Hyena biologist filed lawsuit against Disney over portrayal of animals in Lion King
The 1994 original of the Disney classic The Lion King is regarded by many as one of the best animated films of all time.
As many of us all know, The Lion King follows the story of a young lion in Simba, the soon-to-be king of the Pride Lands.
His scheming uncle Scar attempts to remove Mufasa from the throne by luring him and Simba into the deep trouble of wildebeests, leading to one of the most heartbreaking scenes of our childhoods.
Later as an adult - with a little help from his friends - Simba attempts to take back his homeland from his evil uncle.
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Despite all its plaudits, you might not have known that Disney was actually sued by a biologist over certain scenes in the film.
According to Screen Rant, Disney animators were invited to the University of California’s Field Station for Behavioral Research to meet with hyena biologists.
The whole point of the trip was for animators working on The Lion King to have the chance to observe hyenas before the film was properly made and released.
Biologists reportedly made the animators promise that when the film eventually came out, they would portray the animal in a positive light.
Well, that didn't exactly happen as the hyenas in The Lion King couldn't get further away from being portrayed in a good light as they were the villainous sidekicks.
And while many decided to boycott The Lion King over the film's depiction of hyenas, one biologist supposedly took it to the next level by attempting to sue Disney for defamation of character.
But nothing ever came of this lawsuit, as a person or a company can’t really defame a hyena - so the claim was laughed out of court.
However, that wasn't the only time Disney has faced legal action over The Lion King.
Ever since the film released in 1994, the company has been accused of stealing the concept of The Lion King from the Japanese cartoon Kimba the White Lion.
The cartoon - which was created in 1950 - has many similarities with The Lion King that people have picked out over the years.
According to the Bored Panda, there is a shared likeness between Simba and Kimba, and both films feature themes such as 'The Circle of Life'.
And the similarities even go as far as the story, which both following lion cubs fighting to regain the throne after the deaths of their fathers.
The Simpsons even got involved in the past by parodying the controversy in their 1995 episode, 'Round Springfield'.
But Disney has always denied that they copied the Japanese cartoon, with one of its animator's having to come out publicly defend the company.
In an interview with the HuffPost, Tom Sito said: "I can say there is absolutely no inspiration from Kimba.
"I mean, the artists working on the film, if they grew up in the ’60s, they probably saw Kimba. I mean, I watched Kimba when I was a kid in the ’60s, and I think in the recesses of my memory, we’re aware of it, but I don’t think anybody consciously thought, ‘Let’s rip off Kimba’."
Topics: Disney, Film and TV
Callum Jones