The Lion King is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional media. The success of the original 1994 American animated feature, The Lion King, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, led to a direct-to-video sequel and midquel, a 2019 film remake, a television film sequel, two spin-off television series, three educational shorts, several video games, merchandise, and the third-longest-running musical in Broadway history, which garnered six Tony Awards including Best Musical. The franchise, led by the musical's box office at $8.1 billion (as of December 2017), is the highest-grossing entertainment property. The franchise as a whole has EGOT-ed, meaning it has won the four biggest awards of American show business. The franchise mainly revolves about a pride of lions who oversee a large swath of African savanna as their "kingdom" known as the Pride Lands, with their leader Simba watching over it as "king". The first three animated films are widely known for being influenced by the works of William Shakespeare, as well as other works based on his material. Films Traditionally animated films The Lion King The Lion King is the original film of the franchise. It was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, premiered in selected cities on June 15, 1994, and widely released to theaters on June 24 by Walt Disney Pictures. The Lion King is the 32nd Disney animated feature film and belongs to an era known as the Disney Renaissance. The plot of the film is influenced by William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, and is believed to have been inspired by Osamu Tezuka's 1960s Japanese anime series Kimba the White Lion. Around the World with Timon and Pumbaa The series The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa had a direct-to-video film named Around the World with Timon and Pumbaa, with Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella reprising their roles as Timon and Pumbaa respectively. The story tells of Pumbaa getting struck by lightning, losing all his memory, and Timon helps refrain every moment they spent. After Pumbaa gets his memory back, lightning strikes Timon losing his memory this time, making Pumbaa break the fourth wall by telling the viewers to rewind the tape to start at the beginning, being it was the only way to help Timon remember. Several episodes from the series are featured in this film. Aside from this film, two other DVDs,