THE LION KING Animator Creates Artwork in Tribute to Cecil, the Lion

Disney animator Aaron Blaise lent his talents as the supervising animator for the younger version of Nala in the 1994 Disney classic, The Lion King. On his official web site, the artist share a digital art tribute to Cecil, the Zimbabwean lion that was killed by an American hunter last month. Check it out below!

Along with the artwork and a time lapse video of the image's creation, the artist shares:

Like many people around the world, I was extremely moved by the recent tragedy surrounding the hunting and killing of the beloved lion know as Cecil. (Read More) - As you may be able to tell I am a HUGE animal lover and it drives me crazy when I see these beautiful creatures destroyed for no good reason. In fact, I've decided to get personally involved and hopefully our efforts can help educate people and prevent these horrible things from happening in the future.

As some of you may also know I was one of the animators on "The Lion King" - When I heard the news about Cecil I got inspired to create a tribute image. It's not much but hopefully it will make people think.

In its 17th year, Disney's theaterical produciton of The Lion King remains ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its Broadway premiere on November 13, 1997, 22 global productions have been seen by more than 75 million people and, cumulatively, run a staggering 112 years. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King is only the second show in history to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or more years. Translated into seven different languages (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese), productions of The Lion King can currently be seen on Broadway, London's West End, Hamburg, Tokyo, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Australia and on tour across North America, the U.K., and Japan. The Australian production marks the tenth concurrent worldwide production of The Lion King, the highest number of productions running at any one time in the show's history. Having played 19 countries on every continent except Antarctica, The Lion King's worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment title in box office history.

Source: Aaron Blaise Official Web Site