A colleague of mine has been sharing a lot of Disney development work on LinkedIn and today he posted this work-in-progress of the opening from the original THE LION KING. It brings back a lot of memories, two of the most prominent are, how late in the process this opening came together, and how it stands the test of time of one of the most powerful openings of film ever. This film went through incredible development pains. I saw directors and producers fired after more than two years of work. Most in the studio didn’t want to be on it. Of the two films in production at the time, this was the “B” movie and POCAHONTAS was the “A” movie. Then the new directors and the story team went to Africa (again). They came back with the phrase HAKUNA MATATA and the idea of the circle of life theme. Tim Rice wrote the lyrics and Elton John the music with South African composer Lebo M singing the primary vocal.
The script was a work in progress (at the time pages were often redone to reflect input from the story team). This opening comes in at a tight 4 pages, including lyrics.
Even with all of that reworking and development, you can see in the two clips below how it is improved with each iteration; and really that is how Disney made these films with such perfection. Through iteration, testing, rinse and repeat.
Even so, this opening never fails to arrest the attention and delight the senses all while establishing world, theme and characters.
Does anyone have another animation opening that sticks the landing like this one?
The first link is the work in progress, the second is the final cut.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jazno_note-movie-link-below-this-was-our-...
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Hi, Laurie Ashbourne. Your post and the videos remind me of my spec scripts and how even after I've outlined them and finished the final draft, things can change. Scenes, dialogue, theme, etc. I wrote a feature script a while back and realized months later I needed to change the opening scene. I got more script requests after changing the scene.
I watched The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie yesterday, and the opening sticks the landing. The movie is fun and funny!
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Maurice Vaughan You can never go wrong with Porky and Daffy!
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You're right, Laurie Ashbourne. I'm excited to see Coyote vs. Acme!
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Laurie Ashbourne thank you for sharing. As I get further into animation and developing original IP it's always fascinating to see the process and refinement of what I would consider the all time greats for animation. I often think the process should be linear and straight forward but often times, if not the majority of the times it's not that simple and straight-forward. It's a lot of trial and errors, going back to the drawing board and like Disney you think huh this isn't gonna be the one and it turns out to be the big hitter.
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Laurie Ashbourne, this post gave me chills. It’s incredible to see how something so iconic, so deeply embedded in the hearts of audiences worldwide, almost didn’t come together. The journey you shared really speaks to the power of iteration and trusting the process, even when a project starts out as the “B movie.”
What stands out most is how each creative choice, from the research trip to Africa to the collaboration with Lebo M, Rice, and Elton John, layered more authenticity and soul into the film. That opening is a masterclass in world-building, tone-setting, and emotional resonance in just a few minutes.
Other animated openings that come to mind for me: Up’s wordless prologue, Wall-E’s haunting intro, and Finding Nemo’s bittersweet opening.
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I'm glad you enjoyed it Ashley Renee Smith - It is so often that the opening is one of the last sequences completed in Animation.
All of Pixar's classic titles were perfectly orchestrated. (Today not so much)
UP's "Married Life" montage is 10 minutes long! And certainly a masterclass in storytelling with no dialogue -- right up there with the great silent films. If I ever have a brick and mortar studio I will play silent films on a loop in the common areas.
UP's sequence originally had a lot of dialogue and was written to give Ed Asner a backstory on why his character was so miserable and tied to his house. The story artist's convinced them to try it without dialogue and tighten it up.
However, most forget that it's not the actual opening. There is about 4-5 minutes of them as kids and the newsreel of the explorer that comes first. It was also originally titled "HELIUMS." Can you imagine?