Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable
Epcot
Land	The Land Pavilion
Designer	Walt Disney Imagineering
Attraction type	Theater
Opening date	January 21, 1995
Ride duration	12:22 minutes
Capacity	428 seat theater
Sponsored by	Nestlé (1995-2009)
Wheelchair accessible Assistive Listening Available

This article is about the film at Epcot, for the song see Circle of Life.

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable is a 70 mm film 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. Compared to its predecessor, Circle of Life is more an edutainment attraction and more kid-friendly.

In the film Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King 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 is explained with live-action footage, some left over from Symbiosis.

Plot

The film opens with a montage of animals, some clips left over from the previous attraction, Symbiosis, playing the song Circle of Life. Simba, now king of the pridelands, sees Timon and Pumbaa clogging up rivers. He asks what they are planning and Timon replies to him that they are building a non-ecological resort called Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village. Simba tries to tell them that other creatures nearby need water as well, but Timon and Pumbaa still don't care. Simba decides to then get his point straight to them by telling them about another creature (man) who is like them. He explains to them how they needed space, power, and food for themselves. They also decide to help nature by studying animals and ending pollution to save the environment. Timon and Pumbaa then decide to take out the dam and give the water back deciding that they've learned their lesson. The film ends with a shorter montage and the screen fades to black.

Cast

• James Earl Jones as Mufasa
• Cam Clarke as Simba
• Nathan Lane as Timon
• Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa
• Carmen Twillie as Circle of Life singer

See also

• Epcot attraction and entertainment history

References

External links

• Walt Disney World Resort - Circle of Life page
• Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable - at imdb
• "Circle of Life". WDWHistory.com. http://wdwhistory.com/wiki/Circle_of_Life:_An_Environmental_Fable. Retrieved April 11, 2006. 

Coordinates: 28°22′27.76″N 81°33′7.94″W / 28.3743778°N 81.5522056°W / 28.3743778; -81.5522056