document_title: Rise of the Guardians

question_text: voice of the easter bunny in rise of the guardians

text: Rise of the Guardians

text: Plot[edit]

text: Jack Frost awakens from a frozen pond with amnesia. Upon realizing no one can see or hear him, he disappears. Three hundred years later, Jack, as the young Spirit of Winter, enjoys delivering snow days to school kids, but resents that they do not believe in him. At the North Pole, the Man in the Moon warns Nicholas St. North that Pitch Black is threatening the children of the world with his nightmares. He calls E. Aster Bunnymund, Sandy, and Tooth, to arms. They are then told that Jack Frost has been chosen to be a new Guardian.

text: Visiting Tooth's world, Jack learns that each and every baby tooth contains childhood memories of the children who lost it, Jack's teeth included. However, Pitch raids Tooth's home, kidnapping all of her subordinate tooth fairies except Baby Tooth and stealing all the teeth, thus preventing Tooth from sharing Jack's memories and weakening children's belief in Tooth. In order to thwart Pitch's plan, the group decides to collect children's teeth. During their journey, a quarrel between North and Bunnymund awakens a boy, Jamie. Since he still believes, he can see everybody except for Jack. Pitch's nightmares then attack, provoking Sandy as the Guardian of Dreams. Jack tries to intervene, but Sandy is overwhelmed and killed by Pitch.

text: As Easter approaches, the dejected Guardians gather in Bunnymund's home. With the unexpected aid of Jamie's little sister, Sophie, they begin the process of painting eggs for Easter. After Jack takes Sophie home, he is lured to Pitch's lair by a voice. Pitch taunts him with his memories and fear of non-belief, distracting him long enough for Pitch to destroy the eggs, causing children to stop believing in Easter and Bunnymund. Losing his trust in the Guardians, Jack isolates himself in Antarctica, where Pitch tries to convince him to join his side. When Jack refuses, Pitch threatens to kill Baby Tooth unless Jack gives him his staff, the source of his magic. He agrees, but Pitch breaks Jack's staff and throws him down a chasm. Unlocking his memories, he learns that he was a mortal teenager who fell into ice while saving his younger sister. Inspired, Jack repairs his staff and returns to the lair to rescue the kidnapped baby fairies.

text: Due to Pitch, every child in the world except Jamie disbelieves, drastically weakening the Guardians. Finding Jamie's belief wavering, Jack makes it snow in his room, renewing Jamie's belief and letting him see Jack. Jack and Jamie gather the boy's friends, whose renewed belief bolsters their fight against Pitch. Pitch threatens them, but their dreams prove stronger than his nightmares, resulting in Sandy's resurrection. Defeated and disbelieved in, Pitch tries to retreat, but his nightmares, sensing his own fears, turn on him and trap him in his lair. Afterward, Jamie and his friends bid goodbye to the Guardians as Jack accepts his place as the Guardian of Fun.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Chris Pine as Jack Frost, the spirit of winter.[7] Jack Frost is a teenage hellion who enjoys creating mischief and has no interest in being bound by rules or obligations; he just wants to spread his winter magic for the sake of fun, but also wants to be believed in. At the end of the film, Jack becomes the Guardian of Fun.
Jude Law as Pitch Black (The Boogeyman), the essence of fear and the Nightmare King.[7]
Alec Baldwin as North (Santa Claus), the leader of the guardians,[7] and the Guardian of Wonder. He lives at the North Pole in his Ice Castle and is served by loyal North Pole natives, the Yetis (who built the castle and workshop) and the Christmas Elves. He carries a Russian accent/culture persona.[8]
Hugh Jackman as Bunnymund (Easter Bunny), the fabled keeper and bringer of Easter eggs and the Guardian of Hope. He has an Australian accent.[7]
Isla Fisher as Tooth Fairy, or Tooth for short, the mythical tooth collector and the Guardian of Memories.[7] Tooth is part human and part hummingbird. Assisted by mini fairies that are split-off extensions of herself, she collects the children's teeth, which hold their most precious memories. Tooth stores them in her palace and returns memories when they are needed the most."[9]
The Sandman, or Sandy for short, the Guardian of Dreams is the oldest of the Guardians[10] and the first Guardian chosen by Man in the Moon.[11] He does not speak, but communicates through sand images that he conjures above his head.[12]
Dakota Goyo as Jamie Bennett, a child who has not given up on believing in the Guardians.[13]
Georgie Grieve as Sophie Bennett, Jamie's little sister
Dominique Grund as Cupcake
Olivia Mattingly as Pippa

text: Production[edit]

text: In 2005, William Joyce and Reel FX launched a joint venture, Aimesworth Amusements,[14] to produce CG-animated feature films,[15] one of which was set to be The Guardians of Childhood, based on Joyce's idea.[16] The film was not realized, but they did create a short animated film, The Man in the Moon, directed by Joyce, which introduced the Guardians idea,[16] and served as an inspiration for the film.[2]

text: Early in 2008, Joyce sold the film rights to DreamWorks Animation,[17] after the studio assured him it would respect his vision for the characters and that he would be involved with the creative process.[18] In November 2009, it was revealed that DreamWorks had hired Peter Ramsey to make his feature debut as director of what was then titled The Guardians, and playwright David Lindsay-Abaire to script.[19] Joyce acted as a co-director for the first few years, but left this position after the death of his daughter Mary Katherine,[17] who died of a brain tumor.[18] Joyce continued to assist as an executive producer, while Ramsey took over full directing, making him the first African American to direct a big-budget CG animated film.[20] As with some previous DreamWorks films, Guillermo del Toro came on board as an executive producer. Present almost from the beginning,[21] he was able to help shape the story, character design, theme and structure of the film.[22] He said he was proud that the filmmakers were making parts of the film "dark and moody and poetic," and expressed hope this might "set a different tone for family movies, for entertainment movies."[21] The final title, Rise of the Guardians was announced in early 2011, along with the first cast.[7]

text: Roger Deakins, the cinematographer who had already worked on the previous DreamWorks' film, How to Train Your Dragon, advised on the lighting to achieve its real look. He selected photographic references for color keys, and during the production gave notes on contrast, saturation, depth of field and light intensity.[23] The film contains a lot of special effects, particularly the volumetric particles for depicting Sandman and Pitch.[24] For this, DreamWorks Animation developed OpenVDB, a more efficient tool and format for manipulating and storing volume data, like smoke and other amorphous materials. OpenVDB had been already used on Puss in Boots and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, and was released in August 2012 for free as an open source project with a hope to become an industry standard.[25]

text: Although the film is based on the Joyce's book series, it contains differences from the books. The book series, begun in 2011, explains the origins of the characters, while the film takes place about 300 years after the books, and shows how the characters function in present time. Joyce explained, "Because I don't want people to read the book and then go see the movie and go, 'Oh, I like the book better,' and I also didn't want them to know what happens in the movie. And I also knew that during the progress of film production, a lot of things can change. So I wanted to have a sort of distance, so we were able to invoke the books and use them to help us figure out the world of the movie, but I didn't want them to be openly competitive to each other."[17] The idea for the Guardians came from Joyce's daughter, who asked him "if he thought Santa Claus had ever met the Easter Bunny." The film includes a dedication to her,[18] as well a song, "Still Dream," sung over the end credits.[26]

text: Originally, the film was set to be released on November 2, 2012, but DreamWorks Animation pushed the film to November 21, 2012 to avoid competition with Pixar's upcoming film Monsters University, which in turn had been pushed to November 2, 2012 to avoid competition with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.[27] Monsters University was then pushed to June 21, 2013, with Disney's Wreck-It Ralph taking its place.[28]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: French composer Alexandre Desplat composed the original music for the film, which was released on November 13, 2012 by Varèse Sarabande. The score was recorded in London at Abbey Road Studios and Air Studios, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, with a choral contribution by London Voices. David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the lyrics for the end-credit song, "Still Dream," which was performed by soprano Renée Fleming.[29] Stravinsky's Firebird Suite can also be heard during the scene where North first appears. This film marks the first time that a DreamWorks Animation film has not been composed by Hans Zimmer or a member of his Remote Control Productions family of composers (mainly John Powell, Henry Jackman, Harry Gregson-Williams or his brother Rupert Gregson-Williams).

text:
Rise of the Guardians

Film score by Alexandre Desplat

Released
November 13, 2012

Recorded
2012

Genre
Score

Length
67:47

Label
Varèse Sarabande

Producer
Alexandre Desplat

Alexandre Desplat film scores chronology

Argo
(2012)Argo2012
Rise of the Guardians
(2012)
Zero Dark Thirty
(2012)Zero Dark Thirty2012

text:
Track listing:[30]

No.
Title
Length

1.
"Still Dream" (performed by Renée Fleming)
3:12

2.
"Calling the Guardians"
2:06

3.
"Alone in the World"
2:04

4.
"Fanfare of the Elves"
0:53

5.
"Wind Take Me Home!"
1:28

6.
"Dreamsand"
2:03

7.
"Pitch on the Globe"
0:57

8.
"The Moon"
1:32

9.
"Snowballs"
1:31

10.
"Busy Workshop"
1:33

11.
"Sleigh Launch"
1:45

12.
"Nightmares Attack"
7:17

13.
"Tooth Collection"
2:22

14.
"Jamie's Bedroom"
2:31

15.
"Jack & Sandman"
4:18

16.
"Memorial"
1:21

17.
"Guardians Regroup"
0:58

18.
"Easter"
3:39

19.
"Jack Betrays"
3:20

20.
"Kids Stop Believing"
2:35

21.
"Jack's Memories"
2:24

22.
"Pitch at North Pole"
2:00

23.
"Jamie Believes"
3:01

24.
"Jack's Center"
4:52

25.
"Sandman Returns"
2:36

26.
"Dreamsand Miracles"
2:18

27.
"Oath of the Guardians"
3:11

Total length:
67:47

text: Release[edit]

text: Rise of the Guardians had its premiere on October 10, 2012, at The Mill Valley Film Festival in Mill Valley, California,[1] followed by the international premiere at The International Rome Film Festival on November 13, 2012.[31][32] Under distribution by Paramount Pictures, the film was released on November 21, 2012, in American theaters.[27] Digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3D, it was shown in limited international and domestic IMAX theaters.[33] It was the second film released in the firm Barco's Auro 11.1 3D audio format, after Red Tails.[34] The film was also shown in Dolby Atmos, a surround sound technology introduced in 2012.[35] Rise of the Guardians was the last DreamWorks Animation film distributed by Paramount, as DreamWorks has signed a five-year distribution deal with 20th Century Fox, which started in 2013 with The Croods.[6]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Rise of the Guardians was released on Blu-ray Disc (2D and 3D) and DVD on March 12, 2013.[36]

text: That was the last DreamWorks Animation home media release to be distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment, since 20th Century Fox announced its distribution agreement with DreamWorks Animation a few months before the theatrical release.[6] The film was more successful at home media sales than at the box office, having at the end of the second quarter of 2013 "the highest box office to DVD conversion ratio among major releases."[37] In the first quarter of 2013, it sold 3.2 million home entertainment units worldwide,[38] and in the second quarter 0.9 million units, for a total of 4.1 million units.[39] As of August 2013, 2 million DVDs were sold domestically.[40]

text: It was re-released on DVD on November 5, 2013 and comes with a wind-up marching elf toy.[41]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Based on 148 reviews, the film holds a rating of 74% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.5/10, based on 149 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "A sort of Avengers for the elementary school set, Rise of the Guardians is wonderfully animated and briskly paced, but it's only so-so in the storytelling department."[42] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 57 based on 34 reviews, or "Mixed or average."[43] The film earned an "A" from audiences polled by CinemaScore.[44]

text: Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars and found the film's characters to have "a primal familiarity, as though they were developed by a tag team of Maurice Sendak and Walt Disney."[45] Olly Richards of Empire wrote, "It's gorgeously designed, deftly written and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. For child or adult, this is a fantasy to get lost in."[46] The Washington Post's Michael O'Sullivan also gave the film a positive review and said, "Thoughts become things. That's the message of Rise of the Guardians, a charming if slightly dark and cobwebbed animated feature about how believing in something makes it real, or real enough."[47] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars and wrote in his review, "There's an audience for this film. It's not me. I gather younger children will like the breakneck action, the magical ability to fly and the young hero who has tired of only being a name." Though he did say, "Their parents and older siblings may find the 89-minute running time quite long enough."[48]

text: Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a lively but derivative 3D storybook spree for some unlikely action heroes."[2] Conversely, Justin Chang in Variety said, "Even tots may emerge feeling slightly browbeaten by this colorful, strenuous and hyperactive fantasy, which has moments of charm and beauty but often resembles an exploding toy factory rather than a work of honest enchantment."[49] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal found that the film "lacks a resonant center," and that the script, "seems to have been written by committee, with members lobbying for each major character, and the action, set in vast environments all over the map, spreads itself so thin that a surfeit of motion vitiates emotion."[50]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Rise of the Guardians grossed $103,412,758 in North America, and $203,528,912 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $306,941,670.[4]

text: In North America, the film opened to $32.3 million over its extended five-day weekend, and with $23.8 million over the three-day weekend, it reached fourth place behind The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Skyfall, and Lincoln. The film's opening was the lowest debut for a DreamWorks Animation film since Flushed Away.[44] While the film did gross more than double of its $145 million budget, it still did not turn a profit for DreamWorks Animation due to its high production and marketing costs, forcing the studio to take an $83 million write-down.[51] This marked the first time that the studio had lost money on an animated film since Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.[51][52] As a result of this combined with other factors, in February 2013, the studio announced it was laying off 350 employees as part of a company-wide restructuring.[52]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: The Rome Film Festival and Vanity Fair magazine awarded the new Vanity Fair International Award for Cinematic Excellence in November 2012 to Rise of the Guardians.[31] The film also received the Hollywood Animation Award at the 16th Annual Hollywood Film Festival, held on October 22, 2012.[53]

text:
List of awards and nominations

Award
Category
Recipients
Result

African-American Film Critics Association
Best Animation

Won

Alliance of Women Film Journalists
Best Animated Female
Isla Fisher (Tooth)
Nominated

American Cinema Editors
Best Edited Animated Feature Film
Joyce Arrastia

Annie Awards[54][55]
Best Animated Feature

Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Andy Hayes, Carl Hooper, David Lipton
Won

Character Animation in a Feature Production
David Pate
Nominated

Phillppe LeBrun

Pierre Perifel

Music in an Animated Feature Production
Alexandre Desplat

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Patrick Hanenberger, Max Boas, Jayee Borcar
Woonyoung Jung, Perry Maple, Peter Maynez
Stan Seo, Felix Yoon

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Johanne Matte
Won

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Jude Law
Nominated

Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
Joyce Arrastia

Critics Choice Awards[56]
Best Animated Feature

Cinema Audio Society
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures Animated

Golden Globe Awards[57]
Best Animated Feature Film

Golden Reel Awards
Best Sound Editing in an Animated Feature Film

Hollywood Film Festival[53]
Best Animated Feature
Peter Ramsey
Won

International Film Music Critics Association Awards
Film Composer of the Year
Alexandre Desplat, also for Argo, Moonrise Kingdom, Rust and Bone, and Zero Dark Thirty
Nominated

Best Original Score for an Animated Feature
Alexandre Desplat
Won

Mill Valley Film Festival[58]
Audience Favorite Children's Film
Peter Ramsey

Producers Guild of America
Outstanding Producer of An Animated Theatrical Motion Picture
Nancy Bernstein, Christina Steinberg
Nominated

Satellite Awards 2012[59]
Best Animated or Mixed Media

Won

Visual Effects Society[60][61]
Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Nancy Bernstein, David Prescott, Peter Ramsey, Christina Steinberg
Nominated

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
The North Pole: Eric Bouffard, Sonja Burchard, Andy Harbeck, Peter Maynez
Nominated

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Last Stand: Andy Hayes, Carl Hooper, Andrew Wheeler, Stephen Wood
Nominated

Women Film Critics Circle[62]
Best Family Film
Rise of the Guardians – tied with Life of Pi
Won

text: Video game[edit]

text: A video game based on the film was released by D3 Publisher on November 20, 2012 in North America,[63] and released on November 23, 2012 in Europe.[64] It allows gamers to lead the Guardians in their battle against Pitch. The game is a 3D beat-em-up, where the player travels through each of the worlds: Burgess, North Pole, Bunnymund Valley, Tooth Palace, and Sandman's Ship, to fight Pitch's army of Nightmares. The player can switch between all five guardians at any time, and freely customize their powers, and they learn new special abilities as they level up. All the game versions support up to 4 player gameplay.[65] It is available on the Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS.[66]

text: Possible sequels[edit]

text: After the release of the film, the creators of Rise of the Guardians expressed hope that the strong A- Cinemascore average for the film and an enthusiastic word-of-mouth would gather support for the "chance to make a sequel or two."[67] Author and co-producer of the series, William Joyce, also mentioned in March 2013 that he was still in talks about a sequel with DreamWorks Animation: "There is something that we are proposing that we hope they will want to do."[68]

text: Notes[edit]

text: ^ In July 2014, the film's distribution rights were purchased by DreamWorks Animation from Paramount Pictures.[69]

tag: ol


document_title: List of The Lion King characters

question_text: what is simba's dad's name in the lion king

question_tokens: what is simba 's dad 's name in the lion king

root

text: List of The Lion King characters

text: Introduced in The Lion King (1994)[edit]

text: Simba[edit]

text: Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick in the films, Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub in the original film, Matt Weinberg as a cub in The Lion King 1½ , Cam Clarke in Timon & Pumbaa, Rob Lowe in The Lion Guard, and Donald Glover in the 2019 remake) is the son of Mufasa and Sarabi, Scar's nephew, Nala's mate, and Kiara and Kion's father. After defeating Scar, Simba take's Mufasa's place as King of Pride Rock before marrying Nala and having Kiara and Kion with her.

tag: p

text: Nala[edit]

text:
Nala (voiced by Moira Kelly in The Lion King, The Lion King ll: Simba's Pride, and The Lion King 1½, Niketa Calame
as a cub in the original film, Gabrielle Union in The Lion Guard) is the daughter of Sarafina, the best friend and later mate of Simba and Kiara and Kion's mother. Although she is a prominent character in The Lion King, she makes minor appearances in Simba's Pride, The Lion King 1½, and The Lion Guard.

text: In the first film, she is portrayed as Simba's childhood friend. After helping Simba enter the elephant graveyard, she has to be rescued by Mufasa when the hyenas attack them. Several years later, Nala encounters Simba as a young adult and develops a romance with him. After returning to Pride Rock, she helps Simba defeat Scar and take his rightful place as King of Pride Rock. In Simba's Pride, Nala is depicted as slightly older, calmer and less overprotective than her mate.

text: Timon and Pumbaa[edit]

text: Timon and Pumbaa (voiced by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella in the films and TV series, respectively) are a meerkat and warthog duo. Although they are supporting characters in the first two films, they are featured as the main characters in The Lion King 1½ as well as in the Timon & Pumbaa TV series. In the first film they become friends with Simba and teach him the basics of life in the jungle. After helping Simba stop Scar's tyrannical reign, the two become Simba's royal advisors, and as revealed in the TV series The Lion Guard, the adoptive uncles of the honey badger, Bunga.

text: While Lane voiced Timon in early episodes of Timon & Pumbaa, for the majority of the series Timon is voiced by Kevin Schon or Quinton Flynn. Schon voices Timon in The Lion Guard.

text: Scar[edit]

text: Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons in The Lion King, Jim Cummings in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and David Oyelowo in The Lion Guard) is the main antagonist of The Lion King franchise, Simba's paternal uncle and Mufasa's younger brother. In The Lion King, after he commits a coup d'état by murdering Mufasa and exiling Simba, he becomes "King of the Pride Lands". However, years later, Simba returns to Pride Rock and overthrows Scar to become King of the Pride Lands.

text: The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar reveals that Scar was once the leader of the titular group and, like his great-nephew Kion, once possessed the Roar of the Elders. Scar lost the Roar after using it to destroy the other members of his Lion Guard, as the Roar is meant to be used for good, not evil.

text: In season 2 of The Lion Guard, Kion unknowingly summons Scar back as a fiery spirit in a volcano after using the Roar in anger when Janja the hyena provokes him. Scar then conspires with the animals in the Outlands to take over the Pride Lands and defeat the new Lion Guard and Simba, who were initially unaware that Scar had returned. Later in the season, Kion and the guard find out that Scar has returned while they are in the Outlands getting volcanic ash needed to cure Simba from a scorpion sting.

text: Mufasa[edit]

text: Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones in the films and Gary Anthony Williams in The Lion Guard) is Scar's older brother, Sarabi's mate, Simba's father and Kiara and Kion's paternal grandfather who is introduced as the King of the Pride Lands. The name "Mufasa" means "King" in the Manazoto language. In The Lion King, he teaches Simba on what a king is supposed to be. However, Mufasa later dies after being thrown into a wildebeest stampede by Scar while rescuing Simba. He returns years later as a ghostly apparition in the clouds to help an older Simba return to the Pride Lands and remember who he is as King.

text: In The Lion Guard, Mufasa serves as a spirit guide to his grandson Kion.

text: According to Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, they knew that Jones' voice was powerful and similar to the roar of a lion. Jones is scheduled to reprise his role in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the film directed by Jon Favreau.[1]

text: Sarabi[edit]

text: Sarabi (voiced by Madge Sinclair) is Mufasa's mate,  Simba's mother and Kiara and Kion's paternal grandmother. Her name means "mirage" in Swahili. In The Lion King, she serves as the Queen of Pride Rock. Years after Scar usurps the throne, Sarabi helps Simba fight against Scar and his hyenas. When Simba defeats Scar, Nala becomes Queen and Sarabi becomes the Queen Dowager.

text: Zazu[edit]

text: Zazu (voiced by Rowan Atkinson in The Lion King, Edward Hibbert in Timon & Pumbaa, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and The Lion King 1½, and Jeff Bennett in The Lion Guard) is a red-billed hornbill[2] and majordomo to Mufasa and later Simba. After Mufasa's death, Zazu becomes a prisoner of Scar before Pumbaa breaks the bone cage releasing him when Simba returns to the Pride Lands. He eventually acts as a scout and advises Simba on royal protocol. In the musical, Zazu is a puppet controlled by an actor dressed in blue striped clothes and a bowler hat, much like a stereotypical butler. Zazu's blue feathers have been replaced with white and the puppet is partially constructed from parachute silk with a slinky contained in the neck for ease in movement.[3]

text: Rafiki[edit]

text: Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillaume in the films and Timon & Pumbaa and Khary Payton in The Lion Guard), whose name means "friend" in Swahili, is a mandrill with an unnaturally long tail. He lives in a baobab tree in the Pride Lands and performs shamanistic services for the lions of Pride Rock.

text: In The Lion King, Rafiki is introduced in the opening scene when he travels to Pride Rock to perform newborn Simba's presentation ceremony. During the film, Rafiki sings a nonsense chant: "Asante sana, squash banana, wewe nugu, mimi hapana." This is a Swahili playground rhyme which translates to "Thank you very much (squash banana), you're a baboon and I'm not!" Like "hakuna matata" (no worries), the chant was heard by the filmmakers on their research trip to Kenya. Rafiki travels to the jungle where Simba lives with Timon and Pumbaa, and teaches him lessons about learning from the past: "Yes, the past can hurt but, the way I see it you can either run from  it, or learn from it". During the battle for Pride Rock, Rafiki saves Simba from a hyena. At the end of the film, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub.

text: In the sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Rafiki is more closely involved with the affairs and politics of the pride and is often seen with the lions. Mufasa's spirit persuades him to bring Simba's daughter Kiara and Zira's son Kovu together as a way of uniting the Outsiders with the pride. Rafiki tries to make them fall in love by singing to them about a place called "Upendi", which means "love" in Swahili. In the end, he blesses the union of Kovu and Kiara, and Kovu is welcomed into the pride. Rafiki appears briefly in The Lion King 1½, teaching Timon the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata", talking to Timon's mother about her son, and later convincing Timon to follow Simba to Pride Rock to confront Scar.

text: In the musical, the character of Rafiki was significantly modified. Because director Julie Taymor felt that the story lacked a strong female character, Rafiki was changed into a female mandrill and sangoma. She acts as narrator throughout the story, at one point speaking to the audience in a click language for comic effect. She sings the opening song "Circle of Life", a keening song called "Rafiki Mourns" following Mufasa's death, and a brief part in Nala's song "Shadowland", when she blesses Nala for her journey to find help. Instead of detecting Simba's scent on dust, Rafiki hears Simba's song "Endless Night" on the wind. Rafiki finds Simba and shows him that his father lives on in him through the song "He Lives in You". She is present during the battle, fighting a hyena, and adorns Simba with the king's mantle after his victory; the play ends with her at the presentation of Simba and Nala's newborn cub.

text: Rafiki makes occasional appearances in the Timon and Pumbaa TV series and has his own segments called "Rafiki Fables" in the same show. He appears briefly in the Pride Lands world of Kingdom Hearts II.

text: Rafiki serves as a recurring character in The Lion Guard, and takes on an apprentice named Makini in season 2.

text: Shenzi, Banzai and Ed[edit]

text: Shenzi (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg in the films and Tress MacNeille in Timon & Pumbaa and Kingdom Hearts II), Banzai (voiced by Cheech Marin in the films and Kingdom Hearts II and Rob Paulsen in Timon & Pumbaa) and Ed (voiced by Jim Cummings) are the three spotted hyenas who make up Scar's henchmen. After Scar promises them that they will have food, the hyenas trigger the wildebeest stampede and chase Simba out of Pride Rock. When Simba returns to Pride Rock, Shenzi and Banzai are defeated by Pumbaa. The three turn on Scar when the latter tries to blame them for Mufasa's death and the ruin of the Pride Lands, and eat him alive during a thunderstorm.

text: Gopher[edit]

text: Gopher (voiced by Jim Cummings) is a gopher who works for Zazu as an informant. In the film he is seen warning Zazu that the hyenas have invaded the Pride Lands. His scene is expanded in the 2003 special edition. He appears during the song The Morning Report and is spotted by Simba who tries to pounce him, but Gopher pops back inside the dirt. Gopher reappears, trying to get Mufasa's attention, but Simba notices him again, to which the gopher hides back in the dirt. For the third time, Gopher reappears near a small rock, and Simba notices him again to try to pounce him, Gopher disappears to which Simba hits his head on the rock.

text: The character is expanded in the Timon & Pumbaa television series. He acts as Zazu's primary lieutenant, even sharing Zazu's home within a large tree. He is seen reporting to Zazu on the movements of elephants. In one episode Gopher is temporarily given Zazu's job after Zazu makes an error while counting the animal population. Cummings reprises his role for these episodes.

text: Introduced in Timon & Pumbaa (1995–99)[edit]

text: Quint[edit]

text: Quint (voiced by Corey Burton) is Timon and Pumbaa's archenemy, a sneaky, muscular man with black hair, a pink nose, and a shaven face, and he has varying roles. His wears different clothes in each episode because of the different jobs he has, but he is often seen wearing a hat. He also has different first names that show what his jobs are (in which they all happen to start with C).

text: Quint is a con artist who tricks Timon into stealing a gold nugget Pumbaa found in the episode "Yukon Con", a criminal who stole a suitcase that has $1,290,000 in the episode "How to Beat the High Costa Rica", an evil clock inspector who wants to get revenge on a timekeeper in the episode "Swiss Missed", a French chef who wants to make Speedy the Snail an escargot in the episode "French Fried", etc. In the episode "The Pain in Spain", two Quints are seen together, which may prove that there is more than one of him.

text: In some episodes, Quint appears to be a respectable man with an honest job, but he still seems to annoy Timon and Pumbaa. Notably in Season 2, Quint's face appears to be clean-shaven, except in the episode "Klondike Con" when he becomes a gold thief. Also, in the episode "Escape From Newark", his nose is the same color as his body for the first time.

text: Speedy the Snail[edit]

text: Speedy (voiced by Corey Burton) is a talking grayish/bluish snail with a shiny red shell and a yellow fedora. Timon and Pumbaa plan to eat him at first, but his ability to speak and sing and his bon viveur, good-humored attitude gets him to become friends with them. Timon gives him the name "Speedy", because he thinks that it would be a brilliant incongruity. Speedy always finds himself in danger, such as becoming a French gourmet snail and an earring out of his shell, and it's always up for Timon and Pumbaa to save him.

text: In the episode "The Man from J.U.N.G.L.E.", Speedy is revealed to be a superhero called Super Duper Hero X after Timon and Pumbaa were captured by his nemesis Chromosome Quint. Every episode featuring Speedy end with Timon and Pumbaa saying bye to Speedy when they return him home, a seagull capturing Speedy, and then Timon and Pumbaa trying to save him once again. Speedy's voice was based on that of Bing Crosby. Speedy also makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the episode "Washington Applesauce".

text: Fred[edit]

text: Fred (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) is a meerkat who is Timon's other best friend back at the meerkat colony. He is a practical joker, employing such gags as the hand buzzer, the squirting flower, and the whoopee cushion. He also loved Timon's hyena jokes. When Fred visits Timon and Pumbaa, he pulls more practical jokes on the duo, such as impersonating Timon's mother or impersonating a Billy Goat guard. Timon and Pumbaa, however, don't find Fred's jokes very funny and they often overpower him. Aside from pulling practical jokes, Fred enjoys doing all sorts of activities, such as playing Turtle Tennis and Fishing for Flamingos. He also mentions that he and Timon have always gone Bowling for Buzzards.

text: At the meerkat colony, Fred's duty was to guard the Duke Meerkat's castle, although on the day the Duke left the colony, he snuck away to get a snack and convinced Timon that it was now his chance to go on a date with Princess Tatiana. When the Duke banished Timon from the colony after a cobra kidnapped the princess, Fred's new duty was to guard the back gate, which indicates that he has been demoted for failing to protect the castle.

text: Fred appears in a total of four episodes: "Tanzania Zany", "Mombasa-In-Law", "Once Upon a Timon", and "Mind Over Matterhorn".

text: Boss Beaver[edit]

text: Boss Beaver (voiced by Brad Garrett) is an ill-tempered and cantankerous beaver with a white hard hat. His lifestyle is the exact opposite of Timon and Pumbaa's Hakuna Matata lifestyle: Boss Beaver likes to work while Timon and Pumbaa like to relax. He owns a lumber mill and an amusement park called "Boss Beaver's Log Land". Boss Beaver also has three mottos: "Makuta Hamaka", which means "work real hard", "safety first" and "you break it, you buy it."

text: Boss Beaver's favorite quote is "I am Boss Beaver and the reason they call me Boss Beaver is that I am your boss and I am a beaver. Therefore, I am Boss Beaver." In the episode "Amusement Bark", it is revealed that he has a mischievous son named Boy Beaver, who keeps breaking things at his amusement park and getting Timon blamed for it. Boss Beaver appears in a total of three episodes. He also makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the episode "Washington Applesauce."

text: Irwin[edit]

text: Irwin (voiced by  Charlie Adler) is a clumsy, accident-prone penguin with a green scarf and a brown hat. Timon and Pumbaa befriend him at a boat stop in Antarctica when they see that he has two extra tickets for the duo to get on the ship. When Irwin leaves his home with the duo, it is shown that he has obviously injured all of his penguin "friends", as they are all seen wearing bandages. Timon dislikes Irwin's clumsiness, and tries to get rid of him by tricking him into playing a game of Hide-and-Seek. Irwin accidentally causes the boat to sink and Timon and Pumbaa run into him on an island. Timon confronts the penguin and he tricks him into playing another game and Irwin accidentally causes the island to sink.

text: Irwin meets Timon and Pumbaa again at a Hakuna Matata Megamall. Due to his clumsiness, Timon and Pumbaa try to avoid him by hiding in various stores. Irwin appears in two episodes of the series: "Frantic Atlantic" and "Shopping Mauled."

text: Toucan Dan[edit]

text: Toucan Dan (Jeff Bennett) is a dangerously clever criminal mastermind lying toucan who wears a red fez. He is a convincing liar and impersonator and would also do anything to get someone in trouble. In his debut episode "I Don't Bolivia", he keeps tricking Timon into freeing him from his cage. Later in the episode, while Timon impersonates Toucan Dan in order to not be in trouble with the police, Toucan Dan impersonates Timon and this makes Pumbaa have to decide which one is the real Timon.

text: Toucan Dan makes his second and final appearance in the episode "Alcatraz Mataz". In that episode, he frames Timon and Pumbaa for stealing a train car full of beak polish and the police throw them in jail. Angry at Toucan Dan, Timon and Pumbaa escape to catch the toucan and make him tell the truth.

text: Rabbit[edit]

text: Rabbit (voiced by Charlie Adler) is a large and tall pink hare who appears to be very annoying, tiring. He made his debut in the episode "Mojave Desserted". In that episode, Timon and Pumbaa save his life when he was drowning in quicksand and he decides to repay the duo hand and foot. Annoyed by Rabbit, Timon and Pumbaa hatch a plan to put themselves in danger and have Rabbit save them and then leave them alone.

text: Rabbit makes his second and final appearance in the episode "Africa-Dabra!," this time appearing as an unsympathetic and ruthless magician. After Timon pulls him out of a hat, he teams up with the meerkat to become part of his magic act, telling him that he has been looking for a partner for years. When he gets annoyed by Pumbaa ruining the magic acts, he breaks up Timon and Pumbaa's friendship. When Pumbaa finds out that Timon would never truly said anything mean about him, he gets revenge on Rabbit by trapping him in a cage.

text: Vulture Police[edit]

text: The Vulture Police (voiced by Townsend Coleman and Brian Cummings) are recurring characters in the Timon & Pumbaa series. They appear in a total of six episodes. They make their first appearance in the episode "The Law of the Jungle," where they arrest Timon for using the Forbidden Stick to scratch his back and take him to a rhino judge, who gives a number of tests to see whether he's innocent or guilty. In the episode "Yosemite Remedy," Timon and Pumbaa go to the police after a criminal raccoon steals their suitcase full of valuables. When they handcuff the thief, he tells them that he didn't steal Timon and Pumbaa's suitcase, he found it. The police let him go but later arrest him again when they find out that he really stole the duo's suitcase.

text: In the episode "Alcatraz Mataz", the Vulture Police throw Timon and Pumbaa in jail after they were convinced by Toucan Dan that they stole the train car full of beak polish. After Timon and Pumbaa confront Toucan Dan, the police show up and realize that it was really Toucan Dan who stole the train car, so they arrest the toucan. However, they also throw Timon and Pumbaa back in jail since they escaped when they told them not to.

text: The Vulture Police make a brief appearance in the episode "Wide Awake in Wonderland," in the meerkat and warthog version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

text: Cheetata and Cheetato[edit]

text: Cheetata (voiced by Rob Paulsen) and Cheetato (voiced by Jim Cummings) are a pair of sophisticated twin cheetahs, reminiscent of Warner Bros' Goofy Gophers, speaking in British accents and using similar phrases ("Indubitably," "How very kind of you"). In order to tell them apart, not only do they have different voices, they also have different personalities: Cheetata appears to be more eager and aggressive while Cheetato seems more likely to think things through.

text: The cheetahs first appear in the episode "Cooked Goose", where they are annoyed by Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed getting in the way of their wildebeest hunt, so they try sending them on various wild goose chases. They also appear in "Gabon with the Wind," where they are convinced by Timon that he is going to catch Pumbaa for them, when he is actually going to find his friend so that they can both run away to safety.

text: In the episode "Boary Glory Days", Timon and Pumbaa use Cheetata and Cheetato to play a game of Predator Tag. While the cheetahs are chasing Timon and Pumbaa, the duo outsmarts the brothers by having them jump over a mud pool and fall into it.

text: The Three Natives[edit]

text: The Three Natives (voiced by Jeff Bennett) are a trio of tribes who are really university students. They have a leader (also voiced by Jeff Bennett) who is also a university student and who usually precedes what he says with "Bungala, bungala." The natives first appear in "Boara Boara". This episode shows that they used to have a warthog king of the island, which is unknown what might've happened to him. Therefore, the natives might have not seen their king in a really long time. When Timon and Pumbaa visit the island, the natives mistake Pumbaa for their long-lost king and they make Timon his servant. Everything goes well until they make Pumbaa relight the fire and realize that he's an impostor when they see that he is unable to do so.

text: The natives also appear in the episode "New Guinea Pig," where Pumbaa decides to trade his tusks to them, and "Beast of Eden", where they steal a golden magic tooth that belongs to a beast and Timon and Pumbaa have to retrieve it from them. They also make a brief appearance in the episode "Mozam-Beaked" when Timon and Pumbaa go to Bora Bora to throw a woodpecker into the volcano.

text: Smolder the Bear[edit]

text: Smolder (voiced by Jim Cummings) is a grumpy, short-tempered, but nice grizzly bear, although he gets easily angered, such as when he is awoken from his nap or when someone gets his food order wrong. He also has a romantic interest in a beautiful supermodel named Leslie Lambeau (voiced by Grey DeLisle). He appears in seven episodes, from "Slalom Problem" to "It Runs Good".

text: In the episode "Jailhouse Shock," Smolder becomes cell mates with Little Jimmy, who gets even with Timon and Pumbaa by taking advantage of him by convincing him that the duo hurt him so that he could beat them up. Smolder starts to show compassion for Timon and Pumbaa in the episodes "Ready, Aim, Fire" and "Stay Away from my Honey!"

text: Tatiana[edit]

text: Tatiana (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is the daughter of the Duke Meerkat and the princess of the meerkat colony. She only appears in one episode but she's vital for Timon's past. After Timon leaves his sentry duty post to prepare for his date with Tatiana, a king cobra enters the colony and kidnaps the princess, which makes everyone believe she's dead and which causes Timon to get banished. After Timon and Pumbaa meet for the first time, they see that Tatiana is still alive and rescue her from a cobra. When Tatiana returns to the colony with Timon and Pumbaa, Timon is offered her hand in marriage. When the Duke makes him choose between Tatiana or Pumbaa, he chooses to be Bestest Best friends with Pumbaa.

text: Although "Once Upon a Timon" was meant to be Tatiana's only appearance, there is a female meerkat who bears a striking resemblance to her in the episode "Timon in Love". The only difference is that Tatiana has blond hair while the other meerkat has red hair and she's not wearing a tiara.

text: Sharla[edit]

text: Sharla (voiced by Lisa Ortiz) is a female warthog who is the leader of Pumbaa's former sounder as well as Pumbaa's former girlfriend. While she only appears in one episode, she is vital for Pumbaa's past. She and three other male warthogs of the sounder banished Pumbaa from the group due to his awful scent, which was appalling even by warthog standards.

text: Years later, Sharla and the three warthogs carry around a big bag of bugs for the rainy season, but come across a flock of Guinea fowl, who are their natural enemies and nightmares. Due to the birds' abilities to remove their furs in just a few seconds, the warthogs refuge in a hut and make a distress call, which Pumbaa answers. When Pumbaa reunites with his sounder, he has Timon come up with ideas on how they can get rid of the Guinea fowl. However, none of Timon's ideas work, so Pumbaa suggests that he and Timon use the jeep so that they carry a fake bag of bugs (which have firecrackers inside) to distract the Guinea fowl while Sharla and the other warthogs leave the hut with the real bag of bugs.

text: Although Sharla banished Pumbaa from the group, they still have romantic feelings for each other. When Pumbaa (and Timon) show up to the hut, they tell each other that they have never forgotten one another. Sharla tells Pumbaa that he should stay with the group, but Pumbaa decides to continue living his Hakuna Matata lifestyle with Timon, which the female warthog understands.

text: Ned the Elephant[edit]

text: Ned (voiced by Frank Welker) is a high and mighty elephant who thinks he's wonderful at everything. He seems to enjoy teasing Timon and Pumbaa when they fail at proving their worth to him. In the episode "Uganda be an Elephant", Timon states that Ned is the most popular guy in the jungle and Pumbaa decides to turn himself into an elephant in order to be popular as well. Although Ned is selfish and sarcastic, he gets a change of heart after Pumbaa rescues him and his hippo henchmen from falling off a cliff.

text: In the episode "Unlucky in Lesotho", it is revealed that Ned has a Good Luck Club, which lost most of its members due to Ned bringing an unlucky jar. Because he gets eaten by piranhas (or tigerfish), Ned is never seen or heard from again after this episode.

text: Little Jimmy[edit]

text: Little Jimmy (voiced by Joe Alaskey) is a cute, yet dangerous bluebird. He is similar to Toucan Dan, with the fact that he is also a criminal mastermind and he can also be dishonest. He also has two voices: his fake cute, innocent voice to pass himself off as a hatchling and his criminal voice to show that he is truly an adult. Little Jimmy first appears in the episode "Nest Best Thing," where he tricks Pumbaa into building a birdhouse for him, which is actually a hideout. The pigeon police show up and arrest Little Jimmy.

text: In the episode "Jailhouse Shock," Little Jimmy is cell mates with Smolder the Bear. In order to get revenge on Timon and Pumbaa for turning him in, he tricks Smolder into thinking that Timon and Pumbaa hurt him so that he could hurt them back.

text: Pimon and Tumbaa[edit]

text: Pimon (voiced by Billy West) and Tumbaa (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) are a buff meerkat and warthog duo who are evil counterparts of Timon and Pumbaa. They are shown to be bullies of the jungle, as they enjoy pushing Timon and Pumbaa around, giving them atomic wedgies, as well as being shown picking on a squirrel. They also have their own philosophy: Kahuna Potato, which means that they will never leave Timon and Pumbaa (or anyone) alone.

text: Pimon and Tumbaa make their first and only appearance in the episode "Kahuna Potato". After Timon and Pumbaa successfully catch some bugs, the bullies steal their bag of bugs, give the two wedgies, and walk off with the bugs. Fed up of being picked on by the bullies, Timon decides that it is time for himself and Pumbaa to learn how to fight. Timon and Pumbaa go to Rafiki to have him teach them self-defense, which Rafiki suggests that they should snatch some bugs off his palm and he will teach them the secret to Kung-Fu. After Timon and Pumbaa learn Kung-Fu from Rafiki, they go confront Pimon and Tumbaa, who show them that they also know Kung-Fu. While the two groups fight each other, the bullies give Timon and Pumbaa more atomic wedgies, causing the two to give up until Rafiki appears and tells the two to use Hakuna Matata to fight. Listening to Rafiki's advice, Timon and Pumbaa continue fighting Pimon and Tumbaa and they end up defeating the bullies.

text: Later that night, Pimon and Tumbaa get their hairs shaved off and feed Timon and Pumbaa the bugs they stole from them.

text: Introduced in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)[edit]

text: Kiara[edit]

text: Kiara (voiced by Neve Campbell as a young adult and Michelle Horn as a cub in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and Eden Riegel in The Lion Guard) is the only daughter of Simba and Nala, Kion's older sister and Kovu's mate. She makes a cameo appearance at the very end of The Lion King when Rafiki holds up the newborn cub of Simba and Nala. She is a major character in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion Guard. Kiara is also a descendant of Mufasa and Sarabi, who are Simba's parents and Sarafina, who is Nala's mother.

text: Kiara is portrayed as a feisty, playful, and adventurous princess whom Simba easily fears for her safety. As a cub, Kiara befriends Kovu and rescues him from a group of nile crocodiles. As a young adult, Kiara is rescued by Kovu as part of Zira's plan to avenge Scar's death and the two lions eventually fall in love. When Kovu is exiled from the Pride Lands following Zira's ambush on Simba, Kiara helps him return to the Pride Lands to reunite the Pridelanders and Outsiders. Afterwards, she becomes Kovu's wife.

text: Kovu[edit]

text: Kovu (voiced by Jason Marsden as a young adult and Ryan O'Donohue as a cub in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and Marsden in The Lion Guard) is the youngest child of Zira, Nuka and Vitani's younger brother, Scar's chosen heir and Kiara's mate. Kovu means "scar" in Swahili, a reference to his character conception as Scar's son, which was changed due to the implications of him and Kiara being first cousins once removed and falling in love.

text: During his childhood, Zira trains Kovu to assassinate Simba and take his place as King of Pride Rock. As a young adult, Kovu rescues Kiara during a planned ambush and Simba reluctantly allows him to stay in the Pride Lands. While spending time with Kiara, Rafiki gets the two young lions to fall in love, and Kovu realizes he cannot hurt Simba. However, after Simba is ambushed by the Outsiders and Nuka is killed, Kovu angrily disowns Scar and leaves the Outlands but is quickly exiled from the Pride Lands as a traitor. Kovu returns to Pride Rock and stops the fighting between the Outsiders and Pridelanders with the help of Kiara. Simba later reconciles with Kovu and allows him to become his eventual successor.

text: Zira[edit]

text: Zira (voiced by Suzanne Pleshette in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and Nika Futterman in The Lion Guard), meaning "hate" in Swahili, is the mother of Nuka, Kovu and Vitani. She was Scar's most loyal follower, and plots to avenge Scar's death by forming the Outsiders. However, after taking advantage of Kovu's friendship with Simba's daughter Kiara, she devises a plan to assassinate Simba. Eventually, the Pridelanders and the Outsiders fight each other, but with Kiara and Kovu's help, Vitani and the other Outsiders abandon Zira. Attempting to attack Simba, Zira is intercepted by Kiara and falls to her death despite the latter's attempt to rescue her.

text: Zira made an appearance in The Lion Guard (which takes place in the middle of the film) alongside Kovu, Nuka, Vitani and the rest of her pride in the episode "Lions of the Outlands". It is revealed in this episode that Zira attacked Simba after he defeated Scar and denied Kovu's position as the next king, resulting in the Outsiders' exile. She tries to convince Simba's son Kion that using the Roar of the Elders against her and the other Outsiders would cause him to lose it just as Scar did (in reality, he lost it because he used it for evil), and to side with his fellow lions. However, Kion is eventually able to see through her deceptions and drives her and the others off with the Roar.

text: Nuka[edit]

text: Nuka (voiced by Andy Dick) is the eldest child of Zira and Kovu and Vitani's older brother. His name means "stink" in Swahili. Jealous of Zira's greater relationship with Kovu, Nuka often attempts to gain his mother's approval. During the Outsiders' ambush, Nuka attempts to kill Simba to prove himself to his mother, but is crushed to death.

text: Vitani[edit]

text: Vitani (voiced by Jennifer Lien as a young adult and Lacey Chabert as a cub), a Swahili portmanteau of the words Vita ("War"), Ni ("I Am"), and Shetani, is the middle child and only daughter of Zira and Kovu and Nuka's sister. Although she has a prominent appearance in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, she makes a cameo appearance in The Lion Guard. As a young adult, Vitani is Zira's strongest lieutenant, supporting and acting on her mother's violent plans. With Kovu and Kiara's help, Vitani and the Outsiders turn on Zira and join the Pridelanders to stop the fighting between the two prides.

text: She was originally named "Shetani" ("She-Demon" in Swahili) in early drafts of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, but this was softened to "Vitani", which is a portmanteau that can be roughly translated to "I Am War" or, more commonly, "Demon of War".

text: Introduced in The Lion King 1½ (2004)[edit]

text: Ma[edit]

text: Ma (voiced by Julie Kavner) is Timon's mother. Generally encouraging and optimistic, she believes in Timon convinces Uncle Max to give him a job as a sentry or look-out. After Timon fails in his duty, she remains convinced that he can still find a place in the colony, but when he insists that he has to go, Ma supports him.

text: Later, she gets worried about Timon after speaking to Rafiki and searches for him. They finally reunite at Pride Rock and Ma helps in the battle against the hyenas by digging a long tunnel to trap them. After Simba becomes king, the death of Scar and avenging Mufasa, Timon takes them and the entire meerkat colony to the jungle paradise he and Pumbaa discovered.

text: She is mentioned in The Lion Guard episode "Beware the Zimwi" by Timon, who claims that her cousin's friend knew an ox that was eaten by the Zimwi.

text: Uncle Max[edit]

text: Uncle Max (voiced by Jerry Stiller) is a prominent member of the meerkat colony and relative of Timon and Ma. He has grey head-fur and a very large nose. Max is a pessimist by nature and very paranoid, believing that a meerkat's fate is to be "food for other animals! Feared by nothing and eaten by all!" Max reluctantly agrees to let Timon be a sentry for the colony and attempts to train him for the job, but is nearly eaten by the hyenas when they attack. He is glad to see Timon go but ends up going with Ma to find him. Max appears again towards the end of the film, where he and Ma encounter Timon and Pumbaa at Pride Rock, and helps Timon get rid of the hyenas by digging a tunnel. Max finally believes in Timon, and after Timon takes the meerkats to his jungle paradise, Max teaches the meerkats tai chi instead of how not to be eaten.

text: Some of Max's role was originally going to be filled by Timon's father, who was considered for inclusion in the film but ultimately dropped.

text: Introduced in The Lion Guard (2015–present)[edit]

text: Kion[edit]

text: Kion (voiced by Max Charles[4]) is the son of Simba and Nala, Kiara's younger brother, Mufasa, Sarabi, Sarafina and Nala's father's grandson and Scar's great-nephew. His name is derived from the Swahili word "Kiongozi" ("leader"). His catchphrase is "Hevi kabisa!" which means "totally intense!" in the same tongue. In the series pilot The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar, Simba has Kion organize the titular guard along with Bunga, Beshte, Fuli, and Ono. As leader of the Lion Guard and second-born to the throne, Kion is gifted with a power called the Roar of the Elders which when used, causes the great lion spirits of the Pride Lands past to roar with him.

text: Kion has a strong sense of responsibility, and does not want to end up like his great-uncle Scar, who used the Roar for evil and lost it forever. Because of this, Kion is mindful not to use the Roar in anger. Sometimes though his emotions get the better of him, as when Nala was once cornered by hyenas causing him to Roar in anger at them.

text: He also demonstrates a strong yet open sense of discernment, which warms him to scavengers like Jasiri the hyena and her clan. However, more cunning neighbors such as Zira of the Outsiders and Reirei's jackal pack have used his trusting spirit to exert their will, only to be soundly subdued when Kion's instincts come into play.

text: By the end of the hour-long season 2 special The Rise of Scar, Kion travels to the Outlands to save Kiara, and unknowingly summons Scar back as a fiery spirit in the hyenas' volcano after he uses the Roar in anger when Janja taunts him. Later in the season, Kion and The Lion Guard find out that Scar has returned while they are in the Outlands getting volcanic ash needed to cure Simba from a scorpion sting. Upon returning to the Pride Lands, Kion acknowledges to his team that they have a tough fight ahead, but remains confident that they will be able to defeat Scar.

text: Bunga[edit]

text: Bunga (voiced by  Joshua Rush) is a young honey badger, Kion's best friend and the bravest member of the Lion Guard. He is also the adoptive nephew of Timon and Pumbaa. Bunga is shown to be very adventurous and he rarely acts serious or even sits still, as he is always on the move, working off boundless energy and enthusiasm, and makes even the most dire of situations into a fantastic time. Though this makes him a great friend and playmate, it lands him into trouble more often than not. Not only is he willing to put himself in bodily harm, such as his stunt in leaping off Pride Rock, but he will face down predators such as the hyenas in order to save his friends. According to Kiara, Bunga is "brave, bordering on stupid," but a valued member of the Lion Guard nonetheless. His catchphrase is "Zuka Zama," which means "pop up, dive in" in Swahili. His name means 'fool' in the same tongue.

text: Fuli[edit]

text: Fuli (voiced by Diamond White[4]) is a cheetah, one of Kion's friends and the fastest member of the Lion Guard, as well as its only female member. She is quite prideful in her running abilities and shows extreme delight for being able to outpace a pursuer of any species. Despite being friends with Kion, she is somewhat resentful of the Lions for lording over the Pride Lands and was skeptical about Kion's Roar of the Elders. Despite these negative traits, she was willing to join the Lion Guard with her friends to defend the Circle of Life when Janja and his clan invaded the Pride Lands. Her catchphrase is "Huwezi," which means "you can't (catch me)" in Swahili. Her name means 'very fast' in the same tongue.

text: Beshte[edit]

text: Beshte (voiced by Dusan Brown[4]) is a hippo, one of Kion's friends and the strongest member of the Lion Guard. Being one of the most popular animals of the Pridelands, Beshte is shown to be kind-hearted. His friendliness extends to everyone, as he acts like a big brother to the younger members of his herd, a friend to animals of all different species, and a protector of the Pride Lands at large. Beshte can also, however, be sensitive, being especially tactful when his friend Kion is unable to use the Roar of the Elders. For an animal so large and full of life, Beshte has an appropriately large heart and never fails to treat his friends with kindness. Beshte's catchphrase is "Twende Kiboko!", which means "let's go, hippo!" in Swahili. He also exclaims "Poa!" to express amazement or approval. His name means 'friend' in the same tongue.

text: Ono[edit]

text: Ono (voiced by Atticus Shaffer[4]) is a cattle egret, one of Kion's friends and the keenest of sight of the Lion Guard, as well as its only non-mammal member. He is one of the more easygoing members of the group, being friendly and group-oriented. He is used to spending time around other animals and is content to be part of The Lion Guard. Ono is also shown to be blunt, as he is able to lay out his feelings without sugar-coating. He is by far the most realistic member of the group, as he always thinks things through before jumping in.

text: When it comes to his role on the Lion Guard, Ono is brave and has a knack for following the rules. He obeys Kion's orders without question and proves himself to be plucky and thrifty, considerably useful when it comes to scouting out a situation. His principles are clear in his willingness to fight with his full heart for the Circle of Life, and he is a valued member of the Lion Guard for his intelligence and ability to see things from afar. Ono's catchphrase is "Hapana!", which means "oh no!" in Swahili. His name means "passion" in the same tongue. It also means "good" in Hawaiian.

text: Zuri[edit]

text: Zuri (voiced by Madison Pettis) meaning "beautiful" in Swahili, is a lioness cub and one of Kiara's friends. She appears to be vain about her appearance, as she constantly sharpens her claws on trees in order to keep them shiny. Unlike her friends, Zuri is delicate and timid. She shows considerable anxiety and fear in the face of simple circumstances and harbors deep disgust for grubs.

text: Tiifu[edit]

text: Tiifu (voiced by Sarah Hyland) is a lioness cub, and a friend of Kiara's. She is shown to be kind and patient, as seen when she comforts an overreacting Zuri. She is a great rule-follower and trusts the judgment of her friends, showing faith when she leaves Kiara to fetch help as Janja invades the Pride Lands.

text: Janja's clan[edit]

text: Janja's clan is a small pack of male spotted hyenas that live in the Outlands.

text:
Janja (voiced by Andrew Kishino) is the cunning and ruthless leader of the hyenas in the Outlands and one of the main antagonists.
Cheezi (voiced by Vargus Mason) is one of Janja's right-hand henchmen, an excitable hyena who is usually seen sticking his tongue out. He looks similar to Ed.
Chungu (voiced by Kevin Schon) is one of Janja's right-hand henchmen, an unintelligent hyena who has a tough attitude and a slightly heavier build than Janja.
Nne (voiced by Beau Black) is a sly and stout but smart spotted hyena.
Tano (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is a devious and sloping but smart hyena.

tag: ul

text: Mzingo[edit]

text: Mzingo (voiced by Greg Ellis) is a white-backed vulture who is one of Janja's majordomo of the Outlands. He is the leader of a flock of vultures that is allied with Janja's clan.

text: Jasiri[edit]

text: Jasiri (voiced by Maia Mitchell) is a friendly female spotted hyena who makes her first appearance in the episode "Never Judge a Hyena By Its Spots." She is open to making friends with lions. Bold and spunky, Jasiri is able to look past differences and focus on where different species have common ground. Unlike Janja and his clan, she dislikes selfishness and gluttony, and she respects the Circle of Life. She has blue eyes and mauve fur, unlike the other hyenas.

text: Makini[edit]

text: Makini (voiced by Landry Bender) is a young mandrill who is Rafiki's new apprentice. She is free-spirited and loves to learn and look up to her mentor. However, she has trouble being calm and she is easy to deceive. Despite this, Makini takes pride in herself and her position, and is friendly and welcoming to everyone she meets.

text: Mtoto[edit]

text: Mtoto (voiced by Jason Felbinger) is an elephant calf who idolizes Beshte. He appears to be innocent with little understanding of the world. His playful nature often gets him into trouble, though his intentions are usually good.

text: Ma Tembo[edit]

text: Ma Tembo (voiced by Lynette Dupree) is an adult elephant who attains leadership of her father Aminifu's herd after his death. Much like her father, she is always game for a laugh. Even when Simba makes a mistake at her father's funeral, she is gracious and kind, and makes light of the situation by dwelling on the good. She is similarly gracious to Nala and Kiara when they are the only members of their family to attend the elephant concert.

text: Crocodiles[edit]

text: There are a number of crocodiles who appear in The Lion Guard:

text:
Pua (voiced by Gerald C. Rivers) is a Nile crocodile who originally led the crocodile float, until he is defeated by Makuu in a "mashindano" battle for the position of alpha male. Upon defeat, Pua leaves the float.
Makuu (voiced by Blair Underwood) is a young, sleek, and well-built Nile crocodile who leads the crocodile float that lives in The Pride Lands after defeating the previous leader Pua in battle. He is shown to be boastful and loves to bask in the attention of others. Unlike his predecessor, Makuu initially has no respect for tradition or the Circle of Life, and certainly not for authority (except his own), seeing both Pua and Kion as weak and cowardly. He appears to only respond to strength and power, as he was awestruck by the Roar of the Elders and gave into Kion's second demand to leave Big Springs while trying to save face. In Season 2, Makuu has decided to become a better leader for his float, reforming from his trouble-making ways.
Kiburi (voiced by Common) is a former member of Makuu's float who, much like a less experienced Makuu, saw no reason why the crocodiles should have regard for the other animals of the Pride Lands. After the crocodiles were accidentally awakened from dry season Aestivation by the Lion Guard, Kiburi led most of the float in an effort to seize bodies of water. He later challenged Makuu to a mashindano, having made an alliance with Ushari and a plan to eliminate Simba. Upon being defeated, he and his supporters were expelled from the Pride Lands, and became a part of Scar's growing collective in the Outlands.
Tamka (voiced by Nolan North) is a brutish crocodile loyal to Kiburi.
Nduli (voiced by Jorge Diaz) is a crocodile loyal to Kiburi.

text: Reirei's pack[edit]

text: Reirei's pack is a pack of black-backed jackals who first appeared in the episode "The Kupatana Celebration". They trick the Lion Guard into letting them into the Pride Lands so that they can devour all the animals. At Kupatana, the jackals attack the Pridelanders until they are defeated by the Lion Guard. Simba himself approaches the jackal pack and roars, sending them scurrying back into the Outlands. Reirei and Goigoi reappear in the episode "Too Many Termites", where they attempt to eat a pack of aardwolves, but are stopped by the Lion Guard. They are the first canine villains to appear in the Lion Guard. In Season 2, they become members of Scar's army.

text:
Reirei (voiced by Ana Gasteyer) is a clever, scheming, and manipulative jackal who is the leader of her pack and wreaks havoc in the Pride Lands.
Goigoi (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is Reirei’s mate who only thinks with his stomach and has the tendency to fall asleep.
Dogo (voiced by Jacob Guenther) is one of Reirei and Goigoi's sons who uses his innocent looks to his advantage to win the trust of others in order to take advantage of them.
Kijana (voiced by Amber Hood) first appeared in the episode "Babysitter Bunga" and is Reirei and Goigoi's daughter.

text: Ushari[edit]

text: Ushari (voiced by Christian Slater) is an Egyptian cobra who often conflicted with Bunga and would get disturbed whenever the Lion Guard was near him. In The Rise of Scar, Ushari finally gets fed up with the Lion Guard disturbing his peace and inadvertently finds out that Kion talks to Mufasa's spirit. With this knowledge he decides to join forces with Janja's clan and ends up helping them orchestrate the events that allow them to summon Scar's spirit so that he can guide them in defeating the Lion Guard.

text: Basi[edit]

text: Basi (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is Beshte's father and leader of his and his son's pod. He is amicable and open, willing to engage in conversation and negotiate according to the customs of the Pride Lands. Even in the face of adversity, such as Makuu's violent takeover of Big Springs, Basi maintains his temper and graciously offers the crocodile a chance to return once the fish have returned in plenty.

text: Being so learned in the ways of the animals, Basi is knowledgeable and wise. Despite being an animal with a very different way of life, he understands the customs of the crocodiles and how this affects his pod's everyday life. Unlike the inexperienced young Makuu, Basi grasps an understanding of the Circle of Life and how every animal must give and take in order to keep it in balance.

text: Leopards[edit]

text: Several African leopards appear in the series; two are antagonists, while one is an ally of the Lion Guard:

text:
Makucha (voiced by Steven Blum): an aggressive, powerful leopard who comes to the Pridelands in pursuit of the okapi Ajabu, and who proves to be quite an adversary to the Lion Guard due to his speed and strength. He becomes a leader of his leap.
Badili (voiced by Jack McBrayer): a friendly leopard who was initially too timid to stand up to Mapigano, who tried to take over his territory.
Mapigano (voiced by Jorge Diaz): a mean leopard who attempts to take over Badili's territory until Badili gains confidence through training with the Lion Guard and drives him out.

text: Aardwolves[edit]

text:
Mjomba (voiced by Charlie Adler) is a grumpy and impatient aardwolf who is the leader of the pack. He has a hunched back, bushy black eyebrows, gray fur, and darker gray markings. His inner ears are pink, and his nose is black. Like the rest of the pack, he adores termites.
Ogopa (voiced by Marieve Herington) is a bright and cheerful aardwolf. She has blue-gray fur and black markings, as well as a narrow muzzle and a black nose. Her yellow eyes are large and framed by a few eyelashes, and her inner ears are pink with a couple of hairs sprouting from each. Like the rest of the pack, she adores termites. She is easily frightened and has a tendency to jump to conclusions. She also tends to add afterthoughts after she states her opinion on a subject.
Haya (voiced by Ogie Banks) is a nervous and shy aardwolf. He has dark gray fur with longer fur on his cheeks and black markings, and his inner ears are pink with a few hairs sprouting from them. His upper teeth protrude from his dark muzzle. Like the rest of the pack, he adores termites. Like Ogopa, he tends to add afterthoughts after stating his opinion.

text: Introduced in The Lion King books[edit]

text: Kopa[edit]

text: Kopa is the son of Simba and Nala, appearing in the book series The Lion King: Six New Adventures, and is shown to look a lot like his father as a cub, except with a tuft of hair on top of his head. The book series was released before Simba's Pride, therefore Kopa does not appear in the film.

text: Ahadi[edit]

text: Ahadi is the father of Mufasa and Taka (Scar), the grandfather of Simba, the great-grandfather of Kopa, Kiara and Kion and the king of the Pride Lands during the events of The Lion King: Six New Adventures story A Tale of Two Brothers. He is shown to look a lot like Mufasa except with darker fur.

text: Uru[edit]

text: Uru is the mother of Mufasa and Taka (Scar), the grandmother of Simba, the great-grandmother of Kopa, Kiara and Kion and the queen of the Pride Lands during the events of The Lion King: Six New Adventures story A Tale of Two Brothers. She is absent from the book but is mentioned to have left to search for water to save the kingdom.

text: Mohatu[edit]

text: Mohatu is the father of Ahadi or Uru, the grandfather of Mufasa and Scar, the great-grandfather of Simba, and King of the Pride Lands during the events of the story The Brightest Star. He went to find water for the animals of the land during a drought and helped the animals get on with each other. When he died, he became a star which was brighter than the others. He is shown to look a lot like a darker furred version of Mufasa, having facial features like Simba's and was said to have been one of the greatest kings of the Pride Lands.

text: Ni[edit]

text: Ni is a character who appears in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story Nala's Dare. He is a young lion who has left his pride to start his own and travels through the Pride Lands during Scar's reign and saves Nala from hyenas before leaving after meeting the rest of the Pridelanders.

text: Kula[edit]

text: Kula is a character in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story Nala's Dare. She is one of Nala's friends and one of the cubs of the Pridelanders who lived during Scar's reign.

text: Chumvi[edit]

text: Chumvi is a character in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story Nala's Dare. He is one of Nala's friends and one of the cubs of the Pridelanders.

text: Joka[edit]

text: Joka is a giant python in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story A Snake in the Grass. He is extremely intelligent and is able to formulate complicated plans in a short amount of time. He has the power to twist his words into whatever he rightly wants and uses hypnotism to lure unsuspecting victims into believing his empty words. The name Joka translates as 'dragon' in the Swahili tongue

text: Jelani[edit]

text: Jelani is Rafiki's lazy cousin in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story Follow the Leader. Despite being considered leader of his troop, he is unconcerned about the suffering of his subjects, as he is often too concerned about his own welfare to lead them to a new home.

text: Kwaheri[edit]

text: Kwaheri is Kopa's monkey friend in The Lion King: Six New Adventures stories Nala's Dare and How True, Zazu? He is social, talkative, and critical to his friends. He often flaunts his talents around Kopa to either spark a reaction or just be a show-off.

text: Boma[edit]

text: Boma is a cape buffalo who appears in The Lion King: Six New Adventures stories A Tale of Two Brothers and How True, Zazu?. His grandparents were killed during an attack by army ants. He is the leader of the cape buffalo and he is aggressive, controlling, selfish, strong, and short-tempered. He is also somewhat seclusive and gruff, as he doesn't seem to understand that there is a balance between species and refuses to share the last remaining water-hole during a draught, which can affect the whole of the Pride Lands. It is due to him that Taka got his scar after which he renamed himself to Scar. If challenged or insulted he becomes very angry. However he is mildly co-operative if not insulted or challenged. Taka tries to get Mufasa in trouble by telling him to talk with Boma to share the water-hole. Mufasa tries to reason with him to share the water-hole however he refuses. Scar then roars and tells him that he must obey or challenge Mufasa. He then chases after Mufasa who is rescued by Rafiki. Rafiki starts to grow tired while running but is picked up by Mufasa who then jumps across a ravine. Boma is unable to make the jumps and falls into it. Mufasa tells him that he doesn't have to fight but he keeps hurling thret[clarification needed] while saying that the other buffaloes can still harm Taka. Taka is then attacked by three buffaloes during which he receives his scar. Ahadi stops this attack with a large herd of animals and has an elephant push Boma out of the ravine.

text: Zuzu[edit]

text: Zuzu is Ahadi's majordomo. She only appeared in A Tale of Two Brothers, though she was mentioned in How True, Zazu?. She turned out to be Zazu's mother. Flirtatious and gossipy, Zuzu is a very maternal bird who never passes up the chance for some juicy gossip, much like her son, Zazu. Her talkative nature and nosy habits often make her a bit of an annoyance to the other animals, though Ahadi puts her personality to good use in order to get a better grip on the doings of his kingdom. Zuzu is also known for being loyal and brave, as she was willing to help Rafiki even though she did not fully understand the danger Mufasa was in. It said that she retired, and gave Zazu her place as the king's majordomo.


document_title: I, Tonya

question_text: who played the young tonya harding in i tonya

text: I, Tonya

text: Plot[edit]

text: In 1970s Portland, Oregon, four year-old Tonya Harding is forced to ice skate by her abusive mother, LaVona. As Tonya grows up, her parents take her out of school to focus on her skating career, and she trains under coach Diane Rawlinson. Tonya rapidly becomes one of the best figure skaters in the United States, but is held back by her "white trash" reputation, home-made costumes and unconventional choice of performance music. At 15, she begins dating 18-year-old Jeff Gillooly, and the two marry, but Jeff becomes abusive. When LaVona scorns Tonya for putting up with it, Tonya blames LaVona for her raising her badly.

text: After a dispute with Diane, Tonya fires her and hires Dody Teachman as her coach. Tonya becomes the first female figure skater to complete two triple Axel jumps in competition. At the 1992 Winter Olympics, Tonya fails to stick her landings and finishes fourth. Defeated, she moves in again with Jeff and takes a job as a waitress, but Diane convinces her to train for the 1994 Winter Olympics. On the day of her November 1993 competition at the Northwest Pacific Regional Championships in Portland, Tonya receives a death threat and chooses not to compete. In retaliation, Jeff instructs his friend Shawn Eckardt (who says he's Tonya's "bodyguard") to send death threats to Tonya's rival Nancy Kerrigan. Tonya makes a phone call trying to locate Nancy Kerrigan's training arena and her practice times. Eckardt, seeking demand for his own bodyguard business, hires two inept crooks to attack Kerrigan after a practice session in Detroit. On January 6, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan's knee is struck and swollen; she cannot compete at the next day's National competition. The hired henchmen are arrested.

text: Eckardt's bragging quickly leads the FBI to him. He points the finger at Jeff, who is horrified to learn that Eckardt gave orders beyond sending the letters. Tonya qualifies for the Olympic team and is in turn horrified by Jeff, realizing that she will be found guilty by association. She goes to the FBI and tells them what Jeff and Shawn did, but they show her interview transcript to Jeff after his arrest, and he races home to confront her. She briefly speaks to Jeff, then climbs out the window, leaving him for good. Jeff implicates Tonya, saying she knew about the attack.

text: LaVona visits Tonya and offers her kind words; however, when LaVona asks if Tonya knew anything about the crime, Tonya reaches into LaVona's jacket pocket, finds a tape recorder, and throws her mother out of her home. Jeff, Eckardt, and the henchmen are charged, with Tonya's hearing postponed until after the Olympics. Tonya finishes eighth and Nancy Kerrigan wins the silver medal. Tonya avoids jail but is banned from competitive figure skating for life. Heartbroken, she begs the judge to give her jail time but not to take away the one thing she knows how to do; the judge refuses and tells her his decision is made. Jeff acknowledges with honest regret that he ruined Tonya's career. He changes his name, remarries, opens a hair salon, divorces; he currently lives near Tonya, albeit having no contact with her, with his third wife and two children. LaVona moves to Washington state and has no contact with Tonya. Tonya remarries, divorces, takes up professional boxing, becomes a landscaper, house painter and deck builder. She lives happily with her seven-year-old son and third husband.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding
Mckenna Grace as young Tonya Harding
Maizie Smith as Tonya Harding (age 4)
Sebastian Stan as Jeff Gillooly, Harding's lover and friend, later husband
Allison Janney as LaVona Golden, Harding's mother
Julianne Nicholson as Diane Rawlinson, Harding's skating coach and Bob's wife
Caitlin Carver as Nancy Kerrigan, Harding's skating rival and Olympic teammate, and the victim of the 1994 attack
Bojana Novakovic as Dody Teachman, another of Harding's coaches
Paul Walter Hauser as Shawn Eckardt, a bodyguard and friend of Gillooly
Bobby Cannavale as Martin Maddox, a former reporter
Dan Triandiflou as Bob Rawlinson, Diane's husband and Tonya's attorney
Ricky Russert as Shane Stant, hired by Jeff and Shawn to attack Nancy
Anthony Reynolds as Derrick Smith, Stant's uncle, previous friend of Eckardt, first hired by Jeff and Shawn to attack Nancy before recruiting Shane himself to injure her

text: Production[edit]

text: Screenwriter Steven Rogers was inspired to write the film after watching a documentary about ice skating which mentioned Tonya Harding.[12] Rogers arranged separate interviews with Harding and her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly. Both remembered the events of the 1994 scandal very differently. Rogers decided, "Well, that's my way in - to put everyone's point of view out there, and then let the audience decide."[12] He later said that the film was really about "things we tell ourselves in order to...live with ourselves...how we change the narrative, and then want that to be the narrative."[13]

text: Regarding Gillooly, Rogers stated "What's curious about Jeff is that he refused to take any money for life rights, for his interview, for anything."[14] He remembered Jeff Gillooly saying that Harding was a great figure skater.[15] According to Rogers, Gillooly also said that it was his own idea to threaten Nancy Kerrigan's ability to perform and took responsibility for his part in Harding's 1994 ruin: "he doesn't want to profit from it."[14][15]

text: Margot Robbie, who played Harding and co-produced the film, did not realize the screenplay was based on a real event until after she finished reading it.[16] Immediately prior to filming, Robbie flew from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon to meet Harding.[16] To prepare for the skating scenes, Robbie trained for four months.[16] Heidi Munger and Anna Malkova served as skating doubles and Sarah Kawahara provided coaching and choreography.[17][18]

text: Rogers wrote the role of Tonya's mother LaVona for Allison Janney; she was a longtime friend of Rogers, but the "stars had [not] aligned" for them to work together until he completed the script for I, Tonya.[12] Janney said the part was one of the most challenging of her career.[12] Shortly after the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, she said "I think LaVona was actually a very smart woman, very articulate...She was not messing around and didn't want [Tonya] distracted...She wanted [Tonya] to know that it was going to be hard work, and knowing her daughter needed to be told she couldn't do it in order to do it was LaVona's way of saying, 'I was there to inspire her'."[19]

text: Director Craig Gillespie was interested in the project because "I realized it was a great opportunity to revisit the story and make a commentary about how the media treats people."[20] He did add that "I don't feel great about having to drag Nancy's name back into this". Gillespie said that he tried, in the film, to present Harding "in a very honest way" without "trying to pull those heartstrings...just showing you why she is the way she is."[21]

text: Principal photography began in late January 2017 in Macon, Georgia, where Macon Coliseum was used as a set.[22][23][24] Throughout the shoot, Robbie suffered from a herniated disc in her neck and had routine MRIs to ensure it was safe for her to continue filming skating scenes.[16] Filming wrapped in late February of that year,[25] with pickups in Atlanta on May 16.[26][27]

text: Music[edit]

text: Some of the songs of the soundtrack were used in Harding's real routines, such as ZZ Top's "Sleeping Bag". Others were selected by music supervisor Susan Jacobs:  tracks from 1970s such as Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" or Supertramp's "Goodbye Stranger" came from an era when music was "powerful and full" and "warm." Jacobs felt the "classic rock songs filled the picture without getting in the way of the story." Critic Emily Manning found that others, such as En Vogue's "Free Your Mind" and Heart's "Barracuda", created "an interesting parallel between Tonya's tenacity and ambition."[28] The film ends with Siouxsie and the Banshees' cover of "The Passenger";[29] Manning wrote: "There was something really right about seeing Tonya skate to Siouxsie."[28] Jacobs said that "The Passenger" was "something obviously female and the lyrics [resonated]". The lyrics of Dire Straits' "Romeo and Juliet" were also important as "they felt like the story".[29]

text: A soundtrack was released on December 8, 2017, by Milan Records, featuring songs used in the film by various artists and tracks from the original score.[30]

text: Track listing[edit]

text:
I, Tonya (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by various artistsReleased
December 8, 2017Genre
SoundtrackLength
67:07[30]Label
Milan RecordsProducer
Various

tag: table

text: No.TitleArtistLength1."Fair to Love Me"Mark Batson2:082."Devil Woman"Cliff Richard3:343."Shooting Star"Bad Company6:154."Romeo and Juliet"Dire Straits6:015."A Fair Shot "Peter Nashel1:526."Free Your Mind"En Vogue4:537."Goodbye Stranger"Supertramp5:488."How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"Chris Stills4:009."The Chain"Fleetwood Mac4:2910."The Incident "Peter Nashel2:5111."Barracuda"Heart4:2212."Gloria"Laura Branigan4:4913."Gone Daddy Gone"Violent Femmes3:0614."Dream a Little Dream of Me"Doris Day3:4315."The Passenger"Siouxsie and the Banshees4:0916."Tonya Suite "Peter Nashel5:04

text: original score track

text: Additional songs featured in the film[edit]

text:
"Hey Mama Keep Your Mouth Shut" by Dr. Feelgood
"Shining Star" by Fun Lovin' Criminals
"Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum
"Can't You See" by Marshall Tucker Band
"Sleeping Bag" by ZZ Top
"Mysterious Night" by Damon Criswell
"Feels Like the First Time" by Foreigner
"Little Girl Bad" by Joanie Sommers
"Every 1's a Winner" by Hot Chocolate
"People Are Still Having Sex" by LaTour
"25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago

text: Note: Additional songs adapted from film credits

text: Release[edit]

text: I, Tonya  premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2017.[31]  Shortly after, Neon and 30West acquired domestic distribution rights to the film.[1][32][33] It was theatrically released on December 8, 2017.[34]

text: In January 2018, Dan Shaughnessy, columnist for The Boston Globe, asked Nancy Kerrigan in a telephone interview if she had seen the film – she had not. When Shaughnessy posited that Kerrigan was once "a victim of Harding's dysfunctional life", she agreed but emphasized that she was occupied with living her own life. Shaughnessy also asked Kerrigan to comment on whether she was "bothered by Hollywood's portrayal of Tonya"; she replied that the issue was no longer her business. Nancy Kerrigan said that her only "role" in the 1994 scandal was recovering from an attack, "That's it", she finished. She went on, during the interview, to speak about how she remembered the scandal as "A bizarre thing. The whole thing was crazy, being that it's a story. I mean, come on."[35]

text: Home media[edit]

text: The film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 13, 2018.[36]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: I, Tonya has grossed $30 million in the United States and Canada, and $23.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $53.9 million.[4]

text: After making $11.6 million over a month in limited release, the film made $2.9 million from 799 theaters in its wide weekend.[37] After the film earned its three Oscar nominations, it was added to 161 theaters the following week and made $3 million.[38]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, I, Tonya holds an approval rating of 90% based on 325 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Led by strong work from Margot Robbie and Alison Janney, I, Tonya finds the humor in its real-life story without losing sight of its more tragic — and emotionally resonant — elements."[39] On Metacritic, which assigns a rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[40]

text: Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com described it as "an irresistible, soapy mix of jealousy, competition and class warfare, fortified by powerful performances and unexpected emotional resonance."[41] Lemire also complimented Gillespie for "what would seem to be an impossible high-wire act: He's made a movie that's affectionately mocking—of this theatrical sport, of the idiots who surrounded Harding, of this hideous moment in fashion and pop culture—without actually mocking Harding herself." In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers wrote that the film holds "a mirror up to the class-conscious America most of us tend to ignore or dismiss – and makes us see ourselves reflected in it, too. I, Tonya is funny as hell, but the pain is just as real. You'll laugh till it hurts."[42] Vulture praised Robbie's performance, feeling she had found a new "weight".[43]

text: Ty Burr of The Boston Globe wrote that it was one of the most surprising films of the year - a "multi-layered saga of talent and class resentment". He praised Rogers' script as "sympathetic but clear-eyed, foul-mouthed but fair-minded". Burr wrote that the domestic abuse scenes are presented effectively because of the film's style of "ironic as-told-to comedy that intentionally curdles when the extent of [violence]...and Harding's grim acceptance...of it become obvious". However, when writing of the scene where Harding voices how she has internalized a victim-like identity, Burr believed the filmmakers failed to appreciate the scope of what that really means to her. He considered whether the filmmakers had an obligation not to be among "the many vultures picking at [Tonya's] pop-culture corpse". Burr did not think the filmmakers properly addressed the predicament of making a film about Harding's media over-exposure.[44]

text: Richard Brody of The New Yorker felt the film failed to find an original depiction of the working class, and "treats Tonya's background, her tastes, her habits, her way of talking, as a joke... The result is a film that's as derisive and dismissive toward Tonya Harding as it shows the world at large to have been".[45] In The Guardian, Jean Hannah Eldestein felt that the film was "played for laughs" at the expense of its subject.[46]

text: Allison Janney was widely lauded for her performance as LaVona Golden, singled out for praise by critics. Christy Lemire of Roger Ebert.com said: "Janney absolutely tears it up as the profane, chain-smoking LaVona Harding, constantly insulting Tonya and messing with her mind in the name of making her a champion. It's a showy, scenery-chewing performance but it's not one-note; Janney brings an undercurrent of sorrow to the part in revealing LaVona's twisted methodology." Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post wrote that : Janney steals every scene she's in, playing LaVona, a harridan whose nodding goes beyond tough love. Helen O'Hara from Empire called Janney's performance flawless and flamboyant, and an unforgettable one. USA Today said; Janney is magnificent as Tonya Harding's villainous and abusive mommy dearest. No curse word goes unused and no scenery is left unchewed by the actress, who takes over whenever she's onscreen, whether dealing with a pesky parakeet or breaking the fourth wall.

text: Accolades[edit]

text: I, Tonya earned various awards and nominations following its release. At the 7th AACTA International Awards, Robbie won Best Actress, while Janney won Best Supporting Actress.[47] I, Tonya received five nominations at the 71st British Academy Film Awards, including Best Actress in a Leading Role for Robbie, Best Original Screenplay for Rogers and winning Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Janney.[48] The film also garnered five Critics' Choice Movie Awards, with Robbie winning Best Actress in a Comedy and Janney winning Best Supporting Actress.[49] At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, Janney received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, while the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Robbie was nominated for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy[9] I, Tonya gathered three Independent Spirit Awards nominations,[50] and a Producers Guild of America Award nomination.[51] Robbie and Janney were nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role respectively at the 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards.[10] Rogers earned a nomination for Best Original Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America.[52] Tatiana S. Riegel won the American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Film (Comedy or Musical).[53]

text: At the 90th Academy Awards, Janney won Best Supporting Actress. Robbie earned a nomination for Best Actress and Tatiana S. Riegel earned a nomination for Best Film Editing.[54][55]