This Day in Disney History: The Lion King, and Cars 2 (06/24)

Disney continues a busy history of June releases with two more:

1994: The Lion King. It is the 32nd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa, and was influenced by the biblical tales of Joseph and Moses and William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. The film was produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance. Its songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with an original score by Hans Zimmer. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Robert Guillaume, Whoopi Goldberg, and Cheech Marin.

The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as king; however, after Simba's uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile in shame and despair. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny.

The Lion King was released to a positive reaction from critics, who praised the film for its music, story and animation; it finished its run as the highest-grossing release of 1994. Following a 3D re-release in 2011, with earnings of over US $987 million worldwide as of 2011, the film is the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated film in history, the highest-grossing 2D animated film in the United States, the third highest-grossing animated film of all time, and the 21st-highest-grossing feature film of all time.

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2011: Cars 2. Because there were so many unanswered questions remaining from Cars....

Cars 2 is a film produced by Pixar Animation Studios (their 12th) and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is the sequel to the 2006 film Cars (duh) and features the voices of Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, and Eddie Izzard. In the film, race car Lightning McQueen and tow truck Mater head to Japan and Europe to compete in the World Grand Prix, but Mater becomes sidetracked with international espionage (because that's believable).

Much of the cast from the original Cars remained intact for the sequel, but three voice actors of the original film have died since its release. Joe Ranft (who voiced Red) died in an automobile accident in 2005, ten months before Cars was released. The first film was dedicated in memoriam to him. Red appears in this film, but he does not speak or vocalize. George Carlin (who voiced Fillmore) died of heart failure in 2008; Fillmore also shows up in Cars 2, but he was voiced by Lloyd Sherr. Paul Newman (who voiced Doc Hudson) died of cancer in 2008. Doc was eventually written out, but with a few references to the character. He is thought to have died before the events of the movie, as Mater says that he would have been proud for McQueen's Piston Cups, which have been renamed after Doc; also, in the Tokyo race, one of the announcers says that Doc was one of the best dirt racers ever.

Cars 2 was released five years after the first film and was presented in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D, as well as traditional formats. Even though the film received mixed reviews from critics, breaking the studio's streak of critical success, it ranked No. 1 on its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada with $66,135,507.

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