The Lion King is about animals.
The Lion King . The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa and was influenced by William Shakespeare 's Hamlet . The Lion King tells the story of Simba , a young lion who is to succeed his father , Mufasa , as King of the Pride Lands ; however , after Simba 's uncle Scar murders Mufasa , Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile . Some time after the staff traveled to Hell 's Gate National Park in Kenya to research on the film 's setting and animals , Scribner left production disagreeing with the decision to turn the film into a musical and was replaced by Minkoff .