Remembering Roger Allers 1947-2026

Roger Allers by John Mueller

I was lucky enough to work with Roger Allers on two of the films he co-directed: Lion King and Open Season. Both movies were challenging projects with very high standards - and consequently high expectations of the artists who worked on them.  Despite these challenges both films were a great experience for me - made better by working under Roger Allers' direction.

There is a reason that so many in our community will miss Roger Allers so much.  He was not just a very talented artist who expected a great deal from those who he worked with, but he also managed to do this without ever being unkind or mean-spirited.  

What I Learned Animating on "The Lion King"

"I know that your powers of retention..."

In the summer of 1993 I had the great good fortune to work at the Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles on The Lion King, animating under the guidance of lead animator Andreas Deja, who supervised the animation of Scar, voiced by Jeremy Irons.

For a junior animator, it was a dream job, and an education in character animation.

Andreas Deja, Scar and The Lion King

Disney Legend: Andreas Deja

Two weeks ago I was invited to participate in a panel discussion at CTN in Los Angeles about my father's work in animation. It was a nice way to honour his memory and talk about his work in an open forum with family, friends and colleagues.

While I was in LA, I also got to meet up at the Disney lot with Andreas Deja, lead animator and the man responsible for bringing "Scar" to life.

El Suliman - Lion King Lead Animator

El Suliman

Last week MPC lead animator El Suliman was in London talking about his work on the Disney blockbuster "The Lion King".

El was speaking at Escape Studios, at one of their regular "Evening With" events.  El Suliman was an animation lead on The Lion King, and he animated many of the key shots on the film.

El explained how the animators approached the animation on this hugely complex and ground-breaking movie, which raises the bar for creature animation. 

The Lion King - Which is Better? New or Old?

I went to a preview of The Lion King last night fully prepared to dislike the new film - how could anyone top the original? And why bother with a re-make, other than to please the shareholders? (But maybe I'm just jealous - I don't own any Disney shares)

Of course, I am very biased, having worked on the original Lion King back in 1993, so I was doing my best not to enjoy the movie and to persuade myself that the original film was still the undisputed king.

But MPC, the London VFX house that did all the animation, have raised the bar for animal and creature animation to such a level that it's impossible not to be impressed by the sheer skill of the digital artistry.

The Lion King is a triumph not just of technology but of great storytelling, as the film-makers kept most of the original film but wove in new elements to keep the story fresh.