as you once thought!
Look at that, Disney stealing from original property. I bet your childhood is just absolutely ruined!
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Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the Diply Court of Movie Rip-Offs.
Today we examine the case of Disney Vs. Osamu Tezuka, or better known as The Lion King Vs Kimba The White Lion .
Back in November 1950 to April 1954, there was a Japanese television series named ‘Kimba The White Lion’.
It had some strange and suspicious similarities to the hit Disney animated movie.
So today…
We will be examining the evidence and determining whether or not Disney is guilty of plagiarizing Kimba The White Lion .
And their punishment will be quick, just and nonexistent.
Exhibit A: The Opening
In both the opening to the animated series and the opening to the Disney movie, all the animals gather around a big pointed rock/cliff in order to see a new baby lion.
Exhibit B
In both of the pieces of media, poppa lion stands at the end of the pride rock, lording over his kingdom of animals and waiting for his son to be announced.
Exhibit C: The Raising
Both lion stories feature the son lion (or both children in the anime) being raised in front of all the animals, showing them off for everyone in the kingdom to see.
Exhibit D: The Villain
Both featured a villain lion with a scar over their left eye, a black mane and a name that obviously makes them the bad guy.
“Scar” for The Lion King and “Claw” for Kimba The White Lion .
Exhibit E: Bird Comapnion
Both the anime and the film feature a neurotic, sometimes annoying bird companion that helps out the lions in some way.
One that usually flies in to tell them that something is happening.
Exhibit F: The Talk
Both feature, near the beginning, a moment where the father lion and the son lion have a deep talk, solidifying their place in the world and their bond as father and son.
Exhibit G: The Love
Each of the lion stories has a subplot where the boy young lion and the girl young lion have a romantic affair.
Both start out as friends and end up as lovers.
Exhibit H: Dancing Crocodiles
During one scene in both the anime and the film, we see a bunch of silly dancing crocodiles.
Coincidence? I think not!
Exhibit I: Hyenas
Both of the pieces of media feature the bad lion having hyena henchmen.
There is one slight difference though: in the movie, Scar has three but in the anime, Claw only has two.
Exhibit J: The Stampede
Finally, there’s one scene in both the movie and the anime where the young male lion is stuck in a stampede.
In the movie, it’s wildebeest, in the anime its antelope.
Exhibit K: The Elephant Graveyard
In one scene during both the Disney version and the anime, the lion cubs go into an elephant graveyard where they are chased by the bad guy’s evil hyenas.
Exhibit L: Dad Saves Son
After being chased around the elephant graveyard for a while, father lion jumps in and saves his sons from the evil guy’s hyena henchmen.
Exhibit M: Poppa Lion Is Cheesed
And by “cheesed” I, of course, mean angry about the whole elephant graveyard thing.
Once they get back from the elephant graveyard the dad lion is pissed off at his son.
Exhibit N: Green Evil Plan
So as the dad and his son talk about the circle of life or whatever, the bad guy has an evil planning scene with his hyenas.
And yes, the predominant color is green in both of them.
Exhibit O: Same Dad Death
Sure, there are slight differences. But the death scene with the father is the same.
Sure, Scar holds him with his claws and Claw holds him with his teeth, but the sentiment and the way he falls off the cliff is the same.
Exhibit P: Same Sad Mourning
Oh, and yes, this was the scene that broke the hearts of ’90s kids everywhere, as well as ’50s Japanese kids everywhere.
The scene where the son snuggles up to his dad and begs him to come back to life.
Exhibit Q: Same Thorn Thicket
So once the dad has died and the villain tells the son lion to “run away and never return”, the hyenas chase the poor little cub through a thicket of thorns in both movies.
Exhibit R: Same Dying Desert
Although both Simba and Kimba (they both sound similar too, I’m just noticing this) escape the thorns, they both lie for a while dying in a desert.
Although Kimba’s looks a little more green.
Exhibit S: A Stinky Loner Warthog
Why… it seems both of the movies have a young warthog that’s stinky and outcasted from the world.
No word on whether or not Kimba’s story has a Timon or a Hakuna Matata.
The Verdict…
Due to overwhelming evidence, we the jury find the defendant guilty– what’s that? Someone called “NotDisney” just deposited $5,000 into my account?
Well, of course, we mean that the defendant is not guilty. You’re free to go, Disney.
Here’s a video comparing the two movies.
You can decide for yourself if this was a straight rip-off or it was just a really, really close coincidence.
All I know is that I need a place to spend this $5,000!
