The Lion King, a photorealistic computer-generated animation film, released in cinemas in 2019 has earned the number seven position among the highest-grossing films in cinema history.
The development of the film took more than two years: to make all the scenes realistic, the director and other members of the crew spent weeks travelling across Africa from north to south with more than 100 kg of equipment, photographing and filming both the animals and the places that inspired the herd lands, the wildebeest gorge and the elephant graveyard. (As was the case for the first Lion King, the American production had explored the length and breadth of Kenya's landscapes and its wildlife, filming a sort of documentary for internal use, to reproduce as faithfully as possible credible scenarios and situations of the savannah).
Every image and sequence recreated on the computer for the computer "remake" of the cartoon "The Lion King" refers back to Kenya, even before the famous "Hakuna Matata" motif. It is no coincidence that the Hell's Gate National Park inspired the crew in their supervision and search for certain areas potentially suitable as locations for the film.
Already at the screening-event in London on 14 July 2019 in addition to Beyoncé and her husband rapper and producer Jay Z and all the international animal voice actors, a delegation from the Kenyan government was also present, including Betty Radier the CEO of Kenya Tourist Board, who stated: "Our country is known as one of the world's top tourist attractions and certainly as the home of safaris. Now through this travellers can also discover other products that offer visitors a range of options from culture to wellness".
An interest in the Kenyan destination that also provoked the 1994 animated film on which this Disney digital product is 100 per cent based, thanks in part to the success of Jimmy Cliff's song "Hakuna Matata".