The Lion King is an all-time Disney favorite, for both children and adults. The heartbreaking scenes, the life mottos and the iconic soundtrack make it the great success that it is. With the much-anticipated remake of The Lion King out to theaters, we thought this was a good opportunity to share something you probably didn’t know about this Disney favorite: The Lion King may have been based on a Japanese manga series called “Junior Emperor” (translated in English to “Kimba the White Lion”).
Meet Kimba
No, it’s not a typo. The Japanese manga follows the life of Kimba (originally named Leo in the Japanese version), a white lion who lost both his parents in tragic accidents (sounds familiar already, right?)
The background of his story isn’t the same as Simba’s, but the essential story is – the adventures of a lion cub struggling to survive in the African wilderness accompanied by friends, including some other uncomfortable similarities.