A Wonderful Look At The Behind-The-Scenes Art Of "The Lion King"

It was a long journey to becoming king (design-wise).

So it may be hard to believe, but it's been 23 years since Disney released its masterpiece, The Lion King. And, ICYDK, there are now plans to remake the movie as a live-action film.

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While the live-action remake doesn't come out till 2019, Disney is giving us our Lion King fill in the meantime. They're getting ready to re-release the original on Blu-ray and in celebration, gave BuzzFeed some exclusive images.

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1. An early sketch of Mufasa and Simba.

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2. Simba looking really adorable and a bit more like the final version of the character.

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3. Dramatic concept art of Mufasa and Simba.

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4. Concept art of a lioness (Sarabi?) hunting.

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5. Mufasa walking through the Savannah.

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6. Early concept art for Scar.

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7. Scar looking very creepy and a bit more like his final version.

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8. Storyboard art for the iconic "Remember Who You Are" scene.

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9. Storyboard art for the battle between Simba and Scar.

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10. Storyboard art for the "Hakuna Matata" log bridge scene.

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11. Cute concept art of Simba and Nala.

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12. Beautiful concept art of the scene where Mufasa rescues Nala and Simba from the hyenas.

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13. A rough sketch of the post hyenas rescue scene.

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14. Early character design for Timon...

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15. ...and Pumbaa

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16. And finally, art showing Simba and Mufasa sitting majestically atop Pride Rock.

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Make sure to check out The Lion King out on Digital HD on August 15th and Blu-ray on August 29th.

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