The Circle of Life

Three animated stars of the motion picture "The Lion King" have set off on a whole new adventure to entertain Walt Disney World audiences with humorously presented but powerful messages about protecting the world's environment for all living things. The film, shown in a 428-seat theater.

Simba, the lion; Timon, the meerkat; and Pumbaa, the warthog, are stars of "Circle of Life," a film presentation at The Land, presented at Epcot by Nestlé USA. Using the emotional "Circle of Life" theme song from "The Lion King" as a title and overall musical background provides an inspirational theme for a positive environmental message.

The Future World movie combines spectacular 70mm live-action footage with animation footage created for the filming. Presented as a fable, "Circle of Life" begins with Simba, now king of the Pridelands, beside a water hole where he is startled by the shout of "Timber!"

Simba soon discovers Timon and Pumbaa are clearing the savanna for the Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village development. Simba cautions them about mistreating the land and tells his father's story about a creature who sometimes forgets that everything is connected in the great Circle of Life. "That creature," he says, "is man."

The fable leads to valuable lessons illustrated with dramatic motion picture views of man's treatment of the land in urban and rural settings around the world. It presents a serious subject with a lighter, more optimistic view than the typical environmental film.

The production was directed by Bruce Morris of Walt Disney Feature Animation with Paul Justman, a well-known music video producer, responsible for live-action sequences.

"We wanted to show environmental problems in modern society but move people emotionally to realize that, 'Yeah, we can do something about this,' " the directors explained.

Tom Fitzgerald, senior vice president of Disney Theme Park Productions, said producers wanted to avoid being preachy. "Primarily, we want to entertain. And if guests get the message to be more environmentally responsible, we've accomplished our mission."

With mischievous Timon and Pumbaa, it would be impossible to make this a preachy film, Justman said. "They're just fun characters!" Their voices are provided by Ernie Sabella and Nathan Lane, who created the waddling warthog and the crafty meerkat for the animated film.