Well. OK; they really do not look alike. ;-) I have no idea, how far the stories match up, but coming from a literature background, I can only say, that a lot of stories are a lot alike, when they tell anything in the same genre.

I mean, look at a lot of forensic women in thrillers. But that is just meant as a bit background-info on literature. There is even a "scientific" way of saying, some (very) old author copied from someone else:

Intertextuality: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertextuality

But as a side-note: Don't the ears of the white lion remind anyone of Mickey Mouse? Just saying... ;-)

"But as a side-note: Don't the ears of the white lion remind anyone of Mickey Mouse? Just saying... ;-)"

* Mickey Mouse: First appearance - Steamboat Willie (1928)

* Kimba The White Lion: [..]Kimba the White Lion, is an anime series from the 1960s. Created by Osamu Tezuka and based on his manga of the same title which began publication in 1950

There's some more info here:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1378/did-disneys-em...

I wanted to link to another article, but can't find it right now, but it had a comparison of specific shots that were alleged to have been plagiarised. I remember it being quite striking, but these things are usually in the eye of the beholder.

Regardless, on the general point, for those who believe in "remix" culture there's nothing ethically wrong with this kind of direct inspiration provided credit is given where it is due.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned that the Lion King is basically just an adaptation of Hamlet...

Were there "mysterious" injuries during production though?