Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable

Film formerly shown at Epcot

This article is about the edutainment film shown at Epcot. For the song, see Circle of Life.

Circle of Life:
An Environmental Fable

Epcot
Area| The Land pavilion
Coordinates| 28°22′27.76″N 81°33′7.94″W﻿ / ﻿28.3743778°N 81.5522056°W﻿ / 28.3743778; -81.5522056
Status| Removed
Opening date| January 21, 1995
Closing date| February 3, 2018
Replaced| Symbiosis
Replaced by| Awesome Planet
(World Nature)
Ride statistics
Attraction type| Documentary
Designer| Walt Disney Imagineering
Theme| The Lion King, Environmental
Vehicle type| Movie theater seats
Audience capacity| 428 per show
Duration| 12:22
Sponsor| Nestlé (1995–2009)

Wheelchair accessible

Assistive listening available

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable is a 1995 documentary short film featuring characters from Disney Animation's 1994 film The Lion King. It was shown in the Harvest Theater in The Land pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. It opened on January 21, 1995, replacing Symbiosis. The main narrator of the story is Simba.

## Plot

[edit]

In the film, Timon and Pumbaa are chopping down trees and clogging up rivers to build the Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village. Simba comes to them and explains how their actions are harmful to nature. This lesson was explained with live-action footage, some left over from Symbiosis (with clips of people such as Native Americans, Native Hawaiians and Masai, clips of New York City and other locations such as the Amazon Rainforest, Serengeti, Andes, Las Vegas, Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia, and images of animals such as monkeys, bald eagles, snakes, elephants and wildebeest).

The film opens with Mufasa's voice explaining that everyone is connected in the great circle of life. A montage of animals and a few clips from Symbiosis open to the song, Circle of Life.

The focus of the main story is on Simba. He decided to show Timon and Pumbaa how another creature (man) is similarly forgetting how everyone is connected. He explained to them that, at first, they were small in numbers, so they only took what they needed to survive, which at that time was not much. However, as the human population grew, necessities for living space, power, and food increased.

Timon and Pumbaa are initially excited by man's developments, but Simba shows them the price that comes with the human necessities. He explains that humans have caused harm to the environment with their excessive consumption through activity such as deforestation, endangerment of species and pollution. He says that once humans realized what they were destroying, they began to repair the damage through recycling, alternative energy and conservation programs. He explains that humans helped other creatures in nature by studying them to learn their needs.

Timon and Pumbaa decide to help the humans give back to nature, but Simba shows them that they already can at home. Timon and Pumbaa unclog the rivers, thus giving the water back to the other creatures on the Savannah. Simba ends the story with his roar and the film closes with a shorter montage set to the end of the title song.

## Production

[edit]

Walt Disney World News Today explained that the "Symbiosis film would be replaced in 1995 with Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable". Some scenes were recycled from Symbiosis into the new film. Animated sequences and a character-driven narrative made up the film, which was inspired by The Lion King. The article added that the "1990s were a decade in which conservation became a hot-button topic, and Circle of Life was there to keep Epcot's finger on the pulse, so much so that the film holds up quite well and covers environmental issues still facing us 17 years later".[1]

In addition to the live-action footage, the film featured about two-and-a-half minutes of new animation, featuring characters from The Lion King and produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation.

The attraction permanently closed on February 3, 2018.[2]

## Cast

[edit]

* Simba (voiced by Cam Clarke)
* Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones)
* Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane)
* Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella)
* Circle of Life Singer (voiced by Carmen Twillie)

## See also

[edit]

* Epcot attraction and entertainment history

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Corless, Tom (2012). "The 21st Century Began In 1994..." (PDF). WDWNT The Magazine, Issue 19. p. 8\. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
2. ^ "The Circle of Life at Epcot to Close Permanently on February 3rd". Ride Vine. January 5, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

The Lion King

Films|

| Traditional animation|

* The Lion King (1994)
* The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)
* The Lion King 1½ (2004)

|

CGI animation|

* The Lion King (2019)
* Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

Theatre|

* The Lion King (musical)

Television series|

* Timon & Pumbaa
* episodes
* The Lion Guard
* episodes

Characters|

* Simba
* Timon and Pumbaa
* Nala
* Scar
* Mufasa

Music|

| 1994 soundtrack|

* "Circle of Life"
* "I Just Can't Wait to Be King"
* "Be Prepared"
* "Hakuna Matata"
* "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"

|

Musical cast recording|

* "Endless Night"
* "The Madness of King Scar"
* "Shadowland"

2019 soundtrack|

* "Spirit"

The Lion King: The Gift|

* "Bigger"
* "Brown Skin Girl"
* "Already"
* "Find Your Way Back"
* "Black Parade"
* "Mood 4 Eva"

Other|

* Rhythm of the Pride Lands
* "He Lives in You"
* Return to Pride Rock
* "We Are One"
* "Love Will Find a Way"
* Mufasa: The Lion King

Video games|

* The Lion King
* Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games
* Simba's Mighty Adventure
* The Lion King 1½
* Timon and Pumbaa's Virtual Safari

| Related|

* Kingdom Hearts
* II
* Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure
* Disney Friends
* Disney Universe
* Disney Magic Kingdoms
* Disney Mirrorverse
* Disney Dreamlight Valley

|

Attractions|

* Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable
* Theme park live adaptations of The Lion King
* The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management)
* Hakuna Matata Restaurant

Other media|

* Friends in Need
* Wild About Safety

Related|

* Disney Renaissance
* Once Upon a Studio
* Waking Sleeping Beauty
* Black Is King
* Claims of resemblance to Kimba the White Lion

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Epcot

Attractions

World Celebration|

* Spaceship Earth
* Club Cool
* Imagination!
* Journey into Imagination with Figment

World Discovery|

* Mission: Space
* Space 220 Restaurant
* Test Track
* Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

World Showcase|

* The American Adventure
* Canada
* Canada Far and Wide
* China
* Reflections of China
* France
* Impressions de France
* Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
* Germany
* Italy
* Japan
* Luminous: The Symphony of Us
* Mexico
* Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
* Morocco
* Norway
* Frozen Ever After
* United Kingdom

World Nature|

* The Land
* Living with the Land
* Soarin' Around the World
* The Seas
* The Seas with Nemo and Friends
* Coral Reef Restaurant
* Turtle Talk with Crush
* Journey of Water

Annual events|

* International Flower & Garden Festival
* International Food & Wine Festival
* Disney's Candlelight Processional

Other|

* Utilidor System
* Walt Disney World Monorail System
* Disney Skyliner

Related|

* EPCOT (concept)
* EPCOT Magazine
* Figment
* Epcot Center Ultralight Flightpark

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